#50BestTalks 2026 Explores the Meaning of Being Rooted

PLATTER Magazine attended #50BestTalks 2026 in Hong Kong as part of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants week, where some of the region's most influential voices in gastronomy and hospitality gathered to reflect on what it means to be rooted. Held on 24 March 2026 at Tiffin, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, the annual forum once again served as the intellectual and emotional prelude to the awards ceremony itself, inviting chefs, sommeliers, sustainability advocates and restaurateurs to move beyond the spectacle of rankings and discuss the deeper ideas shaping hospitality today.

This year's theme, Rooted, proved especially timely. Across Asia's restaurant industry, there is an increasing desire to reconnect with identity, land, family, tradition and the systems that sustain the future of food. The speakers approached the subject from very different perspectives, yet all returned to the same central idea: roots are not fixed. They are living, expanding things that continue to grow, branch out and adapt.

The afternoon opened with remarks from Rashel Hogg, Senior Content Editor of 50 Best, who welcomed guests and introduced the speakers. The line-up included Lesley Liu, Head Sommelier of Odette in Singapore; Prateek Sadhu, Founder and Head Chef of Naar Kasauli; Peggy Chan, Executive Director of Zero Foodprint Asia and recipient of the Champions of Change Award 2026; Jason Liu, Executive Chef and Partner of Ling Long Shanghai; and brothers Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn and Chaisiri 'Tam' Tassanakajohn, co-owners of Nusara Bangkok.

The conversations varied in tone and subject matter, yet each speaker returned to something deeply personal. For some, roots were found in family history and memory. For others, they were found in nature, sustainability, geography or craft. What united them was an understanding that gastronomy cannot move forward without first understanding its origins.

The first speaker to take the stage was Lesley Liu of Odette. Born in Taiwan, Liu spoke candidly about how her own professional roots have spread across different countries, restaurants and mentors. Her story began at the National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, where she first discovered a passion for wine and service. After graduation, she joined Le Moût in Taichung under Chef Lanshu Chen, who encouraged her to pursue a career in wine. From there, Liu continued to expand her career in Shanghai at Maison Lameloise before moving to Singapore in 2019, where she is now based at Odette.

For Liu, being rooted does not mean staying still. Instead, she described roots as more like a plant's root system: constantly expanding, branching and reaching deeper into the ground. Each experience, city, restaurant and mentor becomes another layer in that network. Alongside her restaurant experience, Liu has built her expertise through professional accreditations from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale. She was also named Sopexa Singapore's Best Sommelier in French Wines in both 2021 and 2023.

One of the most striking parts of Liu's presentation was her discussion of Asian wines. After years of tasting wines from around the world, she has come to believe that Asian wines can stand proudly alongside those from Europe, America and Australia. One of the examples she highlighted was GranMonte, the Thai vineyard and winery in Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima. It was a meaningful reference in a setting filled with chefs, sommeliers and hospitality professionals from across Asia. For decades, European wines have often dominated the fine dining conversation, while wines from Asia were overlooked or dismissed. Liu's comments reflected a broader shift in confidence happening across the region, where producers are increasingly embracing their own terroir and identity rather than trying to imitate Western benchmarks.

The next speaker, Chef Prateek Sadhu of Naar Kasauli, approached the theme of roots through the lens of nature. Sadhu, whose restaurant focuses on Himalayan cuisine, spoke about the importance of respecting Mother Nature as the ultimate source of life. Throughout his presentation, he returned to the idea that humans often act as though they are in control, when in reality, nature is always in charge. Soil, weather, altitude, seasons, plants and animals ultimately determine what is possible in the kitchen.

As a chef working in the Himalayas, Sadhu explained that understanding food means understanding the environment that produces it. His work at Naar is therefore not limited to cooking techniques or recipe development. It also involves studying the soil, local ecosystems, native ingredients and the communities that have lived in the region for generations. By doing so, he can create food that feels genuinely connected to the Himalayas rather than merely inspired by it.

Sadhu's presentation was one of the most sensory and immersive of the afternoon. He brought with him a traditional alcoholic drink made from the Mahura flower, allowing guests to sample a taste of the region after his talk. The tasting served as a reminder that food and drink can convey a place in ways that words alone often cannot. The Mahura drink also reflected the wider message behind Sadhu's work. Rather than looking outward for inspiration, he believes in looking closely at what already exists in one's own environment. Local ingredients, forgotten traditions and regional knowledge often hold more meaning than imported luxury products.

Peggy Chan brought a different perspective to the discussion, focusing not on personal roots or culinary heritage, but on the systems that underpin hospitality itself. As Executive Director of Zero Foodprint Asia and winner of the Champions of Change Award 2026, Chan has spent much of her career advocating for healthier, more regenerative food systems.

