Nick and Sina Honeyman are the powerhouse couple behind Le Petit Léon, a charming garden restaurant in the heart of Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère in southwestern France.
Nick & Sina, where did you meet?
Nick: We were set up by our friends in New Zealand. I was so adverse to going on a blind date – I threw her number out that her friend gave to me, I mean, in the modern age of dating apps, you need a little research at least, right? I ended up going after her friend insisted on a second time, and the moment I met Sina, I was sold.
Sina: We met in new Zealand. I was living in Los Angeles at the time and took some time off to spend time with one of my best friends and my godchild in New Zealand. When I arrived she jokingly said that she will find me a husband so I have to stay … well, she did find me a husband but we moved to France so her plan worked partially. It was a blind date, we just met for a coffee and the rest is history.
Was it love at first sight?
Nick: It was as close to this saying as it gets for me. She is beautiful, there is no doubt, but I fell head over heels in love so quickly with her intellect and generosity to all the people around her.
Sina: I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight, but we certainly were connected right away. We only met for coffee, and two hours later Nick messages me, “Oh, I don’t have to work tonight, do you want to go for dinner?”. Two points to add to that – 1. He did not actually take me to dinner; we went to a bar and had a few bites. I was starving when I came back home. 2. He hired a chef to replace him at the restaurant to take me out (of course, I didn’t know that …), not just that night, but for the next two months. Only once we were “solid” did he tell me that chefs actually have to work every night, ha-ha.
Nick, what sparked your interest in becoming a chef?
I fell into cooking whilst backpacking the world when I was 18. The idea was to take a gap year between school and university, but I got stuck into kitchens to make money as I traveled and immediately fell in love with the energy, structure and culture of a high performance kitchen.
Sina, what is your role in Nick’s career?
I think this really is a question for Nick. I like to believe that I enable him to become (or do) what he wants to be (or do). I feel really honored that he let me be part of it and consider myself part admin and part cheerleader.
Thinking about it more, I am convinced that there is no single answer to this question. There are two separate schools of thought for me. 1 – Nick’s talent, dedication, and goals are admirable; all his achievements are well-deserved and fully his. I have no doubt that he would have reached them single-handedly in one way or another. 2 – I have dedicated my life to helping him achieve his goals. I want to make very clear that this is a choice I made and that I am so grateful for the opportunity and for his trust. Yes, I gave/give a lot, but so did/does he. He shared his dream and passion with me, and now he is sharing the fruits of something he has worked 20+ years with me equally. I don’t think many wives or business partners can say that. My background was not in hospitality, but I have taken to it like a fish to water.
What are your favorite dishes from your childhood?
Nick: Just like Garfield, I love lasagna – my mum makes the greatest one (I think everyone says that), the comfort that dish brings to me is like a warm hug. Outside of that, anything on a BBQ (my South African roots) and custard-related.
Sina: There are certain foods that to this day catapult me straight back to my childhood, like fresh fried donuts smelling like the summer fair in my hometown, strawberries from my grandma’s garden, Brezel with butter, and, of course, Christmas cookies.
Do you still eat those dishes today?
Nick: I limit my lasagna intake these days but still love it. Food is connected to memories for me, I love reminiscing about my childhood through food.
Sina: I grew up in rural Germany, and my childhood diet was very different from what we eat now. I love to share some of my favorite treats with our children and create a connection for them.
Would you / have incorporated them in your menu?
Nick: All of our food incorporates memories and stories. for me food is a love language and you can’t truly express yourself without having personal links in your past to draw from. We do a beef dish inspired by biltong, which is a dried meat or jerky I grew up eating in Cape Town, it always takes me back.
Sina: I include many German wines (as well as New Zealand and South African) in our wine pairings and beverage offerings. Nick creates the menu, and our service team creates the connection. At the end of the meal, we want everyone to feel like they know Nick and me on a personal level; without the connection, they miss a big part of the experience.
Has your palate refined with time?
Nick: Definitely, I think your palate matures as you discover the world’s food. I really enjoy balance in cuisine and using each ingredient as its own hero; it all has to have a defining purpose on a plate. Education also comes with time, and you need to have this to understand what you are tasting. There are far too many food critics with young palates. I have been cooking for 25 years and would say my palate has always been good, but the huge difference is being able to understand your palate, which only comes with time and experience.
