Grand dossier
Qi Tang is the young owner of Chez Chili. With determination and entrepreneurial
spirit, he has given an old restaurant a new shine—and exciting prospects for
the future.
As part of the exhibition Dialogue with Montréal’s Chinese Community, the MEM met with members of the Chinese community in Montréal. This is Qi Tang’s story.
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An unexpected career
Qi Tang - 9 years old
Entrepreneurial flair
Qi Tang
The challenges were daunting, but it quickly became apparent that he had the ambition and skills to succeed. He brought fresh ideas to the restaurant and used social media to attract a new clientele. “The old business was very traditional. The owner took no risks, and the customers were mostly Chinese,” says Qi. “I wanted to attract Western customers and introduce them to the authentic flavours of Sichuan and Dongbei cooking, which were underrepresented in Chinatown.”
With a keen sense of the flavours that attract different clienteles, he regularly fine-tunes the menu with his chef. He also keeps an eye on trends, following several Chinese cooking channels and making frequent trips to China in search of new recipes. He takes special pride in the quality of the service at Chez Chili. “I love talking to people. Often, I wait the tables myself,” he says. “There’s nothing like a thank you from new customers who are excited about their discovery. Those people often come back, and with time, you develop a relationship with them.”
Looking ahead
Despite the impacts of the pandemic, Chez Chili is doing well. In fact, business is up thanks to takeout and delivery. “We were very lucky,” says Qi. “For a few weeks, we were the only open restaurant in Chinatown, and that got us noticed.”
What’s next for the restaurant? Qi would like to expand his network and open more locations downtown. As he sees it, Chez Chili’s future is bright and full of possibilities.
一品湘
「我想把四川菜和东北菜的正宗风味带给蒙特利尔居民。」
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「2012年，当我还在上大学时，我开始在一品湘工作以帮补学费。在工作与学业之间找到平衡真的很困难。2016年，当老板出售餐厅时，我决定买下它。
虽然我并不懂烹饪，但我喜爱在这里工作，并施展自己的创业技能。我在菜单中添加了许多新的菜品，并带来了一些正宗风味。对我来说，向人们介绍地道的中国菜真的很重要。尤其是四川菜，我觉得在唐人街实在太少了。如果可能的话，我想有一天在市中心开设更多的分店。」- 汤祺
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La traduction en chinois simplifié a été faite par Serena Xiong et révisé par Philippe Liu.
一品湘
「我想把四川菜和東北菜的正宗風味帶給滿地可居民。」
—
「2012年，當我還在上大學時，我開始在一品湘工作幫補學費。在工作與學業之間找到平衡真的很困難。2016年，老闆出售餐廳時，我決定買了它。
我不會烹飪，但我喜愛在這裏工作，施展自己的創業技能。我在菜單中添加了許多新項目，並帶來了一些正宗風味。對我來說，向人們介紹地道的中國菜真的很重要。尤其是四川菜，我覺得在唐人街實在太少了。如果可以的話，我想有一天在市中心開設更多分店。」- 湯祺
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Traductrice : Wai Yin Kwok
