Singapore is losing one of its best restaurants with the closing of Restaurant Andre. The eatery, branded after award-winning chef-patron Andre Chiang, is closing its doors in 2018. 

Just hours after celebrating the restaurant’s 7th anniversary, Chiang sent out an email to the press in which he kindly returned his two Michelin stars: 

“I wish to kindly return my Michelin stars and also request not to be included in the 2018 edition of the Michelin Guide,”, Chiang wrote.
His decision to retire from Restaurant Andre is based on the fact that Chiang wants to prioritize his personal life:
“When Restaurant Andre closes, I want to spend more time exploring my Taiwanese roots and understanding Taiwanese produce, The 16 to 18 hours a day I put in at Restaurant Andre restricts the time available for these.”, he said in his letter.

Chiang also wants to focus on education, developing others and cooking at his RAW (Taipei) restaurant instead (which he doesn’t want to be included in Michelin’s future guide for Taipei):

“It is my duty to pass on everything I have to the next generation in Taiwan and China. It is an urgent priority for me to provide young chefs with a better education and culinary culture.”, Chiang wrote in his statement.

The current Restaurant Andre will not completely disappear but it will undergo some major changes. It will be redeveloped and while Chiang will still be a stakeholder, the new restaurant will not be rebranded after him.