New Orleans Trained

In 2009, Jae relocated from Seoul to New York to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, learning both classic cooking techniques and a new American culture. Soon after arriving, Jae began planning her first visit to New Orleans — a friend from Korea, knowing Jae’s lifelong passion for jazz music, had suggested she take a trip to New Orleans to experience the city and its culture. “I went to the jazz club in Seoul every weekend when I was younger, so I was excited to visit New Orleans and learn more about food and American culture. For me, the relationship between food and music and flavor is very powerful.”

During a short trip to New Orleans on a weekend away from culinary school classes, Jae tried Cajun food for the first time. “The shrimp and grits was the one for me,” Chef Jae says, “I tasted and it felt like home. That trip changed my life.” Jae quickly fell in love with Cajun cuisine and Southern traditions, and vowed that eventually she would come back to cook the food she loved so much. 

“Food is the center of my relationship with my mother, and many of my dishes reflect that, but jazz music is something I learned about from my father.” Chef Jae’s father, a long-time jazz enthusiast, had always told her of the great New Orleanian musicians. “The combination of food and music is very special to me,” Jae says, “it reminds me of my family. After that first trip I spent a lot of nights at the CIA making gumbo and listening to New Orleans’ music. I saw it already as my second home.” 

Chef Jae’s work ethic and commitment to excellence paid off when she accomplished her first goal in the food world and was hired as an extern at Restaurant August in New Orleans. “I came to New Orleans in 2009 to cook. That year the Saints won the Super Bowl, I got to experience a Mardi Gras, it was all wonderful. Everything happened at once. I decided to come back after school.” 

After graduation from the CIA in 2011, Chef Jae accepted a position at Restaurant August under New Orleans food legend Michael Gulotta, quickly rising through the ranks while honing her abilities in the kitchen. Stints in other kitchens at restaurants including Domenica, Herbsaint, Luke, and Dooky Chase soon followed, as Jae’s technical skills and work ethic made her a sought-after chef for collaborations and innovative food projects. As Chef Jae cooked she continued to discover more similarities between Korean and Cajun-Creole cuisine including an emphasis on preparations of abundant local seafood, lots of barbecued pork, enthusiastic use of pickles and preserves, heavy spice and hot sauces, and the importance of sharing food together with family. “I felt so close to Korea when I cooked New Orleans’ food.” 

In 2011 Chef Jae worked at Dooky Chase under the legendary chef Leah Chase, a titan of American cuisine and the Queen of Creole cooking. “I call her my Creole grandma; the opportunity to work in her kitchen was very special to me.” Jae credits Chef Leah Chase with teaching her the spirit and true form of Southern cuisine and hospitality,  “She treated everyone the same — could have been the pope, the president, me, the dishwasher — she was never intimidated, never changed the way she talked. She had a huge impact on me as a chef. And as a person.” This philosophy serves as the backbone of Chef Jae’s culinary philosophy and personal life.

While working in New Orleans, Chef Jae began a series of collaborations with DinnerLab as a featured chef, showcasing Korean cuisine with New Orleanian flair in cities including Chicago, Miami, Austin, Boston, Birmingham, Nashville, and New York. This innovative series of dinners and culinary events allowed Chef Jae to refine her Korean-Cajun concepts while exposing thousands of Americans to her distinctive cuisine and unique flavors. “I loved doing events like that where I can tell people my own story, I love seeing people’s excited faces, it makes me want to cook.”

The opportunity to serve her food and connect with people around the country led Chef Jae to prepare for her next step in front of larger audiences, “I wanted to start achieving my lifelong ambition: to share my own KJUN cuisine and my journey through America with others. I decided that the next step for me would be in New York.”  

New York City Refined

In 2014, Chef Jae moved to New York City to work in some of the city’s most prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants including Oceana, Le Bernardin, the NoMad Restaurant, and most recently as the sous chef of the famed Café Boulud. “I came to New York to get better. I knew how to cook, but I needed to refine the skills in the kitchen, and I was ready to learn more about other parts of running a restaurant.” New York’s high-powered kitchens gave Chef Jae the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the industry’s biggest names, including Chefs Eric Ripert and Daniel Boulud.  

Despite long hours in the kitchen, Chef Jae stayed focused on her dreams, “The only way to kick some ass is to get your ass kicked first,” Jae laughs, “I knew what I wanted, that’s why I moved to New York. “I learned a lot from every job — at Oceana the importance of acting with a sense of urgency. At NoMad about being versatile in a lot of cooking techniques. I learned a lot about coordination and working with partners while I was a sous chef at Café Boulud. Le Bernandin taught me so much — Chef Ripert’s attention to detail was incredible. And also that they didn’t have to always follow the textbook. It was good to have their own identity of food and service. I started to apply that same strategy to my food and since then my career has changed.” 

In addition to her work in restaurants, Chef Jae remains committed to celebrating diversity and cultural exchange through her culinary art. Her collaborations with partner organizations use food to bridge cultural gaps and tell intimate personal stories. She has partnered with the Korean Cultural Center in New York for a series of dinners and online content, authored a cookbook chapter for the Vilcek Foundation aimed at exploring the diversity of the immigrant experience, and has received national attention for her StoryCourse dinner pairing Chef Jae’s dishes with her own personal story of making it as a chef in New York. Chef Jae’s culinary abilities and inspiring personal background have made her a force for cultural change within the food industry. 

In 2021, Chef Jae launched her first start-up, KJUN, in the middle of the pandemic, with an entire menu of innovative Korean-Cajun fusion dishes. Working from a basement catering kitchen, Chef Jae prepped, took orders, cooked, and ran deliveries before returning to wash dishes. Her unique, complex cuisine soon had New Yorkers captivated, “I didn’t think that many people would order, but they did.” KJUN received critical acclaim from the New Yorker Magazine, Bloomberg Food, the Infatuation, and Eater. “Eventually I got kicked out of my kitchen space because I was taking over with all the orders,” Jae laughs, “it makes me so happy to see that customers like my food.” In 2021, Chef Jae competed on Bravo’s Emmy-Award winning culinary show Top Chef Season 19: Houston, while restructuring KJUN for expansion in 2022. She looks forward to continuing to feed hungry guests for years to come. “Maya Angelou says your legacy is every life that you have touched. For me I feel like my legacy will be the life of every person that I have cooked for.”