Sina: Oh, absolutely. From a young age, I loved to cook and experiment. My dad still has a “menu” I drew and cooked for Christmas when I was 11 or 12 years old; however, I was not exposed to many international cuisines until I left Germany. I have traveled so much and eaten so many different cuisines, now it feels like I have quite a solid base to ‘analyze’ flavors. But still, each year I taste more, and subsequently, the palate changes. Professionally, that change for me is most notable when it comes to wine. You build an internal library of every wine, vintage, and grape variety you taste, and ideally, that reference point is static, but this is not how it works in real life. My palate has changed significantly with each pregnancy – this might be a disadvantage in the classical sommelier library (think Master Sommelier tasting), but I consider it a huge benefit when pairing or recommending wines to our guests, as I have three different and distinct taste libraries to reference.
There is a very interesting room for discovery between “I don’t know this” and “I don’t like this”. Our guests are really enjoying this part of Nick’s food and my wine, the part of the unknown, and then realizing they do like it.
What is your favorite meal to make at home?
Nick: Alio – olio … a perfect spaghetti with olive oil, chili, garlic, and white wine. Finished with aged Parmesan and sea salt. You can’t get better. I love the taste of pasta!
Sina: We have two girls, 3 and 6 years old. Our older one eats everything, while our younger one is a very selective eater. My go-to meals are vegetarian with added meat for Nick and the girls.
And what can you make in your restaurant?
Nick: I love creating a menu from start to finish that is balanced and tells a story of where you are using the produce of the region. Getting the balance, texture, temperature, and creativity right is my favorite part. It’s like one big dish altogether.
Nick, what is the hardest thing about being a chef?
We are programmed to want to be the best we can be. it’s sometimes lonely when you are your toughest critic. In your mixing pot, you have creativity, running a business and keeping everyone happy creativity and business are often like opposing magnets and it is hard to get right, this in turn creates a lot of pressure and balancing this job with a personal life is a task on its own.
Sina, that’s probably where you are, Nick’s sounding board, and support system?
I do most of the restaurant admin – accounts, payroll, contracts, legal, etc. I also look after the website and marketing. And yes, I am the restaurant manager and sommelier. It’s really hard to find a balance, not just between family and work, but between all the roles you cover in the business on a daily basis.
Nick, what is the most rewarding part of being a chef?
It’s an instant reward business; every day is a new day, and every night you get to discover how customers are enjoying your craft and creativity.
You have two young children – what is their favorite food to eat?
Nick: We have two very different kids; one eats everything and has an expensive caviar obsession, and the other one is very much like me and eats nothing at all, unless it’s plain. My mother made the most exquisite food, and I didn’t appreciate it at the time. Kids with developed palates just taste too much, and it was only later in life that I learned to understand it. I think our youngest daughter, Kaia, is like this.
Sina: Nika loves all food, while Kaia is very particular, but her current hyper focus is chicken noodle soup.
I assume Sina does most of their cooking at home.
Nick: Sina is an incredible cook; my favorite place to eat in the world is at home with her.
You get to travel for work – what has been your best place to travel to as a couple?
Nick: We are very lucky to work and travel; we have tried to make a fun lifestyle out of a tough industry. This year already, we have worked in Cyprus, Bangalore, and have Thailand and South Africa for the first time coming up soon.
Sina: I don’t think I can pick favorites. Wherever we go, we try to eat and discover as much as we can. We ask chefs to take us to their favorite places, not the tourist destinations. Let’s talk about the bucket list! We would like to work in South America, go back to Japan, Korea, and discover more of the African Continent (that’s mainly me, Nick has seen much more than me).
And as a family?
Nick: We did a pop-up in Mauritius for two weeks just before the pandemic hit. We were stuck there, and it turned into an idyllic four-month island holiday for our little family. I will never forget those months together.
Exciting projects on the horizon?
Nick: This year’s project is balance, says the guy with three restaurants and international pop-ups this year alone, ha-ha. But it really is, we are very fortunate to be our own bosses, and trying our best to make small changes every week to benefit our family.
Sina. Always, ha-ha.
I have four little projects I am working on.
- A wine store and subscription service, to continue building connections with our guests outside of the restaurants.
- A picture book to replace the traditional wine menu at Ro.bo (our restaurant in Montignac), a different experience of wine ordering that goes beyond reading a list of wines and prices, but rather is based on discovery and understanding what you like and want.
- We are distilling our own gin with a local distillery. This will be the second year we are doing it, and it’s always an exciting experience.
- Merchandise! My background is in fashion design, so it feels like a full circle to offer a few little items for our guests to take home.
