From “sous chef” in his mother’s home kitchen growing up in Korea to Executive Chef at Jungsik, New York City’s first Korean restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars, Chef Daeik Kim has risen through the ranks in the culinary world.
From a young age, Chef Kim enjoyed spending time in the kitchen cooking with his mother and found deep inspiration from the television programs he watched, where talented chefs shared their passion, creativity and dedication to their craft. It sparked a dream that has led him to the present day—pursuing cooking as his life’s work.
Chef’s Guiding Principle to Plating and the Ingredients that Support It
Chef Kim believes the key to a good dish is all in the plating: centering the composition around simplicity and clarity. For a dish to be truly great, every element should have a purpose and contribute meaningfully to it. If an element does not contribute to the flavor, texture, aroma or overall dining experience, its presence is unnecessary and only overcomplicates the dish. The core of Chef Kim’s plating philosophy is to highlight the essence of the food itself and trust that everything else will come together.
That same principle carries over to the products from our farm that he favors in the kitchen at Jungsik: New Zealand Spinach and Petite Red Ribbon Sorrel.
While he uses both ingredients as components in his salad dishes, they’re not often used in large quantities. Instead, they’re placed sparingly and with intention, allowing their distinctive flavors and textures to add balance and refinement to each plate.
What Chef Kim particularly appreciates about these two staple ingredients from our farm is the fresh texture of the New Zealand Spinach and the bright acidity of the Petite Red Ribbon Sorrel. He shares that they complement other ingredients beautifully while still maintaining their own unique character.
A bonus favorite ingredient of Chef Kim’s is Micro Cilantro. It’s an herb with incredible versatility that pairs with many of the flavors and ingredients found in Korean cuisine, adding a desirable freshness and aromatic complexity to his dishes. Outside of cooking in the Jungsik kitchen, Micro Cilantro is one herb he admits he personally enjoys, which naturally leads him to incorporate it into many of his dishes at the restaurant.
Simple, Yet Impactful Advice to a Chef
One of the most valuable pieces of advice Chef Kim has ever received is simple… so simple that telling it to a chef who has devoted his life to cooking almost sounds like a no-brainer.
Here’s the advice:
”Food must be delicious.”
Chef Daeik Kim shares that storytelling, beautiful presentation, memorable service, elegant dining rooms, fine tableware and thoughtful hospitality are all important. However, he strongly believes that dining ultimately comes down to the experience of tasting food and experiencing its flavor, texture, aroma and temperature.
“No matter how impressive everything else may be, if the food itself is not delicious, all of those efforts lose their meaning. It is a principle that continues to guide me whenever I create a new dish.”
A Look Ahead to Something New and Exciting for Chef Daeik Kim
Chef Kim is especially excited to share the launch of MUJE, a new sister restaurant to Jungsik that opened this July in New York City.
MUJE is a project that Chef Kim and his team have been working on for a long time, and they’re finally seeing their efforts come to fruition. He shares that everyone has invested an incredible amount of passion, dedication and effort into bringing it to life, and they’re excited to share a new culinary experience and perspective with every guest who walks through their doors.