How a Hong Kong chef lost his restaurant but gained a new, healthy and happy life

Nate Green was drinking heavily to cope with the stress of owning a restaurant in Hong Kong, causing his weight to increase and his health to deteriorate

Since Rhoda closed, he has gone from being unable to tie his own shoelaces to working out regularly and doing Brazilian jiu jitsu, and has lost 21kg in a year

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He lost his restaurant and gained a happier, healthier life: Nate Green at Henry in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: David Wong

Published: 5:15pm, 20 Dec 2019Updated: 7:43pm, 21 Dec 2019

When chef Nate Green looks back at the closure of his grilled-meat restaurant Rhoda in Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun district in August 2018, it was the best thing to happen to him, mentally and physically.

“It was not fun to go through, and if we were still open, we would have definitely closed because of the [anti-government] protests,” the 37-year-old Briton says. “But closing Rhoda was a humbling experience and it has made me grateful for everything.”

Now chef de cuisine at Henry, a Southern-inspired American steakhouse at the Rosewood Hong Kong hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Green is now healthier than he has been in a long time. He exercises five to six times a week, has cut down on alcohol, eats properly and sleeps better.

Rhoda closed after two years for financial reasons, and it left Green depressed and overweight. When he arrived in Hong Kong to work at 22 Ships in Wan Chai in 2014, he weighed 82kg; by November 2018 he weighed 118.5kg. He attributes a lot of the weight gain to imbibing alcohol, along with lack of exercise and a poor diet.

Nate Green at Rhoda in 2016. He was drinking heavily to self-medicate for stress. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“It started at 22 Ships. I’d start drinking beers in between lunch and dinner, and then I started drinking with guests. I’d use alcohol to control my temper because it numbed me. When I finished working at Rhoda for the night, I [had] finished 10 pints.”