Rethinking Traditional Cuisines

One of the hallmarks of a good and creative chef is taking traditional recipes and giving them a new spin. Being this  daring means thinking outside the box. Chef Ann Kim has done this and with interesting results. Doing such has made her an up and coming bright star on the American culinary scene.

She was the subject of an extensive article in yesterday's New York Times section, written by Brett Anderson, restaurant critic and food writer. Chef Kim is a rebel of sorts, one with an interesting back story. Her family came from  South Korea and went to Columbia University. She didn't go the expected route of business, law, or medicine but chose acting instead. This did not go over well with her parents who disowned her for the choice. It did take off with Chef Kim landing parts in the most respected theater companies including Minneapolis' famed Guthrie Theater. Those paid off her student loans but left her feeling unfulfilled. Being Asian left her with limited and pigeon holed roles. Luckily she turned to  cooking . She referenced that turn of career in an emotional acceptance speech  when she won the James Beard award. Her first restaurant, eatery was Pizzeria Lola, a nod to her growing up  as one of the few Asians in a predominantly white suburb. This has fusion pies, with tomato sauce mixing with kim chi in her Lady Zaza pie and barbecue Korean beef ribs paired with arugula and scallions in another . Diners can finish with all American classics such as soft serve ice cream she and her sisters loved during their trips to McDonald's and chocolate chip cookies and milk.Her other pizzerias are Yong Joni and Hello, the last featuring New York slice and sandwich in Edina,  Minnesota

Now she is opening up Sooki and Mimi's , named for her maternal grandmother and her "adopted" American grandmother, mother of her white Minnesotan uncle. Mimi or Thelma Lange also sponsored the Kim family when they came from Korea in 1977. Her grandmother continued all the traditions including the culinary ones of making kimchi and gochujang, Korean chili paste. Mimi wanted Ms. Kim and her sister to do the opposite - assimilate. She took them to the orchestra and Children's Theater, along with reading books in their suburban town of Apple Valley. One would think the restaurant would be another fusion pizzeria No!!!! Chef Kim is opening up a taqueria inspired eatery thanks to her trip to Valle de Guadalup, Mexico. She tasted handmade heirloom blue corn tortillas that moved her to tears. The restaurant doesn't have a Latino sounding name , for fear of pigeonholing it and the menu will never be exclusively south of the border. She promises a dish with gravlax and lefse, Norwegian potato bread - a nod to the heavily Scandinavian population and possibly even churros - undoubtedly with a twist.

Chef Ann Kim's thinking outside the box has made her the country's most innovative chefs. Her new restaurant will surely be a hit. The dishes will be a marriage and salute to all sorts of different cuisines, from traditional to fusion.