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Victoria Burrows

Hospitality is a notoriously stressful profession, and for chefs and restaurant managers operating at the highest levels of excellence, the pressure to perform perfectly can be intense.
For couples who work together in a restaurant, they must do this while also negotiating the everyday bothers of life and endeavouring to keep the spark of romance alive.
Despite the challenges, the gastronomic world has numerous dedicated duos running their own restaurants who, over the years, often develop different strategies to work smoothly together.
But when it comes to all successful restaurant couples, one common understanding is key: an awareness that they are stronger together.
Ellia and Junghyun “JP” Park own Atomix, a two-Michelin-star modern Korean fine dining hotspot in New York that was ranked No 1 in the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants awards that took place in Las Vegas in September 2025.

The restaurant is the crowning glory of the husband-and-wife’s expanding stable of venues under their Na:Eun Hospitality group, which also includes Atoboy and Naro in New York and a new venue slated to open in London this year.
The couple also recently collaborated with Louis Vuitton at the fashion brand’s new six-storey cultural and culinary venue in Seoul. JP at Louis Vuitton is their first restaurant in their native South Korea.
JP says that his approach as a chef and Ellia’s skills as hospitality director are not just complementary but are greater than the sum of their parts.
“Ellia deeply understands the emotional journey of a guest, from the moment they walk through the door to the moment they leave. I try to respond to that journey on the plate,” he says.
“When I’m in the kitchen, Ellia brings a level of sensitivity and attention to the service that I might otherwise miss. And she never sees me as just a business partner. She respects me as an artist and helps my dishes shine in the way they’re meant to be experienced.”

While they operate in a high-stress environment, JP says that working together has made them more supportive of one another, “and in many ways, a greater source of strength”.
After 13 years of working together, Sandia Chang and James Knappett of two-Michelin-star Kitchen Table in London have learned to pick their battles and leave emotions at work when heading home. They have an unspoken rule not to discuss work at weekends, which works 99 per cent of the time, according to Knappett.
“It’s not foolproof, but we’re getting better,” he says. “I think working together has given us a bond a bit like soldiers at war. It hasn’t necessarily deepened our relationship in a romantic way, but it has taught us respect – knowing when and how to speak to each other, and just as importantly, when not to.
“There aren’t rules that apply to every couple, but it helps to remember that you always have each other’s back, whatever the argument is about.”

The pair met in 2005 while working together at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York. Chang was working front of house as a back server when Knappett arrived from England on a training visa.
“He was very vocal – and with the accent, it was hard not to notice him,” Chang says. “He asked me out while I was clearing plates into the dish area so his head chef wouldn’t see him flirting during service.”
Even early on, they talked about opening a restaurant together one day.
“Because we met in restaurants, it felt very natural that we shared the same passions and ambitions, and working under Thomas Keller also meant our work ethic, standards and ethos were already completely aligned,” Chang says.
But running a restaurant usually means long hours at work and little left for normal life, never mind romance.
“We used to rely on unexpected free time, but that rarely happens now, so we’ve become more intentional,” Chang says. “We made a New Year’s resolution to have lunch or coffee together once a week, and a proper date night once a month. With children, our shared hobby has also become spending time with them.”

Knappett values the comforts of home – and having a break from pots and pans: “Sandia does most of the cooking on our days off, and she always makes really comforting, homely Asian food – I genuinely look forward to it,” he says.
The pair have recently combined Knappett’s cooking and Chang’s sommelier skills to launch a new cocktail and canapé series at Kitchen Table called Stages of Nature. The concept was inspired by their love of London’s cocktail scene.
“We as a couple enjoy going out – when we can – for drinks and nibbles instead of a formal sit-down dinner,” Chang says.
They are not the only couple who share a penchant for casual food and boozy drinks: Thanyaporn “Mint” Jarukittikun and Prin Polsuk fell in love over dishes heavy on chillies – the hotter the better – and equally plentiful drinks.
Now they run Samrub Samrub Thai, one of Bangkok’s most exciting restaurants, where they delight diners with their own, often fiery, progressive takes on national cooking traditions.

