Judy Joo facts for kids
Judy Joo, Chef, Writer and TV Personality
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| Born | Summit, New Jersey |
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| Education | Kent Place School, Summit, New Jersey, U.S. Columbia University, School of Engineering and Applied Science; French Culinary Institute |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Award(s) won
Official "Hansik" Food Ambassador- the Korean Food Foundation, Best Standalone Restaurant (Jinjuu Soho)- Bar and Restaurant Design Awards, Best Korean Restaurant (Jinjuu Hong Kong)- Tatler Magazine, Michelin Guide Plate (Jinjuu Soho) 2015-2018, Exceptional Travel and Hospitality Award- 21st Century Icon Awards
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Judy Joo is a chef, author, restaurateur, and television personality. She is best known as being the host of Food Network's "Korean Food Made Simple" S1 and S2 and an Iron Chef UK and her restaurant Seoul Bird in London, Las Vegas, and New York. Joo splits her time between New York City, London, and Asia.
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Early life and education
Judy Joo was born in Summit, NJ to Dr. Eui Don Joo and Mrs. Young Nim Park. Dr. Eui Don Joo was born in Chŏngju, North Korea and fled south when he was a child with his parents and 8 siblings. He grew up on Jeju Island in a refuge camp. Four of his older brothers were drafted into the Korean war. He attended Seoul National Medical School and worked as an army military physician upon graduation. He then moved to the United States for his internship and residency, specializing in psychiatry. He practiced psychiatry in Michigan, New Jersey, and New York before finally retiring at age 75. Mrs Young Nim Park was born in Icheon, South Korea and graduated from Sogang University. She moved to the USA to pursue a master's degree in chemistry at Ohio State University on a full scholarship.
Judy Joo attended the Kent Place School for girls in Summit, NJ from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She then went on to earn a B.S. from Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science. She later went to cooking school at The French Culinary Institute.
Career
Joo graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She began a career in the banking industry working at Goldman Sachs and then Morgan Stanley as an institutional fixed income derivatives saleswoman.
However, she switched careers and began working as a chef after attending The French Culinary Institute, (Pastry Arts) in 2004 and graduating at the top of her class. She then went to work at Saveur magazine in the test kitchens as well as in editorial. She also worked at Slow Food USA, where she founded their first inner city Slow Food in Schools program, "Harvest Time in Harlem".
A move to London led her to restaurants, where she worked at Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, including Maze, Petrus, Gordon Ramsay Restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's and The Boxwood Café. She has also completed "stages" in the restaurants The French Laundry, Nahm (Bangkok), and The Fat Duck.
In January 2015, she opened up her own restaurant in London called Jinjuu in Soho, London. Jinjuu was widely recognized to be London's premier modern Korean restaurant and expanded to three locations (Soho, Mayfair, and Hong Kong). She left the Jinjuu brand in 2019 and then opened a fast casual concept, Seoul Bird in 2020 in the Westfield Mall, Shepherd's Bush, London. A second location in 2021 followed in Canary Wharf and then Seoul Bird opened in the Aria Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas in 2022. Seoul Bird opened in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2023, home of The Brooklyn Nets NBA team.
She has two cookbooks, "Korean Food Made Simple" and "Korean Soul Food". She also writes regularly for national magazines and periodicals including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Forbes Travel Guide, National Geographic, and more. She is featured extensively in print media, digital, and television.
She sits on Columbia University's Board of Visitors and was the 2018 commencement graduation speaker. View her speech here.
Media
Joo was one of the four Iron Chefs on the cooking show Iron Chef UK, making her the first female Iron Chef in the UK and the second globally after Cat Cora in the USA. She was a resident judge on season four of the Food Network show The Next Iron Chef, and Kitchen Inferno. She hosted Korean Food Made Simple, S1 and S2, which was broadcast globally on Food Network, Cooking Channel. She starred inITV's Cooking with the Stars (S1 & S2), and regularly appears on various national shows in both the UK and USA. Joo appears regularly on morning shows (Today, Good Morning America, Sunday Brunch, Saturday Kitchen), and various other programs in the USA and UK including The Wendy Williams Show, James Martin Show, and more.
See also
- Korean Americans in New York City
- Notable Columbia University Alumni
