Jamie Yeon and John Yip met in 2012 and bonded over a love of food. They’ve since got married, lived overseas and returned to Auckland, opening their restaurant Omni last year.
Jamie
We met at a mutual friend’s pot-luck party. During dinner I thought John was quite funny and then I was doing the dishes and he came to help. I was quite surprised and agreed to have dinner another night. John had just returned from Sydney and I had moved to New Zealand by myself earlier that year, so he became just like family.
When we had a day off, we would go to the beach or to dinner as we both love food. We got married in 2016 and went to Hong Kong and Melbourne and worked in different restaurants. We always knew we wanted to do something together back in Auckland, so we decided to come home and opened Omni in July 2020.
I work in the front, greeting and serving customers. I also work at the bar and look after the wine list, while John works in the kitchen. Our restaurant is very open and we are a very small team so John sometimes helps me out the front as well.
I try to keep work and home separate but sometimes on our days off I’m working on the wine list and John’s working on kitchen ideas. Sunday is our rest day so I cook something hearty and Korean, because John doesn’t like to cook at home because our kitchen is small. I’m in charge there, so I cook and tell him to set the table and we swap roles.
John’s very creative and a fast learner. Sometimes we argue, but we always hug each other and make up. We always have to feel sympathy for each other, as we both work hard, so we have to think about the other person and look after them. We’ve known each other for a long time now and feel comfortable together. John knows everything about me.
John
We met at a mutual friend’s dinner party. Jamie seemed really positive and energetic, with a nice smile and was always laughing and getting involved in conversations. She had a good aura so I asked her if she’d like to meet up and it went from there. We both worked in hospitality so we understood the lifestyle and could adapt to each other’s schedules. This industry is quite demanding and I’ll probably never have a Saturday night off – that’s why I think most chefs meet their partners at a restaurant.
We’re both passionate in our fields of kitchen and front of house, which is a dream combination. We wanted to accumulate as much experience as we could, so I went to Scandinavia and Jamie went to Korea and then we moved to Hong Kong and Melbourne together. There’s more opportunity and room to grow here in New Zealand though and it’s a nice place to raise a family.
When it comes to business, I’m more the go-getter and Jamie’s more laid back. She’s very organised and will always meet a deadline, but she leaves things to the last minute, whereas I like to do it right now. She does a lot for us at home and takes good care of me when I’m there and then I take good care of her when we’re at the restaurant.
At Omni we are very ourselves and a lot of people say going there is a personal experience. We don’t go out of our way to impress anybody; we are who we are and I think the restaurant reflects that. Jamie is very thoughtful and she almost seems to know what you need or want without even telling her. She’s very attentive and I think that’s why she’s so good at her job and being a partner, it’s so natural for her.
