A long-time friend of Fernando Jorge and recent collaborator of the brand, chef Rose Chalalai Singh is known for her effortless hosting skills. From welcoming diners to her kitchen to orchestrating artful fashion events, she infuses every conversation with the same warmth and generosity she brings to her table.

Originally from Thailand, she has spent over a decade building her career in Paris, where her restaurants – Ya Lamaï and Rose Kitchen – drew an artistic and fashionable crowd. Fascinating, quick-witted and deeply caring, she has a gift for making guests feel part of her world – whether cooking for stars or feeding friends in her Bastille lab kitchen.

In the latest chapter in our ongoing Owning the Moment series, Rose shares her favourite moment of the day, her philosophy on what makes the perfect host, and a magical story of a lost (and found) piece of jewellery. 

I like dawn and sunset, because I like the light in-between. I’m a morning person, I don’t sleep a lot, I’ve always been like that. But I’m also very happy to have 8 hours if that happens!

I think, at this moment, Paris is the best place to live in Europe, it's becoming more international. Lots of people are moving here, so many restaurants, new shops and things opening everyday, and it's easy to get around. I travel a lot and every time I come back to Paris, I realise that it's a very beautiful city. You’ve got to leave to love it.

In 2022 I closed my restaurant, Rose Kitchen. I loved it when I started it, it was a big hit and we had lots of people coming in, but over time I felt that I was missing out on so many things, staying all the time in the restaurant. I wanted my freedom.

Two years ago, I decided to open a lab kitchen and private dining room in Paris where I could experiment, cook and host. And also for my son to cook for his friends or his events when he needs to—we spend a lot of time together, working and eating. This new chapter, I feel very lucky to be able to do it.

I like to make people happy—and when you make people happy, you're happy too. I like to invite people who have never met, so it's like creating a new circle—I like people together.

You have to be generous, and you have to pay attention to what is going on that table. And when people are having a good time, that magic can happen.

People have a good time when you do something personal and with love. They feel it and they will know. It comes out in the food. 

Everything, everything around—the light, the people, the ingredients, everything I see, the taste, the smell, the situation of each location. When I go to the market, I see something and think Oh, I want to cook this. Or when I find ceramics, pots and pans, or kitchen tools—Oh, I want to cook something with this. Travelling is very important for inspiration.

And also requests, like when my son says, “Oh Mama, do you remember once you cooked this...”

It happened recently when I was working in Italy in the summer. I couldn’t find my passport and I turned the room upside down looking for it everywhere, calling so many people (when you can’t find your passport, especially when you are abroad, it’s like the end of the world).

I went through all my things, somehow I opened the inside cover of the suitcase and I found two rings with ruby stones that my father gave me, a pair of ruby earrings and a small pearl necklace that I had been looking for a year, I was so happy.

I love to wear jewellery because it makes you sparkle, it makes you shine and it's so personal. Jewellery represents who you are.

I wear jewellery everyday, and I think it's very important to wear it. I wear earrings every day, even while l'm cooking. A lot of people keep the precious jewellery in the closet or in the safe box and they only wear it when they go to weddings or gala dinners and all that.

I think you have to honour all the precious things that you have, bring them out and keep them close to you by wearing them. It’s a good thing to do and a good way to be happy with what you have.