Five minutes with….Maximal Concepts’ Malcolm Wood
Cheyelene Fontanilla meets the founder of Maximal Concepts and looks into his more family oriented and adventurous life.Malcolm Wood holds many titles. He is the founder of Maximal Concepts, which is the award-winning restaurant group behind Sipsong, Limewood and several other Hong Kong favourites. He’s also an adventurer, a sustainability advocate and most recently, an ambassador for the United Nations.
“It’s been an interesting 12 months. I’ve used the pandemic to focus on what I enjoy doing, I’ve spent more time working on my environmental businesses and film work for the United Nations, as well as pushing our latest documentary over the line which will be hitting IMAX screens early next year,” says Wood. Despite all the great things he has accomplished and continues to pursue, his favourite hat to wear is definitely that of being a father. “I make sure I spend lots of time with my kids, I’m not waiting until I’m old to create time for my family and I’m not waiting to teach them the things that I love about life,” he says.
It’s Wood’s firmly held belief that travelling with young kids isn’t something you need to be wary of. “It’s super important to get them into other environments as much as possible. We all come from a nomad heritage and travel brings new experiences and allows for the development of the mind in an important way,” says Wood. He credits these values to his parents, who have both inspired Wood to become the man he is today. “My dad put me on skis for the first time when I was two years old and as a kid, dragged me on a month-long sailing expedition. He gave me my love for the outdoors.” It’s evidently something he’s worked hard to pass on to his own children, as two of his kids already love paragliding with their not-so-old old man.
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Wood’s mother, however, is the reason for his business acumen. “My mother is a great businesswoman but always found time to spend with us. Mealtimes were super important. Her cooking inspires me to this day. It was really important for me to pass that down to my own kids, too.”
When asked whether being a father has made him a better businessman, Wood responded simply by saying “Of course. You learn new skills for handling situations. You also remind yourself that there are many different ways to do the one thing and that you can’t be an expert in raising kids without learning from others.”
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When it comes to spending time with the family, Wood says that having a meal is one of the best things you could do together. So, what do his kids think about Maximal Concepts’ food? “My kids love the tacos at Limewood and as a family, Mott 32’s Peking Duck is a long-standing favourite. We’ve also just launched our plant-based menu at Mott 32 and they love every dish.” Sounds like an all-around stamp of approval to us.
Tell us a dad joke
“Here’s one I told my wife who is from Switzerland…
‘What’s the best thing about Switzerland?’
‘I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.’”
