Chef Talk with Bounty-X’s Kevin Raffin-Callot

You may have heard the rumours that Bounty is opening a third branch of its locally famous rum bar at Sinan Mansions. While that is indeed true, the owners have stumbled out of their comfort zone and decided to open Bounty-X, a French bistro to feed the regular rum drinkers before they get to their planteurs.

Always looking for gaps in the market – which led to the wildly successful nautical themed, rum swilling bar chain – Kevin Raffin-Callot has again found a niche that he thinks Shanghai is lacking: a French bistro.

“We wanted to make food that we would eat ourselves,” says the chef-owner. Staying true to his native French roots, Raffin-Callot is planning to keep the restaurant fare as authentic as possible.

“A typical French bistro is not high-end food at expensive prices. It is casual, relaxed and familiar,” he says. “Our focus is mom’s cooking and slow cooking. Our food takes time.” With dishes like beef bourguignon and terrine making up the menu, deliberate cooking is of the essence.

A Shanghai resident for more than six years, Raffin-Callot started his local F&B career at the now defunct French bakery and patisserie Paul, where he met Alex Yu. From this chance encounter, their friendship and partnership formed, growing with mutual respect in the kitchen.

“If reincarnation exists, [Yu] was definitely French in a past life,” Raffin-Callot says. “I love his foie gras.” Yu is a veteran of Sens on the Bund, where he beefed up his French cooking chops before adding the title of executive chef at Bounty-X to his resume.

Located in Shanghai’s latest dining destination Sinan Mansions, Bounty-X has a vibe undoubtedly different from the other Bounty establishments, as well as their neighbours among the villas. True to bistro fashion, the food is as fresh as the day it is made, and they are deliberately not stocking up on products or serving a la carte options. Bounty-X halts food service at 9pm, when the eatery will turn back to its formula for proven success: a rhumerie.

Bounty-X & Rumbar. Sinan Mansions, 3F, 47 Sinan Lu, near Fuxing Lu