An interview with David Yeung of Fool’s Kitchen in Greater Napanee.
Briefly describe your business.
Fool’s Kitchen is an Asian fusion restaurant in beautiful downtown Napanee. We believe in authenticity in culture and great hospitality.
What inspired your business?
Since I have always been so fascinated by food, I decided to study Culinary Management at George Brown College. In our restaurant we have a variety of dishes from Chinese to Cambodian, Vietnamese to Thai, Korean and Japanese to a Western mix.
I am Chinese Canadian, and being raised in Toronto I was influenced by the culture and diversity of my upbringing. Another big contribution to our dish choices is my partner. She is Cambodian with Vietnamese and Thai influence in her family. We wanted to share our culture and experiences with our community and feature food from different countries within one restaurant.
What brought you to the region?
Our family is originally from Toronto but moved to Napanee about 5 years ago. We decided to move for a few reasons, the biggest one being to work less so we can have more time with each other (clearly that’s not happening anytime soon now). We were tired of our business lives always on the go and we wanted to raise our growing family in a different environment.
What was the hardest thing about starting a business?
Finding the right people to work with who fit our business and shared our vision.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs in the area?
The one bit of advice we can give anyone that wants to start their own business is to keep going and never give up, even when it gets challenging.
How do you like to spend your days off?
On our days off we love exploring our town with our family and checking out some of the local shops. We are very fortunate to be surrounded by many amazing businesses all around and have fantastic neighbours like Black Barn Co., 23 Market Square, Touch of Wellness, The Good Home Collective, Skylight Eatery, Big D’s Restaurant and Convenient Candy Shop… everything you need and more within walking distance. A small community with a big heart, there’s no other place we rather be — Napanee is home.
If you could have one word tattooed on you, what would it be?
Believe.
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