Ann Kim facts for kids

Ann Kim is a famous chef and restaurant owner in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has won a special award called the James Beard Award for her amazing cooking.

Early Life and Education

Ann Kim was born in South Korea. When she was four years old, in 1977, her family moved to the United States. They settled in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

She went to Apple Valley High School. Later, she studied English at Columbia University in New York City. She graduated from college in 1995. After college, Ann worked as an actress for eight years. Then, she decided to try something new: opening restaurants!

Culinary Journey

Ann Kim loved the pizza she had eaten in New York. She decided to learn how to make great pizza herself. She even trained at a special pizza school in San Francisco.

Pizzeria Lola and Hello Pizza

In 2011, Ann Kim and her partner, Conrad Leifur, opened their first restaurant. It was a pizza place called Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis. A famous food expert, Andrew Zimmern, said it had "the best pizza in America." In 2012, another well-known chef, Guy Fieri, visited Pizzeria Lola for his TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Later in 2012, Ann and Conrad opened a second pizza spot. It was called Hello Pizza and was in Edina, Minnesota. This smaller restaurant sold pizza slices and whole pies.

Young Joni

In 2016, Ann Kim and Conrad Leifur opened their third restaurant. It was named Young Joni and was located in northeast Minneapolis. This restaurant offered more than just pizza. It featured food cooked in a hearth (a special oven) and had flavors inspired by Korean cooking.

Young Joni quickly became very popular. Magazines like GQ and websites like Eater called it one of the best new restaurants in America. The Star Tribune newspaper named Young Joni its Restaurant of the Year in 2017.

James Beard Award

In 2019, Ann Kim received a very important honor. She won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest. This award is like an Oscar for chefs and is a big deal in the food world.

Sooki & Mimi and Kim's

In 2021, Ann Kim opened her fourth restaurant, Sooki & Mimi. It was in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. This restaurant focused on dishes made with special corn dough called masa. Ann was inspired by amazing corn tortillas she tasted in Mexico.

In 2023, Sooki & Mimi closed. Ann Kim then opened a new restaurant in the same spot on November 7, 2023. She simply named it Kim's. However, Kim's closed its doors on August 30, 2024.

Chef's Table: Pizza

In 2022, Ann Kim was featured on a popular Netflix show. It was an episode of Chef's Table: Pizza. The show focused on her journey as a chef and her love for making pizza.