When it comes to parenthood all of us are winging it, but usually there are some templates. It’s been complicated for me and Yeshi. When we first got together I scoured the bookshelves for people like us. What happens when two people with vastly different experiences of life shack up and have kids? I was looking for a roadmap. I didn’t find one.
One thing was clear though: in choosing each other, neither of us was going to raise our family the way that we ourselves had grown up. Accommodating one another’s culture was going to require a large degree of give and take, compromise and concession.
We started our market stall when our kids were two and zero. It was an experiment in Tibetan food – we had no vision for this business becoming a defining feature of our family. But ultimately Taste Tibet has provided clear answers to many of the questions we had way back when. The way that things have unfolded, we lead a very Asian way of life here in the UK – the perfect compromise.
Years ago I lived in Beijing, where family business was the norm: kids were always kicking about in the doorways of shops and restaurants, one step behind their parents. When we first moved to east Oxford, I remember stumbling across Il Principe, the Italian deli on Cowley Road, and spying the owner’s daughters doing their homework in the back room. It was a touching scene and an image that’s stayed with me because you rarely find kids near the counter over here.
We don’t hide our kids away. You’ll see them at the restaurant or at festivals – they’re always with us. To start with it was because they rejected babysitters outright. Later we discovered that leaving them to get on with things at the back of the stall was great for their relationship and sense of self-sufficiency. Now that they’re getting older they are actively helpful behind the scenes.
Our son had an inset day yesterday, and here he is packing up dal with dad in the Taste Tibet kitchens. The kids have been lidding boxes for years already. They are the best!
Thank you to Taste Tibet for providing the roadmap, for giving our children the opportunity to watch and appreciate what working life looks like, and for allowing them the space to be a part of things every step of the way.
We’re open all the usual hours this week, as follows:
Wednesday – Friday: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Saturday: 12-3 (lunch) / 5-9.30pm (dinner)
This week’s menu is out now – check it! We also have good stocks of everything in our freezers, including momos, so come forage.
Looking forward to welcoming you in soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm
Sat: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
☏ 01865 499318
If you love our cookbook please click here to review it! Thank you so much 🙏🏽
