Shokupan Leeds: Meet the chef and former engineer who quit his job to open a new Japanese cafe

Alan Tang and his wife Alison opened Shokupan in the city centre last month. They serve Japanese sandwiches made with shokupan - a style of milk bread - as well as rice bowls, coffee and Japanese-inspired cakes.

Alan spent a decade working as a mechanical engineer, before quitting his job to open a modern Chinese takeaway in Bradford and later snapping up the cafe in Wellington Street. He was born into a foodie family - his mum is an avid homecook, his dad has worked in takeaways and restaurants and his brother owns his own food businesses in Leeds.

Alan, 36, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We come from a big family and I’m the youngest, so I’ve always helped my mum cook - I still do now. When I worked in an office, my mind wandered a lot. I’d be Googling what we’d make for dinner, what DIY jobs I was going to do. Alison has always been the pusher for me, she encouraged me that I knew what I was doing and told me to just do it.”

Alison quit her job in digital marketing and the pair opened their first takeaway in Bradford in a building owned by Alan’s dad - but their sights were always set on finding the perfect place in Leeds.

Alan said: “I got the full experience - running a business and running a kitchen. I took that as an opportunity for me to learn a lot, and quickly, with the least amount of risk.”

“Being an engineer, I love the uniformity and perfectness of Japanese food,” Alan added. “The main thing we do at Shokupan is the katsu sando, which is breaded meat or veg in a sandwich. On top of that we do Katsu curry, which compliments what we already have in the kitchen well, and a broken down version of the sandwich which is a tonkatsu.

“We try to keep the menu minimal. For me, I want every single dish to be perfect. I don’t want to do items on the menu that none of our staff eat themselves.”

Running their own business has given Alan and Alison more flexibility while looking after their two young boys - and they’re starting to see their dream come to life.

“The feedback has been really good,” Alan said. “We’re starting to get our regulars in - we’ve obviously had train strikes after train strikes, and Christmas, so we’ve opened at a funny time. But it’s starting to ramp up now and get really good reviews.”

As well as crafting Shokupan’s menu, the cafe, previously Appetite Deli, has been renovated by Alan and Alison, who did most of the work by hand.

Alan added: “I really enjoy making good food and the freedom it gives us, having ownership of your own project. You’ve got to have a real interest in what you want to do. But just take the opportunities that are there - there’s always opportunity everywhere. If you really want to do something, I believe you can do anything.”