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
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.
Early life and education
Judy Joo was born in Summit, New Jersey, New Jersey to Dr. Eui Don Joo and Mrs. Young Nim Park. Her father was born in Chŏngju, North Korea and fled south when he was a child with his parents and eight 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. Her mother 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.
In 2004, Joo switched careers and began working as a chef after attending The French Culinary Institute, (Pastry Arts) and graduated 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".[6][7]
A move to London led Joo 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.[6]
In January 2015, Joo 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).[8][9] 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 was opened in 2021 in Canary Wharf and then Seoul Bird opened in the Aria Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas in 2022.[10] Seoul Bird opened in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2023, home of The Brooklyn Nets NBA team.
She has two cookbooks,[11] "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.
Joo was one of the four Iron Chefs on the cooking show Iron Chef UK, making her the first female Iron Chef in the United Kingdom and the second globally after Cat Cora in the United States. She was a resident judge on season four of the Food Network show The Next Iron Chef, and Kitchen Inferno.[6] She hosted "Korean Food Made Simple" for two seasons, which was broadcast globally on Food Network, Cooking Channel. She starred inITV's Cooking with the Stars (Season 1 & Season 2), and regularly appeared on various national shows in both the United Kingdom and United States. Joo appears regularly on morning shows "(Today", "Good Morning America", "Sunday Brunch", "Saturday Kitchen"), and various other programs in the United States and United Kingdom including "The Wendy Williams Show", James Martin Show, and others.
