Father and daughter chef duo James and Georgia Sommerin are so in sync that they can communicate with one another using only eye contact. So impressive is their serenity while working in the open kitchen of their family-run restaurant in Penarth, Wales – appropriately named Home – that people get “mesmerised” watching them, said James Sommerin, 43.
He describes his daughter, 23, as “my right hand”. “We don’t necessarily have to talk to each other,” he said. “It’s literally a look. She knows that I’ve got her back 110% and vice versa.”
Last week, less than six months after opening, the restaurant celebrated a landmark moment when it was awarded its first Michelin star. It was one of three British establishments awarded a first star to be run entirely by family members – not an easy feat in an industry known for its workload and stress levels.
Two other restaurants in London – Evelyn’s Table, run by three brothers, and Sollip, run by a husband and wife – were recognised for the first time by this year’s guide. And at a time of turmoil for the industry, all represent rare success stories, having opened since the start of the pandemic.
“The pandemic made people realise what was important to them and encouraged them to follow their dreams – and, for many, that was to spend more time with the ones they care about most,” a Michelin spokesperson said, adding that family-run kitchens are often “calmer, quieter places, where everyone works in harmony”.
Home, the guide notes, is “staffed almost exclusively by family members”. Their small team of six includes James’s wife, Louise, who leads the front-of-house team, which also includes their daughter Angharad (they also have an 11-year-old daughter, Elin) and Louise’s twin sister Cath. Their “surprise” menu is seasonal and uses locally sourced produce.
While this is not Sommerin’s first Michelin star – he previously had one at his former restaurant in Penarth, which was forced to close due to the pandemic, and at the Crown at Whitebrook, where he was head chef – this one feels different. “It’s more special than it ever was before,” he said. “Just purely because it’s us as a unit, there are no other investors, no business partners, no nothing. We are running it solely and it’s such a huge achievement.”
It was a worrying time to open a business, in the teeth of the pandemic – at the height of which the family prepared meals for NHS staff – and having gone through “excruciating pain” with the closure of James’s previous business. But they decided to take things slowly with Home, which seats 24. So far it has been a huge success. He couldn’t have done it without Georgia, he said, adding that the star is as much hers as it his.
Describing her as one of his best friends, he said “we work exceptionally well together”. They draw inspiration from Spanish father-and-daughter partnership Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, whom they met when they ate at their renowned three-starred restaurant in San Sebastián. “Is she a daddy’s girl? I don’t know. I treat her like a mate to an extent. She’s my daughter, I’m there to protect her, but also I’m there to nurture her as well.”
Georgia, who is the restaurant’s sous chef, has earned recognition in her own right. In 2020, aged just 20, she became the youngest competitor on the BBC’s Great British Menu. Now, to be awarded a Michelin star at such a young age, she says, is “like winning an Oscar”: “To be on the map as one of those top-end fine dining restaurants in the UK is amazing.”
She first started cooking with her father when she was 13, making Welsh cakes on Saturdays at the Crown. After leaving school at 16, she briefly tried college but decided she would prefer to work with him. “The rest is history really. I never looked back to do anything else.”
Her parents live in Penarth, while she now lives in nearby Barry.
She loves all areas of cooking but has a soft spot for pastry. “Me and my dad, we split each section equally, so I do a bit of cooking, of sauce and garnish, and then he does a bit and we share the job.” Next, she is hoping for two stars. “It’s just keep doing what we’re doing and pushing forwards.”
In London, brothers Luke, Theo and Nathaniel Selby not only won a Michelin star for their work at Evelyn’s Table at the Blue Posts in Chinatown but also got a special award for best young chefs. The brothers, who have been serving food that combines French and Japanese techniques at the 12-seat restaurant since October 2020, have been working in kitchens together for over a decade.
Head chef Luke, 31, said they were “all super happy and very emotional”, and he plans to take Theo, 29, and Nathaniel, 27, to celebrate on Sunday – first by visiting Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford, where they all used to work, and then with lunch at Alain Roux’s Waterside Inn in Bray. “We close the restaurant on Sunday and Monday so we’re looking forward to being able to celebrate properly together then as a family.”
He said the brothers have an “amazing dynamic” and that he couldn’t have done it without them, adding: “We have an amazing synergy in the kitchen. Not only that they’re my brothers, but we’ve also worked together for a very long time.”
Their passion for fresh produce started at a young age, when they went foraging with their mother, who is from the Philippines, around Steyning, West Sussex, where they grew up. “She was foraging with us, picking blackberries, fishing, so we had an appreciation of nature, ingredients and produce and where it came from a very early age,” he said.
At 18, he left home to train at Le Manoir. Three years later, Theo came, followed by Nathaniel the following year. “That’s where we really started working together. I was the sous chef and they were both commis chefs, so it was an interesting dynamic being their boss and their brother as well.” Now, while Luke is officially in charge, he says they are equals in the kitchen and all create their own dishes. They plan to continue refining and improving their work, and in the long term would like to start their own self-financed venture together.
Despite the pandemic, he said the industry had “bounced back” and that they had been overwhelmed with support. “It’s an incredible time. The future’s bright and it’s an amazing industry to be part of.”
Three miles away from Evelyn’s Table, husband and wife Woongchul Park, 37, and Bomee Ki, 34, had planned to open their first restaurant, Sollip, in March 2020 after moving to London from South Korea, but due to lockdowns were delayed until August. The opening was, Park said, “the biggest challenge of my life”. Having sold everything in Korea, they moved with their children, aged seven and five, and then had to face the pandemic.
When they found out Sollip had been awarded a Michelin star last week, Park was elated but lost for words. Their restaurant, near London Bridge, combines European and French styles with Korean techniques and ingredients, and was described by Michelin as “polished and poised”.
He would like to use it to introduce more people to Korean food and culture. “If you go to New York or other global cities, there are so many good Korean restaurants and lots of Korean people and Korean chefs. But here in London there aren’t many.”
The couple met in 2010 at Le Cordon Bleu London, where they both trained, but did not become a couple until 2012, getting married the following year. Park puts their success down to Ki’s perfectionism and their ability to share ideas. While he said his standards were high, hers were even higher: “I believe in her 100% as a pastry chef and so there’s nothing really to argue about in the kitchen.”
