New York Times Bestselling Authors Bring Koreaworld to Miami

When chef Deuki Hong and journalist Matt Rodbard met more than a decade ago, little did they know that their friendship and passion for Korean food would soon pave the way for their first book, Koreatown: A Cookbook, which was published in 2016 and became an instant New York Times bestseller.

Now, their next joint venture goes beyond a collection of recipes. Woven between dishes and mouthwatering pictures is the evolution of Korean food told through stories of the people who made it happen.

In Koreaworld: A Cookbook, the authors have shifted the focus from simply covering Koreatowns around the world to the global impact of Korean food. The duo will embark on an international book tour upon its release on April 23, where Miami's Ghee Indian Kitchen in Downtown Dadeland is one of the first stops.

"This has been a ten-year journey for us," says Hong. "We started this in 2013 with Koreatown, and since then, as we would say, there has been a culinary revolution of sorts. The fact that we got to tell that story again with the same team, but now with the privilege of covering a little bit of Korea as well, it's something we're very excited about."

The co-authors combined their professional backgrounds and devoted years of traveling and research to make the book happen.

Hong is a Korean-American executive chef and owner of the Sunday Family Hospitality Group in San Francisco and a partner in Michelin–recommended Hey Kiddo in Denver. During his long culinary career, he has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants and has been recognized on the coveted Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Rodbard is the founding editor of the online food and culture magazine Taste and is the winner of not one but two James Beard Awards. His work can be found in renowned publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and GQ.
The duo received help from photographer Alex Lau, who was in charge of the visuals that brought Rodbard's writing and Hong's recipes to life. They made sure to steer clear of studio images and wanted to capture dishes as they were made in the streets of Korea and Koreatowns in their natural element.

"His art is on full display in the book," says Hong. "We knew we didn't want this to be a studio thing — we wanted a real look. [We asked ourselves], If you were to travel, 'What would you see? What would you feel?'"

Between the release of Koreatown and the start of Koreaworld, the team reflected on how Korean cuisine and its worldly reach are ever-changing.

A major point made in the book's introduction is that Korean food has been part of American food culture for decades and can be traced back to Korean immigration in the 1970s. It recently gained even more recognition due to the Korean Wave, dubbed "Hallyu," a term used to describe the global popularity of South Korean food, music, literature, and even melodramas now viewed worldwide.

"Having covered the world of food for 15 years, I could not tell you a movement that has had more energy, more interest, and really more change than the Korean-American diaspora," says Rodbard. "As a journalist, I found this to be such an important aspect of our book; we are timed exactly at a moment of great influx and change. I think right now, it's like there is a revolution happening; Koreatown and Korean cuisine are not stuck in a certain neighborhood. It's literally in all the major cities."
While the book focuses on the culinary side of this "revolution," the authors chose to tell this story through the lenses of different types of artists who add to the movement as a whole. One of them is YouTube creator Tina Choi, who became one of Korean food's most prominent global ambassadors, according to the book.

"We decided early on that we wanted this book to be people-focused," says Rodbard. "This book is about the people who make Koreaworld happen. We got to spend some time with Tina Choi in Korea and in America for her profile, and she has a really cool recipe [in the book]. It's her version of a shakshuka, but it uses tofu and Korean ingredients like kimchi, which shows a real global approach to Korean cuisine."

Chef Deuki says YouTube creators like Choi help push modern Korean cuisine and culture forward. However, they are only one of the many faces of this revolution. His most memorable experience while conducting research for the book comes from his temple visits, where he realized how temple cuisine cooked by monks anchored the past and the fundamentals of Korean cuisine.

"I feel like temple cuisine has been covered, but there's also a lot of questions around it," says Hong. "We got to stay at the temple, spend time with the monks, and learn their lifestyle and beliefs. That temple stay in Gwangju is something that, even beyond the book, will stay with me as a chef and as a person."
With the finished book and a world tour on the way, Hong and Rodbard are stopping by Ghee Indian Kitchen in Kendall on Sunday, April 28. Chef Patel of Ghee will team up with chef Deuki to create a five-course dining experience with signature dishes from each chef's background.

During the dinner, guests will receive a signed copy of the book and get a chance to chat with both authors, who made it clear how excited they are to meet readers and those who love Korean cuisine.

"This book is also about the chef community as a whole, and I know Miami has a strong chef community," says Hong. "This will be my first time cooking in Miami, so we are using the book as an excuse to gather, cook with friends and collaborate. I'm super excited to do this with chef Patel because it's gonna be Miami and Indian, but it's also going to be Korean."

Ghee and Chef Deuki Hong Collaboration Dinner. 7 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at Ghee, 8965 SW 72nd Pl., Miami; gheemiami.com. Tickets cost $95 via opentable.com and include dinner and a signed copy of Koreaworld.