#901 Flowing with Judy Joo
This week’s guest on this special edition Bruce Lee Foundation takeover of the Bruce Lee Podcast for AANHPI and Mental Health Awareness month is chef and entrepreneur Judy Joo!
Judy Joo is a Korean-American chef, author, and TV personality whose path to culinary success took a sharp left turn from Wall Street to the world’s finest kitchens. From an engineering degree at Columbia to becoming the only female Iron Chef UK, Judy has built a career rooted in bold decisions, fearless creativity, and a deep love for the flavors of her heritage.
Shannon kicks off this May season celebrating her friend Judy’s powerful story of reinvention and perseverance. Together they talk about the importance of work ethic, kindness, celebrating one’s culture, mentorship of the next generation, and following your heart as Judy prepares to launch her newest cookbook, K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less (available May 6, 2025). And listen in as Shannon reveals a bucket list wish of her own around food!
Make sure to catch Judy doing her thing right now as a judge on the new Food Network show House of Knives or visit one of her wildly popular restaurants Seoul Bird to get down with some Korean fried chicken at several locations and stadiums around the world. Or maybe you need to follow Judy to discover what disco fries are! Whatever the case, sit back and enjoy this conversation with the inspiring Judy Joo as we celebrate the importance of representation and wellbeing this May on the Bruce Lee Podcast BLF edition!
Get to know Judy Joo
Judy Joo
In 2003, after earning an engineering degree from Columbia University and a successful career on Wall Street, Judy Joo decided it was time for a change. Realizing her true passion lay in cooking, she enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York. There, she received her Grand Diplôme in Pastry Arts before becoming a test kitchen and editorial assistant at SAVEUR magazine.
Excited about the thriving UK food scene, Judy moved to London in 2006 and worked for Jason Atherton, Claridge’s, Pétrus, and Boxwood Café as a chef and pastry chef. Judy also staged at prestigious restaurants worldwide, including the three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry in Yountville, California; Heston Blumenthal’s three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck in Bray; as well as Bangkok’s Michelin-starred Nahm.
In 2011, Judy became a familiar face on TV, starring in and earning the title of Iron Chef UK—the only female Iron Chef in the UK and the second worldwide. Following this success, Judy became a resident judge on Iron Chef America and a regular face on Food Network. Her expertise in Korean cooking led to her own shows: Judy Joo’s Return to Korea and two seasons of Korean Food Made Simple (Food Network worldwide). She has published two cookbooks, Korean Soul Food (2nd edition, May 2023) and Korean Food Made Simple (2nd edition, August 2024).
Judy regularly appears on numerous programs in the USA, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Talk, and various Food Network shows. In the UK, she frequently appears on Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, and James Martin’s Saturday Morning. In 2021, Judy began starring on ITV’s new primetime show in the UK, Cooking with the Stars, and in 2022, she became a lifestyle contributor for Us Weekly, where she pens a monthly column interviewing celebrity chefs. In 2023, Judy was honored to cook at 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea.
In 2014, Judy opened her first restaurant, Jinjuu, in Soho, London, showcasing modern Korean cuisine. The restaurant's success led to expansions in London’s Mayfair and Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong.
Judy’s cooking is deeply rooted in the flavors of her childhood. Raised in a Korean-American family in New Jersey, her back porch was lined with her mother’s ceramic pots, filled with fermenting kimchi, gochujang, and doenjang. The house’s garage had racks of drying seaweed, and a small Korean barbecue grill tucked in the corner. Judy and her sister were often drafted to help stuff hundreds of dumplings. Her multicultural heritage and culinary training are evident in her dishes today—from ‘disco fries’ influenced by New Jersey highway diners and topped with spicy cabbage kimchi to classic French pastries that incorporate traditional Korean ingredients.
In 2019, Judy left Jinjuu after five years to start a new chapter and launched Seoul Bird, a new venture specializing in Korean fried chicken. The first location opened in Shepherd’s Bush, quickly followed by a second in Canary Wharf. In 2022, she launched Seoul Bird Las Vegas at the ARIA Hotel and Casino, followed by locations at Brooklyn's Barclays Center (home of the NY Nets) in 2023, and Citi Field (home of the NY Mets) and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in 2024. In 2025, Seoul Bird will open in Edinburgh, Scotland, in March and at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden in April.
Judy will also star in House of Knives, a cooking competition show premiering on Food Network on March 18, 2025. Her third book, K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less, is scheduled to be published in early May 2025 in both the USA and UK.
Get Judy’s new book: K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less – Available: May 6, 2025: https://www.amazon.com/K-Quick-Korean-Food-Minutes-Less/dp/0711297584
See Judy on Food Network's House of Knives: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/house-of-knives
Website: https://www.judyjoo.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judyjoochef/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudyJooChef/
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