Born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted by a Michigan family, Kristen attributes her desire for success to a feeling of abandonment by her birth parents–and thus, a constant quest for validation. “I stem everything back to being adopted, and feeling abandoned as a kid. There were all these weird psychological things happening– and it still is in me. Now, I just foster it in a healthier way,” Kristen said.
As the winner of Top Chef Season 10, Kristen traces her interest in cooking all the way back to when she was little. “I picked up my first knife at the age of 5 after watching Great Chefs of the World on the Discovery Channel, and immediately fell in love.
“‘Oh my god this amazing’ I thought. It was silverware and knives and fire and heat. It was awesome.”
After transferring from Grand Valley State University in Michigan to Le Cordon
Bleu in Chicago, Kristen finally felt comfortable in the path she had chosen, and was on the road to success.
Highlights
Thoughts on Culinary School: “I think for me it was necessary, I needed validation. I don’t want to say everyone needs to go, it’s up to each person. Having culinary school on your resume gets your foot in the door. Once you get in the kitchen, it doesn’t matter what school you went to, what your grades were–what matters is if you can accommodate and transform yourself into this environment and the restaurant.”
On Transferring: “Midway through the semester I went through this odd depression. I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, Is this the rest of my life? Oh sh*t. I can't live the rest of my life like this.’ And so part of the way through semester I started living at home, commuting the 45 minutes to and from class. I was so miserable. And my mom, thankfully, was like, ‘So why don’t you try culinary school?’ She was the one who pushed it in my lap.”
Near Elimination from Top Chef: “The end goal was to win Top Chef, but instead of focusing on that, I tried to be in the present. It didn’t work out when I thought about the end goal. From that experience, I learned to focus on that day’s challenge, that day’s task, get through that, and move forward.”
Advice for graduates: “Drop your ego. Put the training wheels back on. You will never know everything. Stay curious in all forms. When you get in there, allow yourself to be humbled.”