Mint handles front of house, sources products and manages suppliers, while Polsuk, a protege of chef David Thompson of Nahm in London and Bangkok, helms the stoves.
“I’m someone who loves to manage – to organise, to plan, to hold everything together. He is not. And perhaps that’s exactly why it works,” Mint says. “There are things in life, and in a restaurant, that cannot be managed or controlled. So we don’t force it. We allow nature, time and trust to take care of what needs to unfold.”
At the one-Michelin-star restaurant, which ranked No 47 on the 2025 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, diners sit at a low counter around the kitchen, watching and interacting with the chefs and servers. How Mint and Prin relate to each other sets the tone of the restaurant: energetic and playful, but deeply passionate about their work.
“I don’t think our working space is a high-pressure one at all,” Mint says. “For me, Prin has always treated me with kindness, respect and care. He prioritises making me feel safe, warm and trusted.
“He often jokes with our guests, saying that I’m the boss and he’s just the driver. But in that humour, there’s generosity and grace. He gives me respect – openly, sincerely, in front of people who know us and those who don’t. It’s something that makes me feel held, and it leaves me smiling, always.”
When they are not at work, they like to keep things simple: driving away together without an agenda, finding something good to eat along the road. Or just spending quiet time with family, especially their son.
Chef Hideaki Sato and sommelier and restaurant manager Hiromi Takano opened Hong Kong’s lauded Ta Vie in 2015. The restaurant, known for its innovative dishes that blend French techniques with ingredients sourced from across Asia but especially Japan, earned three Michelin stars in 2023.

Sato says that he would never have achieved this level of success without Takano.
“I’m the one who creates the new menus, brings new ideas and pushes our restaurant forward, but at the same time I always feel stressed and tend to be nervous,” Sato says.
“Hiromi is always optimistic, has stillness. Without her, I might go crazy. She releases my stress and pressure. And she takes care of our customers and our staff – and me.”
But her quiet nurturing does not mean she only tells Sato what he wants to hear.
“When I come up with a new menu, I always let her try it and ask her for comments. She always gives me good advice and feedback. She is the most critical critic,” he says.
The wine pairing is also a collaborative act. They both discuss the right wines to pair with dishes, with Sato offering ideas from his perspective as a chef. They always taste the food and wine pairings together to make sure it is spot on. And they have a final discussion about the food and wine for each new menu before launching.
Even on their days off, they choose to spend time in restaurants together – as guests instead of restaurateurs.
“To us, restaurants are a place to work, to relax – they are our whole life,” Sato says.


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Food and Drinks

From Atomix to Ta Vie, how couples in restaurants turn kitchen pressure into partnerships

James Knappett and Sandia Chang of Kitchen Table met in 2005 while working together at Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York. Photo: Marcus Cobden

Junghyun “JP” (left) and Ellia Park own Atomix, a two-Michelin-star modern Korean fine dining hotspot in New York. They and other couples share what it is like to negotiate the worries of work while keeping the spark of romance alive. Photo: Zooyong Gyun

JP (left) says that his approach as a chef and Ellia’s skills as hospitality director are greater than the sum of their parts. Photo: Zooyong Gyun

A dish at JP at Louis Vuitton, the new restaurant by JP and Ellia Park. Photo: Louis Vuitton

James Knappett and Sandia Chang of Kitchen Table met in 2005 while working together. Photo: Marcus Cobden

Kitchen Table in London, UK, was opened by Chang and Knappett. Photo: Kitchen Table

Prin Polsuk (left) and Thanyaporn “Mint” Jarukittikun fell in love over dishes heavy on chillies. Photo: Samrub Samrub Thai

Hideaki Sato (left) and Hiromi Takano opened Hong Kong’s Ta Vie in 2015. Photo: Ta Vie

Hong Kong chef’s favourite restaurants for oysters, congee, instant noodles and more

Spanish whole seabass at Aire in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay neighbourhood, where Eric Chan enjoys casual Spanish food. The chef also shares where he goes in the city for Cantonese comfort food and flavours from his childhood. Photo: Aire

Eric Chan, the executive chef of Pedder Chinese in Central, says he loves “clean, delicate and ingredient-driven” flavours. Photo: Pedder Chinese

