Kitchen Ink
Crave|March 2017

Professional cooks love their tattoos. Six Hong Kong chefs reveal their body art and the stories behind the ink.

Tiffany Chan
Kitchen Ink

It’s hard to miss Nathan Green at Rhoda. Most nights, he stands in the centre of the open kitchen like a conductor on stage, wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and a leather butcher’s apron. Even from afar, his tattoos are visible. What we can see of his body is covered with an elaborate mural of people and pictures. Sit at the chef ’s table and you can see his tattoos up-close: “good life” inked on his knuckles; his parents on the backs of his hands, almost kissing when he brings his hands together then pulled apart as he reaches for a spoon. He turns his head and there’s his daughter, Lily – a plump dark-haired fairy – sitting in the hollow of a lily flower. He passes a plate and a skull floats forward, menacing with a curved dagger, and close observers will notice a Rubik’s cube dissolving into a puddle onto his wrist. (“Our mental state,” he explains. “We all have meltdowns.”)

At Maison Libanese, James Harrison’s right arm is entwined in black vines, the branches of a tree that shoot off the handle of a Japanese knife, and climb up his arm. Nestled in the branches are vegetables: an irascible tomato grits its teeth and holds two pistols, a chilli pepper sports a slick Mexican mustache, a hippie broccoli has an afro, a cucumber enjoys a cup of Kool-Aid, a bunch of sour-faced grapes and a shrivelled eggplant puffing a cigar.

“I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo that didn’t necessarily say, ‘Hey look, I’m a goddamn chef ’,” Harrison says. “Like a pig or a Kitchenaid or ‘chef life’ on my arm. I didn’t want that.”

Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Crave.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Crave.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA CRAVESe alt
Kitchen Ink
Crave

Kitchen Ink

Professional cooks love their tattoos. Six Hong Kong chefs reveal their body art and the stories behind the ink.

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2017
Seoul Searching
Crave

Seoul Searching

Ryunique’s Tae Hwan Ryu on the art of plating, the scarcity of Korean fine-dining and the importance of sourcing locally.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2017
Kenneth Wong
Crave

Kenneth Wong

Third-generation owner, Kowloon Soy Co Ltd (Mee Chun Canning Co Ltd).

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
Yip Tin
Crave

Yip Tin

Managing director, Yuan’s Soy Sauce (Fu Kee Food Co.)

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
In With The Old
Crave

In With The Old

Fermenting, pickling, salt-drying - how age-old food preservation techniques are transforming modern cooking.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2017
Lofty Ambitions
Crave

Lofty Ambitions

Architects Vince Lim and Elaine Lu used their 1,200-square-foot Happy Valley apartment to declare their design intentions, creating a home inspired by New York loft living, but with the rough edges smoothed off.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2017
Here's To A Brew-tiful Christmas
Crave

Here's To A Brew-tiful Christmas

For Christmas gifts that look as great as they are functional, Nespresso has the answer.

time-read
1 min  |
December 2017
The Chocolate Man
Crave

The Chocolate Man

The founder of Valrhona’s chocolate school, renowned pastry chef Frédéric Bau is a master of the dark, milk and white arts of cooking with cocoa. 

time-read
5 mins  |
February 2017
Around The World In Hot Chocolate
Crave

Around The World In Hot Chocolate

Served thick and creamy in Italy, with cheese in Colombia and bananas in Panama – discover how people around the world drink their chocolate, and try four recipes to warm the soul.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2017
Getting Saucy
Crave

Getting Saucy

From shrimp paste in Tai O to chilli sauce in Aberdeen, we meet four sauce-makers responsible for the flavours of Hong Kong.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017