For husband-and-wife team Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki, the fear of missing out played a big part in their decision to open a restaurant in London.
The chef duo met during training at Le Cordon Bleu in the English capital, before returning to South Korea.
After marrying and starting a family, Park and Bomee decided to return to London to combine their classical French training with Korean flavours they grew up on.
Having navigated the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic just as the doors were about to open at Sollip in Bermondsey, Park and Bomee became the first Korean chefs to be awarded a Michelin star in the UK in 2022, something they have retained ever since.
“I never wanted or expected I would become a businessman or owner of a restaurant,” said Park.
“What I wanted to become was a head chef, a good enough head chef where I can cook what I wanted, without any worry about the money or these kind of things.
“Then we got married. We share a lot of things together - our preference for eating, style of cooking, cuisine and design. It was natural.
“At some point in Korea we decided that because our life was too relaxed, we wanted a challenge when we were at a good age and our kids were young enough, so it was less risky.”
Pastry chef Bomee added: “We had a lot of good memories in London and experiences in restaurants as guests or chefs. We loved the dining scene in London.
“We love Korea a lot, but at the same time, we always wanted to go back to London one day. We would joke that if you are to open a restaurant, it probably has to be in London, not in Korea. Dreams came true.”
Both Bomee and Park got into cooking as children through a love of bread, although Park admits he did not have the patience to pursue a career in the pastry section of a kitchen.
Asked how they work as a husband-and-wife team, Park said: “We talk a lot and 90 per cent of the time, the topic is about our food.
“If not our food, then other food, restaurants, chefs and cuisines. We understand each other more than ourselves. Luckily our preference is the same.
“We know what we want without telling each other.”
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EAST MEETS WEST
Discussing the food philosophy at Sollip, Park explained: “Whether you have your own style or not, your food comes 100 per cent from your experiences, not just as a chef, but your whole life experiences. That’s what I believe.
“We both are 100 per cent Korean. We were in Korea until we became adults, with Korean food, Korean friends and Korean parents. But since we decided to become chefs, we tried to learn French as much as possible.
“That’s how we wanted to cook. That makes Sollip’s identity, in terms of the food.
“We thought showing a bit more Korean heritage should be our weapon, because there was nobody doing that in London in our view.
“We are proud of our background. That’s what we try to show.”
He continued: “We use our European and French techniques, with Korean heritage, culture and flavour on top of that. That makes our menu and our identity.
“A lot of people mention they love Korean food, but have never tried these kind of flavours before. I think it is because we have this kind of mixture.”
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BRINGING KOREAN CUISINE TO LONDON
For Bomee and Park, the opportunity to highlight Korean cuisine to a wider audience is something they take very seriously.
“The Korean scene in the UK has been growing a lot,” explained Park.
“But I think the moment it jumped up was the pandemic. Before the pandemic there were some famous Korean people, like Sonny (Heung-Min) in Tottenham and Ji-Sung Park, BTS, BLACKPINK, I think they are really great people because they brought our culture and made people abroad curious about Korean culture, not just about what they are doing.
“Then the pandemic started, people couldn't go outside, they had to stay at home. It made them watch a lot of things, like Squid Game. People became really curious about Korean things. We have to thank Netflix a lot, they did a really important role for that.
“Korean food is just part of the wave now. I think there is a gap and room for development.
“I think it's been prime time for three years now. Some chefs call it a golden time for Korean. I do believe that. We are lucky that we are here.
“We thought if any Korean people do something in London, I would be jealous, so I would love to do it, rather than anyone else. That was the moment we decided okay, we are going to go to London.”
Bomee added: “We have lots of responsibility. We are the first Korean chefs in the UK to gain a Michelin star, so when we introduce Korean ingredients or culture, we try to study a lot and train our staff regularly and in the right way with the right information.
“Because if we do something wrong, the guests will think ‘okay, that is the Korean way’.”
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SOLLIP'S MICHELIN ACCOLADE
Earning Michelin recognition was not a big goal Park and Bomee set out to achieve with Sollip.
Reflecting on receiving their star, Bomee said: “They announced it online, because we couldn’t have the ceremony. We were just waiting for the announcement and someone text us ‘you got a Michelin star, it was on Twitter!’
“That was not what I expected when I got my first Michelin star. I thought they were joking. It was mind-blowing, we couldn’t believe it. It still feels like we are dreaming, to get a Michelin star in London, with all the other restaurants around.”
Park added: “I have the highest standard on Michelin actually, more than anyone else, I believe.
“For me, Michelin was something that I can't have, normal people can't have that. Only legendary chefs like Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Thomas Keller or Joël Robuchon, these kind of great, great chefs.
“Earning Michelin is the most honourable thing as a chef.”
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HURDLES TO OVERCOME
While things are going well now, it was far from plain sailing at the start for Sollip, which is the Korean word for pine needle.
To keep business ticking, they operated as a Korean grocery store when the pandemic hit, and quickly had to adapt the plans for what their restaurant would offer, such as moving to an à la carte menu, despite operating with a skeletal workforce, which has now more than doubled.
Park said: “I try to be optimistic all the time. I like to say I haven’t had any challenges, but Bomee hates that, because we actually had tough times.
“I try not to take it as a tough time, you just have to take it and do it.
“The pandemic was a challenge for us at the time, whether we could open or not. Luckily we got support from the council, which is how we survived.
“Money was challenging as well. The first quote for the kitchen was seven times more than our entire fund. But we gave up a lot of things.
“The whole plan changed a lot. But I think we could do it because we were so innocent. If you know how much things are going to cost, then you are too scared, because you don’t have that money, so it’s harder for you to decide to do it.
“There have been a few challenges – children, money, pandemic, staff shortage and Bomee was very seriously unwell. But, thankfully, many people are interested in us and we are still here.
“It is just part of the journey. I believe it makes you stronger, if you can get over that.”
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