Mr. Olivier Elzer appointed Knight in the Order of Agricultural Merit [fr]
Mr. Olivier Elzer, founder of the Michelin-starred restaurant “L’Envol” in Hong Kong, was bestowed with the distinction of Knight in the Order of Agricultural Merit of the French Republic by Consul General of France Mrs. Christile Drulhe on 29 November 2022.
Considered as one of the best French chefs in Hong Kong and abroad, Olivier Elzer is appreciated for his modern take of French traditional cuisine and his very fine vision of the French – Asian fusion cuisine. His bestowal comes in recognition of his outstanding curriculum, his culinary creativity and his leading role in promoting French products in Hong Kong.
Chef Olivier Elzer started his professional career at “La Palme D’Or”, restaurant of the very famous Hotel Martinez in Cannes (two Michelin stars) and moved to Hong Kong in 2009 as the head chef of Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental. Then, from 2011 to 2014, he worked as head chef of “L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon” Hong Kong. Under his leadership, both restaurants were awarded two and three stars respectively.
In 2014, Olivier Elzer founded the restaurant “Seasons by Olivier E” in Hong Kong, where he was both the manager and the chef. He was awarded a Michelin star every year from 2014 to 2017. In April 2019, he joined the St Regis Hotel Hong Kong as culinary director and established the restaurant “L’Envol”, which was awared a first Michelin Star in 2020 and two stars in 2021. This year, he opened a second restaurant in Hong Kong, “Clarence”.
Olivier Elzer is an ambassador of the excellence of French gastronomy in Hong Kong, which is home to Asia’s most vibrant food scene. The city counts around 50 French restaurants, among which more than 10 were awarded with at least one Michelin star in 2021. Each year, the gastronomic community is happy to celebrate French cuisine and products in Hong Kong during the French Gourmay Festival, which was launched in 2009 after the strong success met by the French May.
About the Order of Agricultural Merit
The Order of Agricultural Merit (Ordre du Mérite agricole) is a prestigious order instituted in July 1883 by the then-Minister for Agriculture Jules Méline. It is bestowed by the French Republic in recognition of outstanding services rendered to agriculture. At the time the “Mérite agricole” was created, more than 18 million French people were directly dependent on agriculture for livelihood, which made this sector absolutely key to the French economy. Today, given the degree of automation in agriculture, this number has decreased to 400,000, but France remains nonetheless extremely proud of its agriculture and its unique terroirs. This is why the tradition of the “Mérite Agricole” was kept alive by rewarding the most prominent promoters of the French cuisine and its products.