Q + A — JEHONG HA, OUR SOUS CHEF

Our amazing young Sous Chef ‘Scotty’ Jehong Ha. He sets the style standard in the kitchen. Here, he finds it curious the things customers ask for…and what + where he’d love to eat if he had the chance.

Jehong a.k.a Scott a.k.a Scotty in action ! Always lighting up the wok + hibachi :D Photos by Luke Foley-Martin + Mrs Jones

How old were you when you started in hospo?

I started when i was 17 years old for a part time job to make some pocket money.

Where and what doing (role, location in the world)?

I was a kitchen hand and did some simple prepping to help chefs in a Japanese restaurant in Seoul, South Korea.

What do you love about hospitality?

Well....No comment 🤣

But there is always something new to learn and try.

What…not so much?

Finishing late and waking up early.

One of your fav moments:

When there is no late customers. 🤣 Just kidding.

It was when we won some awards for the restaurant.

One of your worst moments:

When someone who was rostered to work didn't show up.

And getting burnt on the nose from the fryer. 🤕

Ahh Scotty that was a rough day ! :(

What do you not mind about Lockdown?

Getting more sleep and spending more time with my partner.

What’s been the biggest challenge for you?

Biggest challenge in my life was when I moved to New Zealand alone without knowing anything about the language and country.

And for lockdown is cooking every single meal as there are no restaurants open.

What are you drinking right now?

A Heineken.

What are you listening to / or watching?

K-pop because Riri listens to it every day.

(We can confirm — Scotty + Riri are masters of K-pop Karaoke !!)

What’s the oddest thing you’ve overheard a customer say during service:

When a customer asked the waitress if there was any salt pepper squid without looking at the menu beforehand.

(Hahaha I can see how that would seem random, you’d be like — um, why?? It was a popular dish in Auckland restaurants back in the day, almost everywhere in the Viaduct had their version of it !)

If you could eat anything for dinner tonight, from any restaurant in the world what would it be?

At the restaurant I used to go in my hometown, Korea, eating the samgyupsal (Korean BBQ pork belly) with my family.