Chef Jonah Kim has traveled all over the United States as a culinary master. He will now get to share his love of food with Nacogdoches with Nourishing Nac’s Pop-Up Restaurant.
Kim’s Korean parents—whom he describes as “very Asian”—always wanted him to become a doctor, but he chose an unconventional path instead. Inspired by food, he dropped out of college and started working kitchen jobs in his hometown of Austin, Texas, eventually finding his way to Uchi, an acclaimed Japanese restaurant owned by James Beard Foundation award-winning chef Tyson Cole.
From there, he knocked around restaurants in New York City and did a stint at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas under chef David Varley before landing the executive chef post at Pabu, Michael Mina’s Japanese concept restaurant in Baltimore’s Four Seasons Hotel. Despite high praise and good reviews, Pabu closed in 2014. But by then, Kim’s culinary acumen was well known. He soon found himself vacationing in Virginia Beach with a handful of fellow chefs, including Mike Isabella. Isabella and Kim eventually formed a partnership and co-created the restaurant, Yona—a phonetic expression of the way Kim’s mother pronounces “Jonah”, a divine restaurant in the Arlington, VA.
After deciding to come back home, he followed his path back to Texas and is now onto his next venture of bringing his delectable cuisine to a table near you.