Saki met Joe through a mutual friend while she was a hospitality student in Canada and moved to Bangkok in pursuit of love. If it wasn’t for Saki’s boredom during her first months in Bangkok, there would be no Eighty-Twenty.
“It was very boring being at home all day... so I made him open a restaurant with me,” Saki chuckles.
Eighty-Twenty opened to no fanfare and humble beginnings in late 2015. The location was found on the internet and was originally staffed by four people: Joe and Saki in the kitchen and two partners on service at front-of-house.
“The first six months was extremely hard. We had to do everything ourselves. We would come in at 3AM to butcher meats and prepare for the rest of the day,” Joe recalls.
It didn’t take long for Bangkokians to recognise Joe and Saki’s talents, as by early 2016, customers couldn’t even get a walk-in table on Monday nights. In 2017, Michelin Inspectors gave Eighty-Twenty a ‘L'Assiette’ (Michelin Plate) in recognition for notable cooking.
News of Eighty-Twenty’s temporary closure and omission from the 2018-2019 Michelin Guide inspections shocked a lot of industry insiders. Many had tipped Eighty-Twenty to get a Michelin star in the 2019 MICHELIN Guide Thailand.
“We always had plans to expand and grow. When the owner of this building gave us the opportunity to expand, we had to jump on it,” Joe said.
The reopening and the restaurant’s new direction represent a long-time dream for Joe and Saki.
“Fine-dining and seasonal tasting menus was a dream that we’ve had since 2012 when we were still students in Canada," Joe said.
“With Eighty-Twenty 1.0, we were doing something quite chilled and relaxed because we opened the restaurant by necessity. The renewed focus towards tasting menus is a chance to challenge ourselves and get better.”
The original concept of Eighty-Twenty (80% Thai ingredients from Talad Noy market and 20% creative cooking and imported produce) still stands today but with a modified twist.
“Today, I would say we’re at about 95% Thai ingredients. The Eighty-Twenty concept still applies but more to the way we cook rather than ingredients on the menus,” Joe said.
“We try to do 80% of the dishes well, and leave 20% for experiment and something creative. This is a risk, but we want our customers to know us better through the tasting menu, and this is us,” Saki adds.
Highlighting Thailand and its ingredients through creative cooking techniques and playing a small role in sustainability is not forgotten at Eighty-Twenty 2.0.
“We definitely have a role to play in sustainability, we’re just a small picture and at the end part of a long cycle. For me, our industry tends to overuse the word organic. If one land doesn’t use chemicals, but the next three lands use it, it doesn’t make the produce organic,” Joe states.
“Like before, we want to use local ingredients with no rules, no recipes and be as creative as possible,” Saki said.
Despite the industry practice of keeping secrets and competition between chefs, Saki and Joe belong to a new generation that believes in sharing.
“We’re very open with everything, people can come and ask us what we do anytime,” Joe said.
“The positive effect is that small producers and restaurants are banding together to form co-ops and share knowledge.”
“For example, Chef Noom from Samuay & Sons in Udon Thani is doing something very similar to what we do here and we’re like brothers. I can call him at any time to get knowledge and ask him something I don’t know.”
“In being open and sharing, I hope that by the end of our time, we can get the people around us to affect some change that influences other changes,” Joe said.
The new tasting menu at Eighty-Twenty 2.0 starts from 3,000 THB ++ per person and additional for wine pairings.
Contact Joe and Saki at 8020bkk.com.
