The restaurant business is never just about the owner, but always about the customer too. And the employees. And the suppliers. And the whole environment. Physics taught me to think big, to recognize systems, to understand processes holistically.

Of course, my parents would have preferred me to go straight into the restaurant business, because they both work there. But by studying surface physics with Prof. Jürg Osterwalder at the University of Zurich, a new world has opened for me that still shapes me today. For example, when I cook, I ask myself: Why, how, what for? These are typical questions in physics. And they range from the smallest molecular level, such as the preparation of thickening egg yolk at a certain temperature in a wok, to global structures such as water spinach supply chains. How can this be communicated?

Change is possible and necessary: I am the first academic in my family. To finance my studies in Zurich, for example, I tutored a construction worker who wanted to take the foreman’s exam in math. Better math instruction in schools would increase overall understanding of the natural sciences. And thus, also the ability to think in broad contexts. And that’s what we need today as a society, more than ever.”

Jing Chen, born in Vienna in 1995, studied physics at the University of Zurich and the Technological University Vienna. In 2019, he switched to the restaurant business—Chen is involved in seven restaurants—and, in addition to modern Chinese cuisine, he also permanently produces videos for his 150,000 followers, just on Instagram. In summer 2025, Chen revitalized the traditional Austrian restaurant Sopherl am Naschmarkt.