The Kitchen is owned by a hard working husband and wife team, well known in the Shenzhen hospitality industry.
Shirley came to Shenzhen from Hunan in 1998 with just 200RMB in her pocket and did waitressing jobs at Red Rooster and Romas before working at Casablanca in 2003.
Ian arrived in China in 2002 working in the IT industry and did so for another four years before he and Shirley founded
Dial an Angel - providing relocation and real estate services in Shekou; looking after incoming expatriates and their families.
After their first venture into the restaurant business was wiped out in the great Shekou flood of June 2007, they regrouped and just 10 weeks later opened Thai Orchid in the heart of Sea World Main Square; and quickly established a reputation for fine food and great service, ultimately winning the award for Shenzhen's Best South East Asian Restaurant in 2009.
Recognising the lack of quality western fare in Coco Park they opened The Kitchen and have created a small, up market, intimate bistro style restaurant with great food and quality service.
Ian is also well known as the co-owner of
Xpats Bar & Lounge a few blocks away in Central Walk where you can sample a range of pub food prepared by The Kitchen in sports bar surroundings.
Recently San Francisco native Justus Jennings joined TKF as Executive Chef and brings his classic Cordon Bleu training and mouth watering recipes to sooth the hungry beasts of Shenzhen.
