FIVE MINUTES WITH

Five minutes with Rob Cooper

Nicole Slater meets the co-founder of Enoteca Group this Father’s Day

Local business owner and father of two, Rob Cooper is well-known around town and can frequently be found in his restaurants, The Picture House and The Conservatory. Although he has enjoyed life as a restaurateur for the past 16 years, Cooper’s journey to Hong Kong was quite the rollercoaster.

“I left a good advertising job in London in 1991 with a six month round the world Trailfinders ticket. I promised my dad I’d be back in time for Father’s Day. He gave me a hundred quid and I went. That was 30 years ago,” says Cooper.

He spent a year backpacking around Asia and two years in Australia and New Zealand working casual jobs including waiting tables, selling carpets and computers, before moving to Hong Kong in 1994. “I headed to a cheap dorm in the Chung King Mansions. Within 24 hours I was dressed in a loud red frilly Spanish shirt and black trousers and was hired as a waiter at Dali’s Tapas Bar in Wan Chai for $5,000 per month.”

That was when he met his wife-to-be, Kim Minards. “Life was a whirlwind of cheap shared apartments, parties and going home when the sun rose. Kids were the last thing on my mind.” The couple wed in 2004 and decided to open their own restaurant group, Enoteca in 2005. After hitting 40, Cooper and Minards believed it was time to expand the family. “We decided to have kids and were rubbish at making our own. So we chose to adopt. I grew up with adopted aunts and cousins and it seemed the natural alternative route to the family for us.”

The couple signed up with the Hong Kong Welfare Department and six months later became the proud parents of Jack. “There’s no build up of prenatal preparation so it was a beautifully surreal nervous moment for both of us,” he says.

The family left Hong Kong Island and moved to Clearwater Bay shortly after, “it was the best thing we could have done. Green space, forest rails, nearby beaches - Sai Kung was his playground.” In 2011 the couple welcomed their daughter Summer and the family went from strength to strength opening an array of new restaurants across the city. “For years we didn’t have a good work-life balance. It certainly worked out for us but maybe at the expense of maximising quality time with the kids when they were both very little. Every night we worked, came home at 2am and slept during the day,” says Cooper.

With strong management teams in place, the couple has been able to enjoy more time at home together, “we work a social life with crowds, so home downtime is the best. Quality time is not just a once a week beach or once a month Disney trip, it’s the cuddles, nerf gun wars (dad has to lose) and pillow fights that are fun for the soul.”

Now aged 13 and 10, Jack and Summer are coming into their own and will hopefully take on the reins of the Enoteca Group, “Summer has a passion for food and is naturally caring and sociable. Jack might end up having to manage the money and legal aspects for her though so maybe commercial law school first.” But until then Cooper is making the most of family time and advises fellow fathers: “don’t blink …they grow up so fast. Be with them as much as you can.”

Tell us a dad joke

Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom? Because the pee is silent

Readers’ Choice Awards are back!

Vote for your favourite people, places and businesses before June 14

The annual Sai Kung Readers’ Choice awards are back celebrating everything and everyone who makes Sai Kung a wonderful place to call home.

From restaurants to spas and after school clubs we want to celebrate the people who make Sai Kung so great. This year’s awards will be split into six categories, dining, health & wellness, education, out & about and home & living. After a tough two years the town has sadly seen some closures but more excitedly some new openings including Feather & Bone and Oops coffee shop.

To reflect the new changes in town we have given some of the categories a little refresh, including best new coffee shop, best lunch deal and best unique activity.

We have also brought back our people of the year category to celebrate some of the faces that make our town special. While we can’t feature everyone please share your nominations and we will keep them in mind throughout the year.

With so many people heading outdoors, our out & about category is bigger and better than ever with hikes, beaches, watersports and more.

As always we have posted a voting form on our website (hongkongliving.com) and have chosen some of our top contenders for each category.

Oh and the best part is, everyone who votes stands a chance of winning some of our incredible prizes. So what are you waiting for, get voting now!