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SCMP Reporter

Sampling delicious home cooking, enjoying catering service with a personal touch and savouring the chance to chat to pick up tips from the chef, a night out at a private kitchen has it all and can surely satisfy Hong Kong gourmets  looking for new dining experiences.
A large number of Hongkongers clearly fell for the idea, resulting in the mushrooming of roughly 100 private dining rooms five or six years ago.
According to Sue Tsui,  the manager of Bon Appetit Private Kitchen,  the phenomenon first came into being at a private home. '[Restaurants] then started opening at apartment buildings and commercial buildings,' Ms Tsui said.
Reasons for the creation of private dining eateries, in her opinion, included the  poor business climate in Hong Kong in 2000.  'Some chefs [who had] worked for hotels or restaurants were unemployed [and] wanted to develop their own business,' she said.
'Some started their business at home to avoid the high rentals  for ground floor [property] and this has remained a trend.'
Onnei Yip,  the executive chef and owner of the private eating establishment Palace Kitchen,  came to the business without any professional experience.
However, she  also pointed to the poor Hong Kong economy at the time and lack of jobs  as a key incentive for similar initiatives.
'I used to work in a beauty clinic and never thought of doing business,' Ms Yip said. 'One day, my mom [a chef] decided to retire but wanted to continue her cooking and wanted other people to try [it], so I carried on her tradition.'  Private dining rooms were also popular with small-scale investors and chefs wanting to make a name,  as they did not require licences.
'A few years ago, it was difficult to find jobs. It was also difficult to find the capital to start a business, with rents in Hong Kong so expensive,' said Ms Yip.
'To start a private dining room business only [requires]  a little capital because it is not commercial, the place is not big, so the rent is cheap and it doesn't fall under the control of the government.' This happy marriage between low investment and capital needs and less stringent legislation is therefore a great incentive.
Ms Tsui said, 'For green employers who want to start up their first business with limited resources, it's definitely a good choice.'
In addition to low establishment and running costs, the appeal of private dining rooms for novelty-hungry Hongkongers has won  plenty of plaudits over the past decade.
'They provide a  creative menu that is very different to ground-floor restaurants,' Ms Tsui noted. 'Besides, home decoration provides a special environment with a warm, homey feeling which seems like dining at a friend's house.'
In addition, the privacy and tailor-made service offered by these premises are often popular with individuals seeking to celebrate a special occasion.
Despite the surge of interest in the early  days, Ms Tsui does not believe that the future is likely to be as promising.
'I'm not very optimistic, since the trend [to eat at these places] is now going down and so many competitors have joined this sector [who offer] low-quality food,' Ms Tsui said.
She believes that consumers have started to lose interest in  private kitchens.
In addition, the entry of rival operations into the business has  created some uncomfortable competition for proprietors in terms of price, food and service.
Club licences are also required to run the business, according to Ms Tsui, while hygiene and food safety are just as vital as they are to larger-scale eateries.
Another challenge is promotion.
'Our private kitchen does not advertise and [our] customers mostly come from referrals and [return visits] by old customers,' she said.
Ms Yip added that the absence of advertisements meant that only private dining rooms with famous customers were likely to survive.
Although these eateries were able to make minimum charges per person, she added, their small scale nature meant they needed to buy fresh, rather than mass-produced, food on a daily basis.
'However, because every meal is [booked in advance], the amount I need to cook is predetermined [and] there is no waste of food. Because there are not a lot of people, fire exits are not a problem, since it is like a family having dinner at home.'
Ms Tsui did, however, have some words of warning for people thinking about setting up a private dining business.
'You must do some market research first before opening a private kitchen and identify your niche market,' she said.
'Since the business is going down, only those kitchens that are [high] quality can still survive.'



Personal touch creates legion of converts