mutemuse
INTERVIEW

Tender Power That runs the KitchenJamie Jo, Chef

Jamie Jo, chef-owner of ‘Flower Child’ and ‘Wild Flower’ in Bangbae-dong, says one can only become a true fighter in the kitchen when one reveals the genuine self. She emphasized the power of gentle charisma, just like the way raindrops pierce a hole in a rock across time. Meeting her has reminded me of poet Min-bok Ham’s poem ‘Tender Power.’





Q. Chefs usually find their ‘food identities’ in places they were born and raised. You were born in Korea and spent your childhood in California. Has your background influenced your cooking at all?
A. I moved to the United States when I was in third grade. In the U.S., I spent time with many immigrants from different cultural backgrounds. Going to my Armenian friend’s home to eat his mom’s homemade food was something I got to do frequently. Thanks to all those experiences, I became someone who strives to cherish diversity even when I cook. I’ve realized at a young age that the more cultures come in harmony, the more original and creative the end result becomes.

Q. Where do you get your inspiration from?
A. I tend to tell stories through the dishes I create. I particularly like to convey my childhood memories through food. I would call a steak dish ‘campfire,’ based on memories of having barbecues by the bonfire at camp sites. I once even served a dish that resembled a pencil and an eraser on top of a diary with a photo of me from my childhood. I’ve certainly become subtler these days. [laughs]

Q. Mutemuse is a brand that emphasizes the importance of storytelling. Every product has its own story behind its name and copy. For example, ‘Sorbonne Green,’ one of the brand’s best sellers, was inspired by the memory of seeing an old book at a philosophy bookstore near Sorbonne University in France.
A. What a great story! That reminds me of the salad dish I created a while ago called ‘Forest.’ It resembled the atmosphere of the forest I used to go to with my father when I was young. The dish literally looked like a forest. Telling a story through a product(or a dish) is surly an attempt to establish connections with the consumers, hoping to make a sharable memory instead of leaving it a solely personal experience.

Q. While ‘Flower Child,’ restaurant based on your life in California, specializes in New American cuisine, ‘Wild Flower’ represents present-day Seoul and specializes in ‘Seoul cuisine.’ Could you elaborate on what ‘Seoul cuisine’ is? The concept sounds fascinating.
A. It’s only been 4~5 years since I came to Seoul and it seems like this city has gone through so much cultural change within those years. It has become more dynamic and diverse. I wanted to reflect the course of the city through the dishes I create. Dishes that not only reflect the current diverse state of Seoul, but also relate to those who were raised in the City. One good example is the ‘truffle buckwheat noodles.’ It started off from one childhood memory where I had cold bean noodle soup in Seoul. For that dish, I mixed ground pine nuts and ‘chodang sundubu’(soft tofu made with seawater) with buckwheat noodles to make up for the blandness and the chalky texture of the cold bean noodle soup.





Q. You used to work as a translator at a government agency before becoming a chef. A ‘Translator turned chef’ aligns perfectly with Mutemuse’s campaign slogan, ‘Girls Go Everywhere!’
A. I majored in international studies at college and had the opportunity to meet with people from all walks of life while working as a translator. It was fun but wasn’t a perfect fit for me. I realized what I truly enjoyed was cooking. So I went back to the United States to study culinary arts at the late age of 28. Seeing people of my age group who had already built their careers as chefs for 10 years let me down a bit from time to time, but having met people from various backgrounds as a translator helped me later on when I started to run a restaurant. I tell myself, if you’re faithful to the present, you’ll be rewarded someday. Whatever you learn will turn out to be useful.

Q. Many people say, “women can’t bear the heat of the kitchen” even though cooking within a household is still considered a woman’s job.
A. I actually got to learn about wine in the United States. While most teachers there were men, one of them was a female sommelier. She was an amazing person. It wasn’t some androgynous appeal. She was not only feminine but also someone who exerted ‘soft power.’ Meeting her has led me to accept myself for who I am.

Q. An overwhelming majority of world-famous chefs are men. What do you think about this?
A. I used to dislike how people distinguished chefs by their gender. I thought, “We have the same job. What does our gender have to do with it?” One day, I had the opportunity to emcee a premiere for a French documentary called ‘The Goddesses of Food.’ Through that documentary, I realized that our industry is structured to put more spotlight on male chefs. Male chefs help each other through the web of social connections they’ve built while female chefs tend to focus on their own work since it is more difficult for them to organize gatherings due to housework and childcare. So men have more opportunities to learn from famous chefs, naturally leading the media to put more spotlight on them.





Q. Although the circumstances are not the same, Korea doesn’t stray too far away from the global trend either. As the concept of ‘celebrity chefs’ became prominent in Korea, chefs, and especially male chefs have drawn a lot of attention.
A. About 2 years ago, a popular cooking show reached out to have me on but it never went through. At the time, I was told that it’s not the right time to have female chefs on TV yet. I didn’t want to make media appearances back then but hearing that made me realize that I shouldn’t just work on my own. I felt the responsibility to start voicing myself so that younger female chefs can have hope for the future. Mutemuse’s slogan, ‘Girls Go Everywhere’ touched my heart in that sense. Even though it might not be visible from the outside, there are wonderful ladies in each industry if you look closer. They just haven’t been publicized by the media yet like the men have been.

Q. Is there a female chef you look up to and admire?
A. Dominique Crenn. She’s a French American chef I used to work for. Back then, the environment was just awful, and Dominique looked tired all the time. A few years later though, she became the first female chef to receive 3 Michelin stars in the U.S. In the meantime, I started running my own restaurant and realized how amazing she was at her job. She’s currently fighting breast cancer but hasn’t stopped working as a chef even after shaving her head for chemotherapy. She says that she wants to continue taking care of the kitchen she had built for as long as she can. That’s what a true fighter looks like. Everyone can pretend to be strong, but only a few can reveal one’s fragile self to others.

Q. If you could ‘go everywhere,’ where would you go?
A. Europe and the U.S. have strict laws regarding ingredients. Thanks to the strict regulations, regional specialties maintain certain levels of quality. If I have the opportunity, I would like to go visit countries that have strict laws regarding food products and bring apply the system to Korea. There are amazing regional food specialties in Korea, like Gapyeong’s pine nuts and Chungjoo’s apples, but these products are not managed properly. I think the system can only be set in place by someone who understands the responsibilities of a farmer, distributor, and a cook. As someone with an international studies degree who handles food products on a daily basis, I think I can be of help in bringing the system to Korea.






Text / Bora Kang
Photographer / Siyoung Song