David Chang never had a clear path in his life, yet each step along the way has helped him to become, according to Eater magazine, “one of the most influential restaurateurs of this century.”
As the son of Korean immigrants, Chang grew up with a lot of academic and athletic pressure placed on him. In his teens, he had the potential to become a professional golfer, which has given him a competitive edge and the mindset to never take things for granted. His parents were restaurant owners, so he was exposed to the industry at an early age, though he was discouraged by his parents from being a part of it.
After studying theology in college, Chang moved to Japan to teach English. In an episode of the podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Chang said, “I knew I was never going to fit in the corporate world no matter how hard I tried.” It was in Japan that Chang first had authentic, high quality ramen — and it was a fraction of the price of a cheap meal in America.
Fast forward a number of years and odd jobs later, and Chang now owns and operates a number of successful restaurant chains (spanning New York City, Toronto, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia) — and it all started with Momofuku Noodle Bar. Chang’s collected memories and experiences — memories of his mother’s cooking, the ramen experience from Japan and some training in culinary school — combined in this culinary revolution. Chang invoked his lack of conventionality and openness to experience to take on the elitism of the New York food scene, telling Dax Shepard, “There’s got to be different ways to eat food than eating at a fancy place in Upper West Side.” Instead, Chang’s restaurants make eating well more accessible, offering high quality, innovative food at reasonable prices.
From this economic revolution to fusing different cultures and dishes to creating their own spices and flavors, Chang’s restaurants “have gained world-wide recognition for their innovative take on cuisine, while supporting sustainable and responsible farmers and food purveyors.” When talking about the dishes he serves and the style of his restaurants, Chang told Eater magazine, “There were so many ideas on the menu that we’d never seen or tried before. The only unifying thread was that we were nervous about every single dish we served.”
Chang now takes on a more managerial role, allowing his head chefs to use their own creativity to establish their own culinary style at each restaurant. In addition to managing his restaurants, Chang has recently taken up writing and producing, authoring his memoir Eat a Peach and being a creative force behind the Netflix documentary series “Ugly Delicious.” Chang told Shepard that these projects “allow [him] to keep [his] brain engaged in other ways and continue to grow.”
“Ugly Delicious” is also another tool in Chang’s revolt against culinary elitism and traditionalism. The docu-series looks at a variety of different foods and food traditions and highlights cooks that are going against the grain and creating delicious food in new and adaptive ways. The series is a shining example of Chang and other chefs’ perspicacity and ability to question norms as well as their drive for accomplishment.
From golf to teaching to cooking to writing to producing, Chang has certainly had a wide breadth of experiences in his life. And between his innovative dishes and strong personality, one thing is certain: there is no one quite like David Chang.
Photo sources:
https://www.eater.com/2020/9/9/21428012/eat-a-peach-memoir-quotes-mental-health
This was really interesting to read about someone who not only looked for creative ways to make food, but also took into account the price points and affordability of the food. I feel that often the culinary world will make critically acclaimed food so expensive to validate the quality of the food. I think it is quite refreshing for someone to go into the culinary world of cities like New York and try for high quality creative food that is also affordable for the average person. This I feel like takes another level of creativity in its own to make ethically sourced affordable good food. Overall quite interesting and refreshing to read and I might go watch Ugly Delicious to learn more.
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ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how far Chang has taken his cooking career. The fact that he has influenced/taken part of the restaurant industry, the writing industry, and the entertainment industry is so impressive to me. It seems as though it was Chang's competitive nature that helped him through the rigors of succeeding in the restaurant business - this competitive nature is prevalent in many creatives. It is also refreshing to see how committed Chang is to his personal growth. He pursues all these projects not for the fame, but because they pose a challenge to him that ultimately make him a better, smarter being.
ReplyDeleteI love how the idea of collecting comes up with Chang's ability to make awesome food. We eat food all the time, so it seems only natural that we would collect amazing ideas along the way. It was also interesting to see how he is a creative in so many mediums. We often think that the best creatives are known for one medium, but actually they often take out their creativity in many forms.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post. I think it's really interesting that the thing he ended up pursuing in the long run is something he was deterred from at a young age. This makes me think if it was in his unconscious while he was pursuing other things such as golf. I also think it is interesting that he went above and beyond only bringing a different dining experience to consumers but he also expanded his horizons to include writing and producing.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I especially love the quote you included that read, "the only unifying thread was that we were nervous about every single dish we served." Often when I think of creatives in the public eye, I forget that they are nervous about what they are creating and are often hesitant to share things with the world. When these people experience such great success (in this case, in so many different fields), it is interesting to go back and look at the steps that got them there and where their path almost changed. I also love how this quote points to how revolutionary and different everything he was serving was. I can only imagine the level of restaurant competition in New York City, making Chang's success even more impressive.
ReplyDeleteI love his Netflix show, because it truly brings good food to a level everyone can appreciate. However, I was not aware of his success as a chef when I first watched the show. It always amazes me when people are able to be creative in multiple domains (for him culinary, media, and literature). I wonder if he can enter a flow zone for all three domains. It is interesting to think he can have multiple creative processes. Also, I wonder if his unconscious or conscious mind is more worked during the making of his dishes. They seem like deliberate choices, yet his childhood and genius seem to influence so much as well.
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