In 2003 after graduating from Columbia University with an engineering degree and a career on Wall Street Judy Joo decided it was time for a change. Realizing that cooking was her passion she enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York and earned her Grand Diplome in Pastry Arts before becoming a test kitchen and editorial assistant at Saveur magazine. Enthusiastic about Britain's booming food scene Judy moved to London in 2007 and joined Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as a pastry chef. Over the next few years she worked at other Gordon Ramsay restaurants including Maze Claridge's Pétrus and Boxwood Café as a chef and pastry chef. Judy has also worked in restaurants around the world including the three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry in Yountville California; the three-Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck in Berkshire England; and the one-Michelin-starred Nahm restaurant in Bangkok.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 NBC News | 2016-07-29 15:59:43 |  12,297 Views |
The Must-Have Pantry Items for Cooking Korean Dishes | NBC Asian America
In 2011 Judy became the first head chef for The Playboy Club London and in the same year she became a regular face on TV with Iron Chef UK securing the title of “Iron Chef UK” making her the second female Iron Chef in the world. Following her success on the British show Judy became a regular judge on Iron Chef America. Her expertise in Korean cooking led to her own shows: Judy Joo’s Return to Korea and Korean Food Made Simple. She has since published her debut cookbook Korean Food Made Simple and has appeared regularly on numerous television programs including Today and various Food Network shows. In 2021 Judy began starring in ITV’s new primetime UK show Cooking with the Stars and in 2022 Judy became a lifestyle contributor for Us Weekly where she has a monthly column interviewing celebrities and chefs.
After settling in the UK London was the obvious choice for Judy’s first restaurant as Chef Patron and she opened her modern Korean restaurant Jinjuu meaning ‘pearl’ in 2014. Judy’s cooking is rooted in the flavours of her childhood: growing up in a Korean-American family in New Jersey her back porch was lined with her mother’s clay pots filled with fermenting kimchi gochujang and doenjang. The house’s garage had racks of dried seaweed and a Korean barbecue grill in the corner and Judy and her sister were often called upon to help fold rows and rows of dumplings. Her multicultural heritage and education is evident in her dishes today from ‘disco fries’ influenced by New Jersey highway diners and topped with spicy cabbage kimchi to classic French pastries using traditional Korean ingredients.
In 2019 Judy left Jinjuu after five years to start a new chapter including the recent launch of her new cookbook Korean Soul Food and Seoul Bird a new venture in Westfield specialising in the Korean fried chicken that Judy is known for.