The interior of Aire in Causeway Bay. Photo: May Tse

The Peak Lookout offers “amazing” views of the city, according to Chan. Photo: Dickson Lee

Dishes at Red Tea Cafe in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong neighbourhood. Photo: Instagram

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Tagliolini with white truffle at Italian restaurant 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, where Holiday Inn Golden Mile’s executive chef Fabio Mariella goes for “something different”. He also shares his Hong Kong picks for “simple but good” clay pot rice, dim sum, Peking duck,  French and Indian food. Photo: Otto e Mezzo Bombana

Fabio Mariella is the executive chef at Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Holiday Inn Golden Mile

Barbecued Peking duck at Peking Garden. Photo: Peking Garden

Items from Gaylord, where Mariella sometimes goes for lunch.

Tosca di Angelo offers great food and great views, Mariella says. Photo: Tosca di Angelo

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Kathy Fang grew up in her father’s restaurant, House of Nanking in San Francisco’s Chinatown, which opened in 1988. Together with her father, Peter Fang, she has released a cookbook featuring recipes from the restaurant and from her childhood. Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

Peter Fang is regarded as a legend in San Francisco’s Chinese culinary world. Photo: Instagram/houseofnankingsf

The cover of Kathy and Peter Fang’s cookbook, House of Nanking. Photo: Quentin Bacon

Chicken in Tsingtao beer sauce is a House of Nanking signature. Photo: Instagram/houseofnankingsf

Kathy Fang worked at Merrill Lynch and Johnson & Johnson before she returned home to work with her parents. Photo: Moanalani Jeffrey

A selection of dishes from House of Nanking, including sesame noodles (top), steamed pork dumplings (left, centre) and crispy honey beef with bak choi (bottom right). Photo: Instagram/houseofnankingsf

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Bartenders at Chandu create drinks with a narrative that are loosely based on history. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

A bartender mixes a drink at Chandu, one of our picks of six of the best hidden speakeasy bars in Singapore. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

The Mizuwari whisky highball at Live Twice uses Hokkaido soft water rather than soda to accentuate the malt notes of the Japanese Nikka whiskies. Photo: Instagram/@livetwicesg

Chandu is inspired by Singapore’s colonial era, when opium dens flourished in the city state. Photo: The Robertson House by The Crest Collection

Chandu’s Mata Hari cocktail is named after a Dutch dancer and courtesan. Photo: Facebook/Chandu

Oriental Elixir, located in a Peranakan rowhouse, is a dimly lit watering hole for nonconformist cocktails. Photo: Philipp Meier

Oriental Elixir’s Malabar Tamarind cocktail combines the sour ingredient with roasted cherry tomato gin, dry vermouth. Photo: Instagram/@oriental.elixir

Junior the Pocket Bar is a small, 25-seater speakeasy that tasks itself with changing the menu completely every few months. Photo: Philipp Meier

A cocktail titled Sesame from the Korea-inspired menu at Junior the Pocket Bar. Photo: Junior the Pocket Bar

Jade Harbour is part of The Bund menu currently offered at Junior the Pocket Bar, inspired by the Shanghai district. Credit: Junior the Pocket Bar

For its Korean Joseon dynasty-inspired menu, the interiors of Junior the Pocket Bar featured dragons. Photo: Philipp Meier

Roxy is a hip-hop-inspired speakeasy hidden inside the Miss Fitz restaurant in Singapore’s Marina Bay. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

The drinks at Roxy are based on classics, but are given their own spin. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

Last Word has finessed tipples that were invented in the 1920s. Photo: Philipp Meier

Last Word’s eponymous cocktail is a classic, blending gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse and lime. Photo: Instagram/@lastwordsg

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Four couples who work together in hospitality explain how they maintain thriving, loving partnerships when things get heated in the kitchen


Four couples who work together in hospitality explain how they maintain thriving, loving partnerships when things get heated in the kitchen.


Asian Cuisine

Sex and relationships

From Atomix to Ta Vie, how couples in restaurants turn kitchen pressure into partnerships

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Four couples who work together in hospitality explain how they maintain thriving, loving partnerships when things get heated in the kitchen

Four couples who work together in hospitality explain how they maintain thriving, loving partnerships when things get heated in the kitchen