Jonathan Romano became a Michelin master chef by accident

Chef Jonathan Romano's early life 

Romano was born in the Philippines and moved to Norway with his mother and several of his five siblings when he was only two years old.

“I don’t remember living in the Philippines, I was so young when we moved to Norway,” Romano recalls. 

But when Romano came, three of his siblings had to stay behind while his mother worked to support their immigration. After a year, the family reunited. Together, shared a one-bedroom apartment in Anker apartments in Oslo. 

“It didn’t feel small or different at all. It was what we knew. As a Catholic family, we were close and the apartment was our home,” says Romano. 

Romano’s family moved to the Holmlia neighbourhood in Oslo, of which Jonathan is proud of. He has lots of good memories from there, including many with his close childhood friends who still live there today. Sports was a big part of his childhood, particularly skateboarding, Taekwondo, and indoor hockey.

Norwegian champion

“It was around this time I started to see some differences in my family compared to the traditional Norwegian family. There were a lot of kids in my family and I figured out that to afford to take part in sports, I was going to have to do my part. I learned what hard work and dedication was from a young age,” says Romano. 

He got his first job at 13 years old as an assistant in a toy store. He started to save his own money and was eventually able to participate in sports with his friends. His competitive spirit came out at a young age. Romano's brother, Joel Romano, operated two Taekwondo gyms, where he started training. He went on to become a Norwegian Champion in the sport.

“I became champion a lot of kilograms ago,” Romano recalls laughing. “I found the sport exciting and got a real sensation of what it was like to succeed. Something that followed me through the military and what would become my career as a chef.” 

Seeing how important sports are for children, he now supports sports clubs. His hope is that all children will be able to participate. 

Becoming a Norwegian master chef

Jonathan became a father when he was 18 years old. However, he and his partner did not get along as parents. After the relationship ended, he entered the military at the age of 20, and trained to become an officer at the military academy. This gave him perspective on life, and he excelled there. When he left the military, he needed to find a job. His original plan was to study to become a realtor. Luckily for the Norwegian food scene, things didn’t end up that way.

A relative ran the canteen in a Norwegian government building. There was a vacancy there. Romano got the job and was ready to start on his first day as a server. He was very excited because the canteen even served the Prime Minister’s office.

Romano recalls his first day on the job: 

“I showed up and was ready to become a waiter. My boss handed me a chef’s uniform. I thought to myself, ‘what is this’? I kindly told him that I was supposed to be a waiter, not working in the kitchen. To that, he responded, ‘nope, you are working in the kitchen’.” 

Romano remembers putting on his uniform and actually feeling really good. He thought to himself, "this uniform suits me." When he walked into the kitchen, the first person he met was the woman who would become his wife, Anne Lene Navarsete Romano. 

First kitchen experience

The canteen made everything from scratch. Romano’s first task was to butter bread for lunch sandwiches. Romano thought to himself, “I can do this.” He presented his work to the head chef, who was not pleased. Jonathan didn’t understand why. The chef went on to explain that the edges of the bread would dry out. Jonathan redid his work and buttered the bread completely to the edges. Once again, the chef told Jonathan his job wasn’t done. He needed to add garnish. While many might grow discouraged by the experience, Jonathan once again got that champion feeling.

“I felt such a sense of accomplishment. My boss presented me with a task that I had never done before, and didn’t know how to do, but I did it. That feeling stuck with me, the feeling of immediate success,” says Romano. 

Romano applied his love of learning and attention to detail during the next year. His hard work paid off as he won a scholarship to attend a culinary school . He finished at the top of his class both years. Following his education, Romano was required to do two years of on-the-job training as an apprentice. However, he completed his training in just one year, passing his exams with top grades.

High-end restaurant jobs in Oslo

Romano went on to work at several well-known, high-end Michelin-restaurants in Oslo. His resume includes stints at Bagatelle, Statholdergaarden, Hotel Continental and Oslo's  Grand Hotel. His first job was at Bagatelle, the best restaurant in Norway at the time. The famous Norwegian head chef Eyvind Hellstrøm gave Romano the job. 

It was at this time he met someone by chance who would become an extremely important person and mentor in his life, Alex Cabiao. The two would later open Alex Sushi. According to Romano, Alex Sushi took Cabiao’s knowledge of sushi and paired it with his own fine dining experience. The menu he and Alex created together back then remains unchanged today. The two men are credited with single-handedly upping the sushi game in Norway. Romano went on to successfully open and co-own several sushi restaurants and the restaurant Kamai, which he sold in 2016.

Many credit Jonathan Romano for helping put Norway on the gastronomic map. Romano says his success has had a domino effect. He found something he was good at, became passionate about it, and dug in. Romano believes that in order to be successful, you have to work hard, something he has done his entire life. 

“Guests that come to Aquarie will enjoy some of the world’s best seafood. We offer a great wine collection and a stunning view of where their meal came from,” says Romano.