With a father who has long brought joy to diners as a chef, Toeby has always wanted to follow in his footsteps. “My father is a chef at a Chinese restaurant, so even back when I was in primary school, my dream had already been to become a chef like him,” the young commis tells me. But for the underprivileged like Toeby, opportunities to work in well-established kitchens can be few and far between. Fortunately, r é n was able to make that happen for him.

Originally introduced to us by our People Advocate Wesley Ho, Toeby soon found an opportunity with us to shadow Chef-Owner Peter Find at Heimat for a one-day trial to give him an introduction to a fine-dining environment. Chef Find’s feedback was very positive, and in June, r é n linked up with Soho House’s Executive Chef Chris Czerwinski to place Toeby under his wing.

“I was so happy and excited when Soho House accepted me,” Toeby says. “I shared the news immediately with my family, and they’re very proud of me! It’s been a great experience so far. It’s my first full-time job, so in the beginning I was quite nervous. I couldn’t really speak English, and I’ve never worked in a Western kitchen before, so I was quite worried.

“But the team has been very welcoming and patient with me, and they’re all very proactive in offering to teach me new things. I was also able to improve my English in this environment, and now I feel much more confident in conversing with people in the language and expressing myself. I’ve just been really happy here.”

Chef Chris shares a similar sentiment, highlighting Toeby’s willingness to learn as his greatest asset. “Toeby is such a positive person, and he brings so much joy to the kitchen,” he tells us. “These days, there aren’t many people who are so focused and dedicated to becoming a chef. Maybe it’s a little different now with all the celebrity chefs, but the career has sort of been a second choice for most people for a very long time. Toeby, on the other hand, is very passionate about this line of work. He’s able to follow all our advice, and he absorbs everything we teach him like a sponge. You don’t see people like Toeby very often anymore in the kitchen.

“Because he’s still 17, at the moment he can’t work in the expo kitchen yet, so he’s working on the preparation side. But he always tries to sneak into the kitchen during service to prove himself to us, and he always wants to learn more. He’s counting down the days until he turns 18 next month, and you can clearly see his excitement.”

Toeby is now due to pass his probation at Soho House, and as he turns 18 in October, he’ll be able to take on more responsibilities in the expo kitchen, which will offer him an even greater opportunity to learn the craft and continue his journey to achieving his dreams.