Chef Kelvin Cheung is the culinary wizard behind Jun’s and Jooksing in Dubai, and his cuisine blends culture and heritage to create dishes that connect us all
When you step into a kitchen with chef Kelvin Cheung, it’s immediately clear that his approach to cooking is more than just flawless technique… rather, it’s about memories and culture.
Kelvin reveals he’s been cooking for 33 years, and his culinary style is therefore deeply personal – described by him as “third culture cooking”. This style is a reflection of his upbringing as a Chinese-Canadian immigrant. Kelvin says, “I’m a third culture kid. I was never Chinese enough for the Chinese community, never Canadian enough for the Canadian community.”
He continues, “That’s why we coined the term when we opened Jun’s – ‘third culture cooking’, the borderless kind of cuisine. There’s no way to put what I cook in a box. And I feel like we shouldn’t have to. Why should I have to tell people that I cook Chinese food or Japanese food or even Asian food? Why do we need to label it? Why can’t it just be delicious Kelvin food? That’s the direction that it’s taken and it’s just the way I cook now.”
Memories and sentiments are definitely central to Kelvin’s inspiration. “Everything is based off recollection; it’s based off something I like to call this ‘nostalgic flavour bite’. The idea is that I take flavours or dishes – things that I’ve had in my past – and create a dish so that even if you grew up in a different part of the world, there’s always something uniquely common within things that we have tasted. This is because food essentially is the common denominator. So even though you may not have had that particular dish, something within that dish hopefully will evoke that same connection.”
At Jun’s, his flagship restaurant in Dubai, Kelvin brings this philosophy to life through menus that are both a personal story and a culinary journey. It’s garnered immense success: it’s a MICHELIN-Select restaurant, ranks 7th in the 2025 MENA 50 Best list, and has 1 Toque from Gault&Millau. With these weighty accolades on his side, Kelvin continues to innovate. Jun’s launched the new edition of its tasting menu in October 2025, featuring 13 courses. “It’s been a year in the making,” Kelvin reveals. “We started a lot of the sauces, misos and such last year. The tasting menu will take you on part of my journey throughout my career.” He adds that many recipes come directly from his father’s restaurant. “I got inspiration from things that have a more Chinese kind of flavour profile and impact. It’s a bit of an outside-the-box style tasting menu.”
While Jun’s showcases his fine dining mastery, Jooksing brings Kelvin’s more casual side to life. In May 2025, Kelvin – along with restaurateur Neha Anand – launched Jooksing, a casual dining Chinese-American restaurant in Motor City’s Neighbourhood Food Hall. It’s a stark departure from what he’s been cooking up at Jun’s, and yet it made perfect sense. “I just miss that food,” says Kelvin, smiling. “People look down on it because it’s often seen as cheap Chinese takeaway. But when it’s done well, it’s delicious. We thought there was a gap in the market where you can get that Chinese takeaway-style food but still very healthy.”
Despite the breadth of his professional achievements, Kelvin takes a grounded, and perhaps philosophical, approach when asked about his dream project. He says, “The young, ambitious, driven chef Kelvin would have told you years ago [that his dream is] to have the ultimate restaurant which would serve ultra fine dining, with all the equipment and all the toys. Now, to be honest, if I didn’t have to worry about paying bills, if I didn’t have to worry about retirement, nothing would make me happier than just to have a small, tiny 12–15 seat little shop and just cook two or three dishes in one day.”
For Kelvin, the true reward really isn’t about accolades… it’s about witnessing the spark when diners eat his creations. “Seeing people have that first bite and you see that connection, where that light bulb goes off… that’s my purpose.”
