They fell in love… and opened a restaurant together

Junghyun “JP” and Ellia Park

NA:EUN Hospitality, New York

“JP is what I am not,” says Ellia Park, co-founder of NA:EUN, the hospitality group behind New York restaurants Atoboy, Atomix and Naro. “He’s artsy, he’s creative, he wants something new. I’m more realistic.”

The contrast has proved to be a winning combination: after they opened Atoboy in 2016, the Parks’ “fine-dining concept” Atomix secured two Michelin stars and is currently number six on the World’s 50 Best list. Each restaurant has a modern Korean spin: takes on traditional bibimbap (rice bowls), guksu (noodle soup) and ganjang gejang (marinated raw crab). In terms of their roles, “JP is the decision-maker in the kitchens, whereas I take care of the operations,” says Ellia. “If this is our show, he is the director and I’m the producer.”

JP and Ellia met at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, where they both majored in food science, before marrying in 2012. He was a chef de cuisine at a Korean restaurant in Tribeca; she’d been working different hospitality jobs around the city. Initially, the goal was to return to South Korea to open their “dream restaurant”. Ultimately, New York presented a “greater opportunity”.

Naro, their most recent offering, is located on the ice rink level of the Rockefeller Center, enjoying close proximity to the landmark’s millions of annual visitors. The couple are widely credited with bringing Korean food to the forefront of fine dining, and are soon to open a new venture – Acru, a neighbourhood “neo-bistro” – with former Atomix sous chef Daniel Garwood.

Despite their success, life for the Parks has stayed “unchanged”, says JP, who credits this stability to his and Ellia’s respect for one another. “Without that, it’s easy to cross boundaries. It’s important not only to love the person as a spouse, but also to trust and respect them for their abilities.”

Sandy Jarvis and Clément Cousin

Bavette, Leeds

Chef Jarvis, from Wetherby, and Cousin, a sommelier originally from the Loire Valley, first met while working at Terroirs in East Dulwich in 2012. They waited a year before becoming a “front-of-house/kitchen cliché”. “Sandy would do the rota for us to have one day off together,” says Cousin.

Though they claim to “live and breathe” restaurants, when it came to opening Bavette, both were eager to abandon the capital’s “seven-day week” culture. And when Jarvis suggested a return to his native Yorkshire, he was surprised to find Cousin needed no persuading. 

Sandy would do the rota for us to have one day off together

Bavette, a neighbourhood bistro serving French classics such as duck rillettes, steak with sauce au poivre, and tarte tatin in Horsforth, Leeds, opened in February. In July it was named the UK’s Best Local Restaurant by The Good Food Guide. Most importantly, the surrounding community is on board. “The Horsforth locals have come out in full force,” says Jarvis.

The couple stick to their respective roles but sign off on all decisions together. “It’s important that Clément has space to say, I don’t like that dish or the way that’s plated,” says Jarvis. “No one likes to be told that their side isn’t perfect, but we’re getting better at listening to that.” With both of them averaging more than 100 hours a week, these conversations are chosen carefully: business chat is kept to their daily commute or at a specified time and place. “After a 16‑hour day, we know it’s maybe better that we don’t talk at all,” jokes Cousin. 

Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki

Sollip, London

As a pastry student at Le Cordon Bleu, Bomee Ki dreamt of meeting a chef. She’d been watching MasterChef. As luck would have it, Woongchul Park, a fellow student, was looking for a pastry chef. 

“I needed help, and she came to mind,” says Park of Ki, who was born in Gwangju, South Korea; Park grew up in Cheonan-si, close to Seoul. The two had been introduced by a mutual friend in London two years previously, but nothing had come of it. “I asked my friend if I could contact her in Korea: Bomee was happy to help.” They married a year later, in 2013. 

Sollip is the result of this union. They opened the celebrated Korean-inspired fine-dining restaurant in Bermondsey, London, in 2020, and it won a Michelin star two years later. Their shared menus are the result of sympathetic tastes, although Ki’s forte is dessert courses while Park covers savoury. Devising the menu is a collaborative effort. “We never argue about what to eat,” says Park. “I love simple; she loves simple. She loves classic; I love classic. We are on the same page without trying.” For a recent daikon tarte tatin, they discussed the idea together and created the dish using Ki’s pastry knowledge. “Bomee is a better chef than me – she’s a better chef than anyone else,” says Park. To this, Ki chides her husband for “flirting”. 

Park and Ki, who have two children, are now considering other ventures – a bakery perhaps, or a more casual restaurant. But Sollip will always be their “first baby”. People ask them about a second Michelin star, a question Park resists. “You don’t cook for two stars or three stars,” he says. “You cook because you want to be better.”

Daniel and Bethany Heinze

Vern’s, Charleston

Daniel and Bethany Heinze decided to open a restaurant together around two years after beginning their relationship while working at an upscale restaurant in Charleston. They wanted their own establishment to be humble and homely – and there needed to be roast chicken. “The chicken summarises the ethos of the restaurant,” says Bethany. “It’s simple to the eye, but there’s so much depth.”

People thought we were crazy. I think they still do

Ten years on, Vern’s is in the vanguard of Charleston’s dining scene. Aside from the obligatory roast chicken, there is fresh pasta – the rabbit campanelle is a permanent fixture – and plenty of grilled fish, as befits the menu of the region.

Daniel heads up the kitchen; Bethany looks after the drinks and front-of-house management. “There are two worlds happening throughout service,” says Bethany. “Even though we’re one, we have our own teams within that.” 

“People thought we were crazy,” adds Bethany of their decision to work together. “I think they still do. But we met working together, and that was the indicator we could do it.” Last year Daniel was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s award for the best chef in the south-east: Vern’s was also featured in the prestigious Restaurant List compiled by The New York Times. 

Daniel and Bethany are currently exploring different projects and collaborations: in the past year they’ve cooked at restaurants in Washington DC and Melbourne, and hosted two chefs from Denver. Neither is in a rush to open a second restaurant. “You have one kid and people ask, ‘When are you having another?’” says Bethany. They’d rather focus on making Vern’s the best it can be. 

Solynka Dumas and Julian Oschmann

July, London

A contraction of its two founders’ names, July – half Julian Oschmann, half Solynka Dumas – is also a mix of Germany and France. The restaurant, which opened in Fitzrovia in April, is inspired by the cuisine of Alsace. On the menu you’ll find bratwurst and riesling, but also vol-au-vent and mille-feuilles. 

“There’s no other partner that I could imagine opening a restaurant with,” says Dumas, a member of the Hermès family. “I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone other than Julian.” Dumas heads up “guest experience”, while Oschmann handles “the back office”.

Although neither of the couple spends much time in the kitchen – that part is taken care of by Holly Hayes, a former sous chef at 40 Maltby Street – both of them “love to cook and host”. They met when Oschmann moved into Dumas’s apartment building in Berlin, and quickly became friends. In lockdown, they merged their flats into a “bubble” and hosted dinner parties. “Being able to create moments of joy in a dark time really brought us together,” says Dumas. They started dating soon after. 

Before July opened, Dumas and Oschmann sought the advice of a couples therapist “to foresee any potential issues”. They were told they had nothing to worry about. And while they have “the propensity to get a bit heated”, says Oschmann, both have learnt to make their rare arguments “productive”. “It’s not about trying to be right,” concludes Dumas, “but getting closer to understanding one another.”