Chan spoke about the importance of looking beyond individual restaurants and understanding the wider network of relationships that shape the hospitality industry. Farmers, chefs, diners, suppliers, institutions, and policymakers are all connected. Problems such as soil degradation, climate change, unsustainable sourcing and farmer poverty cannot be solved in isolation. Her work is rooted in systems thinking, an approach that examines how different parts of the food chain interact. Rather than treating sustainability as a marketing trend or a standalone project, Chan argued that it must be embedded into the structure of how hospitality operates.

Over the past two decades, Chan has championed whole-food, plant-based cuisine, responsible sourcing and regenerative agriculture through both her restaurants and advisory work. She emphasised that businesses need practical pathways to align themselves with both human wellbeing and planetary wellbeing. What made Chan's presentation especially compelling was that it moved beyond idealism and into implementation. She spoke not only about values, but also about infrastructure, partnerships and long-term planning. Regeneration, she argued, requires patience. It is not about quick fixes or surface-level gestures. It is about rebuilding the systems that support hospitality from the ground up.

Jason Liu, Executive Chef and Partner of Ling Long Shanghai, also contributed to the conversation, offering his own perspective on identity and regional storytelling in contemporary Chinese cuisine. Originally from Dalian in north-east China, Liu has become known for his refined approach to modern Chinese cuisine, blending regional traditions with contemporary technique and presentation. Before opening Ling Long in Shanghai, he spent years working across some of China's leading fine-dining kitchens, developing a style that is thoughtful, technical and deeply rooted in Chinese culinary culture.

His work at Ling Long has often centred on presenting Chinese culinary traditions through a modern lens, and his presence at the forum reinforced the idea that innovation need not come at the expense of cultural identity. Although chefs today have access to techniques, ingredients and influences from around the world, Liu suggested that the most meaningful work often comes from returning to one's own roots and finding new ways to express them. This does not mean preserving tradition statically or nostalgically. Rather, it means understanding its value deeply enough to reinterpret it for the present.

The final speakers of the afternoon were brothers Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn and Chaisiri 'Tam' Tassanakajohn of Nusara Bangkok, whose presentation brought the conversation back to family, memory and legacy. Nusara is one of Bangkok's most celebrated restaurants, but at its heart, it remains deeply personal. The restaurant is named after the brothers' maternal grandmother and serves as a tribute to her influence on their lives. Ton explained that Nusara is not simply a restaurant concept. It is a way of preserving family history.

The restaurant itself is filled with emotional references to the family's past. Ton described it as being almost like a museum of the house that once burned down, preserving memories of a place that no longer physically exists. One object in particular stood out: an old sewing machine that had once helped feed the family. For Ton, cooking is his way of honouring the grandmother who taught him how to cook and inspired him to become a chef. Through his food, he keeps her memory alive.

Tam, meanwhile, spoke about his own role as a sommelier and how working alongside his brother allows him to continue the family legacy in a different way. His passion lies in wine, and he explained that he is particularly drawn to producers with strong family and inheritance stories. One example he mentioned was GranMonte, the Thai winery run by two sisters who inherited the business from their parents. For Tam, GranMonte is not only a producer of quality wines. It is also a reflection of the same values that drive Nusara: family, continuity and the desire to carry something meaningful into the future.

The brothers' presentation resonated strongly because it reminded the audience that hospitality is often built on relationships that predate a restaurant's opening. Behind every dish, wine pairing or dining room experience, there are often years of family influence, sacrifice and memory.

As the afternoon drew to a close, it became clear that the theme of Rooted had allowed each speaker to reveal something deeply personal about themselves and their work. Some spoke about family. Others spoke about nature, geography, mentorship or sustainability. Yet all of them demonstrated that roots are not about staying trapped in the past.

Instead, roots provide the foundation that allows people to grow. They give chefs, sommeliers and hospitality leaders a sense of identity, even as they continue to evolve. In an industry that is constantly chasing what is new, fast and next, #50BestTalks 2026 offered an important reminder that meaningful progress often begins by looking backwards.

There was perhaps no single definition of what it means to be rooted. But across every talk, there was a shared understanding that hospitality becomes more powerful when it is connected to something larger than itself: family, land, memory, culture, nature or community.

As Asia's restaurant industry continues to evolve, those connections may become more important than ever. The future of gastronomy may depend not only on creativity and innovation but also on how deeply people are willing to understand the roots beneath them. Credits

Article: Wariya Intreyonk

Photos: Wariya Intreyonk and courtesy