Robb Report’s Most Powerful People in Fine Dining
Making remarkable headway in the high-end culinary world, seven Korean American chefs and restaurateurs are featured in Robb Report’s Power 50 in American Fine Dining. That number represents over 10 percent of the people considered to be the most impactful by their peers in the industry.
Every year the Robb Report asks 100 award-winning chefs, restaurateurs, investors, media and CEOs of tech platforms to select 10 of their most outstanding and influential peers. Ranging from this year’s 5th most powerful to 35th, Korean Americans are making dramatic inroads in the world of prestige dining.
Power Players 5 to 35: Korean Chefs and Restaurateurs
Junghyun and Ellia Park
Cracking the top ten, Junghyun and Ellia Park take the number 5 spot and are the highest ranking Korean Americans on the power list. Most known for their two-Michelin-starred Korean restaurant Atomix in NYC, this husband and wife team are proprietors of four Korean establishments. Atomix is their fine dining flagship, Atoboy and Naro are their more casual eateries and Seoul Salon serves as the duo’s first venture into the cocktail (sool-jip) sphere. Needless to say, all four showcase the Korean chef and restaurateur’s wide spectrum of culinary interest and talent, with each restaurant blooming and flourishing from their Korean roots.
Cory Lee
At number 11, Corey Lee is the James Beard award-winning chef/owner of Benu, which happens to be San Francisco’s first three star Michelin restaurant. Mentored by the legendary Thomas Keller of French Laundry, Benu was followed by Monsieur Benjamin. Lee also published a cookbook of Benu’s 33 course tasting menu and opened a more casual Korean barbecue restaurant called San Ho Wan which received its own Michelin star this year.
David Chang
David Chang, coming in a number 21, could be the most famous Korean chef in the mainstream culinary world. First lauded as a James Beard and Michelin star chef/owner of the franchise chain of Momofuku, Fuku, and Milk Bar restaurants, Chang is now more known for his television shows (Ugly Delicious, The Mind of a Chef and The Chef Show), cookbooks, and pod casts.
Genie Kwon
Pastry chef Genie Kwon lands the Robb Report’s 24th spot with husband Timothy Flores for their Michelin-starred restaurant Kasama in Chicago. Kasama is the world’s first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant. It features fine dining at night but highlights Kwon’s pastry skills with their more casual, bakery-heavy lunch menu.
Kristen Kish
Chef Kristen Kish, at number 28, recently replaced Padma Lakshmi as the second host of Top Chef. Kish won the tenth season of Top Chef and also hosted culinary shows: 36 Hours, Fast Foodies and Restaurants at the End of the World. Before making a splash on television, Kish was the chef/ owner of Arol Grey in Austin, Texas.
Simon Kim
Rounding out the ranks of Korean American fine dining influencers, is restaurateur Simon Kim at number 35. Kim is the owner of Korean steakhouse Cote in NYC and Miami. Both restaurants are Michelin-starred, with the original New York location winning numerous James Beard accolades. Kim is perhaps as well known for his philanthropic leadership. Most notably he founded A Taste of Asia (which recently raised $1.2 million for non-profit organizations including City Harvest, Madison Square Park Conservancy and Apex for Youth).
… and the other 44
Robb Report’s 50 Most Powerful People in Fine Dining
50. Masa Takayama * 49. Missy Robbins * 48. Ellen Yin * 47. Jon Yao * 46. Mark and Brian Canlis * 45. Erick Williams * 44. Donald Link * 43. William Bradley * 42. Mashama Bailey * 41. R.J. Melman * 40. Bobby Stuckey * 39. Curtis Duffy * 38. Marc Vetri * 37. Cesar Ramirez * 36. Stephanie Izard * 35. Simon Kim * 34. Michael Mina * 33. Gregory Gourdet * 32. Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne * 31. Matthew Kammerer * 30. Michael Cimarusti * 29. Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz * 28. Kristen Kish * 27. Kwame Onwuachi * 26. Pete Wells * 25. Nobu Matsuhisa * 24. Timothy Flores and Genie Kwon * 23. James Kent * 22. Wolfgang Puck * 21. David Chang * 20. Stephen Starr * 19. Nick Kokonas * 18. Alice Waters * 17. Dan Barber * 16. Will Guidara * 15. Sean Brock * 14. Nancy Silverton * 13. Mario Carbone, Jeff Zalaznick, Rich Torrisi * 12. Kyle and Katina Connaughton * 11. Corey Lee * 10. Danny Meyer * 9. Daniel Humm * 8. Eric Ripert * 7. Jean-Georges Vongerichten * 6. Jose Andres * 5. Junghyun and Ellia Park * 4. Grant Achatz * 3. Dominique Crenn * 2. Daniel Boulud * 1. Thomas Keller
