Since the sixties he has designed many architectural projects, including all of his restaurants, the Giorgio Armani boutiques in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas. Chow restaurants in London before Michael Chow bought Sutherland out and moved to New York.įrom an early age he became an obsessive collector of furniture and contemporary art, notably his now, famous collection of portraits (of himself) by world-renowned artists. Chow bought art by Allen Jones, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney and Jim Dine for the walls, which became as celebrated as the food. Chow designed the restaurant featuring cool green floor tiles and white walls, and it opened in Knightsbridge, London in February 1968, serving Pekinese cuisine. Sutherland backed the original restaurant idea, raised the money and housed six chefs hired from Hong Kong. What can I say?" His restaurants have been widely panned by food critics, but remain popular for decades due to their ability to attract celebrities with the allure of fancy dining and intentionally high prices. "China always has been a great, great nation", Chow said in an interview for The Wall Street Journal and added, "Chinese people - I like them. He visits China at least twice a year, and has said he's thrilled by the country's economic growth and greater presence on the world stage. Michael Chow's concept was for a restaurant to offer Chinese food served by Italian waiters, and with a menu the British could understand.Ĭhow has said his restaurants have always been underlined by "this desire and need to promote the Chinese culture", which he has done through food. Chow studied art in London before embarking upon a business career in parallel to his acting.īefore opening his eponymous restaurant chain, he and his business partner Robin Sutherland opened "Smith and Hawes", a hair salon in London's Sloane Avenue, which they later sold to the famous hairdresser Leonard of Grosvenor Square, when it became Leonard and Twiggy. He was sent to a British boarding school when he was 12 and spent his adolescence in Europe after arriving in London in 1952, he was never able to speak to nor see his father again. His mother came from a wealthy family whose fortune had been made in tea. His sister is actress and erstwhile Bond girl Tsai Chin.
His father was Zhou Xinfang, one of China's most famous actors of his time and the leading figure at the Peking Opera.
Chow was born in Shanghai as Zhou Yinghua.