Restaurant JATAK x Paper Collective

30th November 23 - By Nikolai Kotlarczyk, Writer

JATAK has carved a name for itself within the Copenhagen dining scene for its open nature, friendly atmosphere and uncompromising approach to food that mixes cultures and ingredients. We sat down with husband-and-wife team Sarah and Jonathan to talk about harnessing their diversity as an asset, creating a home away from home, and how art can enhance a dining experience at JATAK.

Paper Collective: Hi Sarah, Jonathan. Thank you so much for letting Paper Collective into your beautiful restaurant. Can you start by telling us about JATAK and what makes you so unique with the Copenhagen dining landscape?

Sarah: JATAK is a small restaurant with only 24 seats. The guests chooses their experience before arriving, either to dine in our cosy dining room where we serve our seasonal menu or by the kitchen counter where the chefs cook right in front of the guests and serve an extended meal.

With JATAK we have broken down all barriers and made a very honest, almost home like, restaurant.

The food is unique, because we let JATAKs personalties shine. It is made from local ingredients and cooked by our team that has a great diverse cultural heritage.

PC: Can you tell me a little bit about your respective backgrounds and how you infuse your respective cultural backgrounds - but also those of your staff into JATAK?

Sarah: Jonathan is patient and persistent cook. He knows his craft and uses it to produce unique flavor combinations - always based on good ingredients. I am an architect, or was, now I am perhaps more a restaurateur. I have always known that some day I would create the frame for Jonathan to create. We are partners - both in business and in life.

Jonathan: My heritage is Cantonese, but I was born in Canada. My parents were born in Vietnam so growing up I was exposed to multiple food cultures. I think a lot of chefs, as they get older and become parents, tend to reflect a lot on the food and flavors they grew up with. When I became a father I wanted to learn more about my cultural background - so I could share it with our daughter and give her the possibility to taste the world I grew up in.

The danish region offers a great potential in terms of ingredients and the possibility of infusing it with different cultural flavors.

We have not placed JATAK in any kind of dogmatic frame. It has been set free and because of that it is being shaped by the entire team - their knowledge, techniques and heritage.The restaurant has notes of Asian and Cantonese flavors from me, but when you dine at JATAK you will find many other cultural influences.

PC: Can you tell me about the interior design of JATAK, which if I am not mistaken was designed by you, Sarah? How did you balance a warm and welcoming feeling with a highly functional and busy kitchen?

Sarah: When I designed JATAK I approached it with Jonathan's cooking in mind. He makes very honest dishes where the main ingredient is in focus. He likes to present it, almost like a gift, that you have to open and discover.

I wanted to make a restaurant where guests would be comfortable for hours, you might think this is a given, but often restaurants are designed for the guest to move on. At JATAK it is like visiting Jonathan’s private home. An informal place where you can relax and enjoy.

Any part of the interior that the guests touch has a warm palette, from the oak tables to the walnut chairs and the chopsticks guests eat with.This is in contrast to the industrial tabletop on the kitchen side in steel. To tie the room together, small amounts of steel is found in the dining room as well.

Nothing is hidden because all aspects of cooking is interesting and beautiful.

PC: We love your choice of Paper Collective art prints used throughout the JATAK interior. Can you tell me about why you were drawn to these works and what they add to your interior?

Sarah: The pieces are all chosen to fit the JATAK colors, that has a majority of warm tones in beige and burgundy and with a contrast of cold blues. The restaurant is quite minimalistic in its expression, so when creating the blue art wall, as a backdrop by the kitchen counter, I wanted to create something unexpected for the few guests that get to sit here.

I really like to play with motives being bound together in tones but having very different styles and expressions. Mixing graphic shapes with photo art and paintings makes the wall dynamic.Paper Collective offers a wide range of affordable art prints, which gives us the option to change them and play with the mood and setting of the restaurant, when the season changes.

The collection currently on the walls features architectural shapes, fashion, hand drawing, soft color blocks with a mix of goofy personality.

I love the photo pieces by Julie Pike that portrays a female by only showing her legs, and I choose the basketball hoop photo because of Jonathan love for basketball.

PC: Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to combining artwork with interior design that you would like to share with our community?

Sarah: When choosing art, the most important is that it speaks to you. You should not necessarily instantly love the piece, it should rather make you want to discover it more to find the feelings and secrets that is hidden inside, and every time you look at it, it should make your mind wonder and explore what could be the story behind.

If the art piece has a more simplemotive I like to place them at an odd location, for instance above a door, in a window sill or on a column. This means you won’t stare at them too often, but when you see them they should make you smile.

Colors are important, when it comes to interior and adding art. The color on the wall should support or contrast the art. Depending on how big of a role you want the art piece to play. If the contrast is big, the art piece will stand out more.