Following their culinary collaboration earlier this month, the two chefs talk candidly about life as females in the food industry

One left a highflying job in finance, the other traded the law firm for the kitchen. But Judy Joo and Mina Park share more than just the common career path. Both are invested in promoting the depth and diversity of Korean cuisine, and despite living halfway across the world from each other—Joo in London, and Park in Hong Kong—the two managed, over countless WhatsApp messages and emails, to create a culinary collaboration earlier this September at Jinjuu. With such a rare opportunity to get the two together in the same city, we asked Park—our regular correspondent and Korean expert—to ask Joo a few questions. Here's how their conversation went. 

Mina Park: Judy, you left corporate life for culinary school around 2004, so it's been about 13 years. I just left the scene less than a year ago. Do you ever miss it? People ask me that all the time!

Judy Joo: I definitely don’t miss being in finance, but there are definitely certain perks (such as the paycheck!) that I miss! I did not love finance, and I do love food—so I am really pursuing my passion. So, it is a trade off.  

MP: You had a few different jobs right after cooking school, including working at a magazine. Did you always want to open your own restaurant? When did you decide to do it?

JJ: I never planned to open a restaurant.  A lot in my life has come through serendipity. I was presented with the opportunity without really seeking it out. Andrew Hales, now my executive chef at Jinjuu in London, was vital in making this decision. We had been planning a concept for a while, and without him it would have never come to fruition. 

MP: We’ve talked about the boys clubs we've encountered in investment banks and finance and also in restaurant kitchens. What advice do you have for young women thinking of going into F&B?

JJ: You have to work twice as hard and have thick skin. Be formidable and work smart. It is difficult and physically and emotionally draining, but extremely rewarding as well.  There are a lot of sacrifices, especially in the beginning, but stick with it.  

MP: I found that making the career switch wasn't possible without the support of friends and mentors—in particular, May Chow [of Little Bao]. Did you have any specific mentors who helped you along the way?

JJ: Yes, I have had a number of mentors along the way. Most notable was Dorothy Cann Hamilton who was the founder of The French Culinary Institute, the cooking school I attended. She unfortunately died last year in a car accident, but she will always be my guiding light. Another one of my mentors is Geoffrey Zakarian in New York. He’s been in the industry for a long time and always a source of sage advice for me. Janice Gabriel, my producer for two seasons of Korean Food Made Simple, is another beacon for me.  She is the first person to put me on TV, and taught me early on to push and believe in myself. It is important to have good mentors in any career that you choose.  

MP: Do you remember the first Korean dish you ever learned to make? And how did you learn?

JJ: My mom taught me to make dumplings (mandoo) at a very early age.  At first it felt like forced child labor, as we had to make hundreds of dumplings in one seating. But, as I got older I learned to enjoy it and became quite fast at it as well.  

 

Tatler Asia
Above A Korean feast by Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan

MP: Korean food in Hong Kong has really exploded in the past few years. First, there was BBQ, then ChiMek (chicken and beer), then modern Korean places like Jinjuu. People are learning more about other facets of Korean cuisine like Buddhist temple cooking thanks to Netflix. Any predictions for what's next for Korean cuisine?

JJ: Korean vegetarian cuisine will become quite popular. Buddhist cuisine is a bit different in the fact that it doesn’t use any garlic or onion (or anything in the allium family). Straight up Korean vegetarian cuisine bursts with flavour (it uses a lot of garlic and onion), and is very satiating. So, it doesn’t taste like diet food and it fills you up, while still being very healthy.

People are becoming more health conscious in general, and plant based diets are increasingly in more demand. Korea harvests vegetables from the mountains, valleys and the sea, so there is wide and exciting variety as well.  

MP: Through your TV work, you've really reached a huge audience and spread the word about Korean food. What was the most surprising aspect of your TV work, whether related to the response or actually producing the TV show itself or otherwise?

JJ: I am continually surprised at the vast reach that media has and the influence that the show has had on people. I received a letter from a Korean mother in Wyoming that her 8 year old daughter wanted to dress up as me for Halloween. And, a family from Wisconsin booked their entire holiday around coming to my restaurant in London. I have even had fans send me photos of them eating at the places that I highlight in my show in Seoul.  People are intrigued and interested in Korea and Korean food in a very enthusiastic way that I did not predict.  And, I have become a role model for many young Asian girls in the West who don’t see a lot of Asian faces on TV, which I did not expect as well.

MP: You’re going to Busan after Hong Kong. What's the first dish you're going to have when you land?

A hot spicy seafood soup called haemultang.  It is a fiery pot of the freshest seafood Busan has to offer.  The unusual thing about this dish is that all of the seafood is whole; whole baby octopus, crabs, prawns, clams and fish swimming in a deep red chilli stock.  It is as if the ocean threw up into a spicy broth! But is it so tasty and warms me from the inside out.