Judy Joo

Judy Joo (born December 9, ) is an American chef, author, restaurateur, and television personality. which became part of North Korea after the division of the Korean Peninsula. As a child, he fled south with his parents and eight siblings amid the establishment of a communist regime in the North. Joo has since served on the school's Board of Visitors and was the commencement speaker for the Class of 2018.

Career She began a career in the banking industry with an internship at Goldman Sachs, followed by a role at Morgan Stanley as an institutional fixed income derivatives saleswoman.

In 2004, Joo began her culinary career after completing a six-month pastry arts program at the French Culinary Institute in New York. She later worked as an editorial assistant in the test kitchen at Saveur magazine.

A move to London led Joo to restaurants, where she experienced work at Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, including Maze, Pétrus, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's and the Boxwood Café. She has also completed "stages" at The French Laundry, Nahm (Bangkok), and The Fat Duck.

Playboy Club

In 2011, at age 36, Joo was hired as executive chef at the newly reopened Playboy Club in London’s Mayfair. Korean-influenced starters were also offered, including japchae and kimchi tacos with bulgogi. The project was funded by Joorabchian and Ali Jassim, an adviser to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. However, Richard Vines of Bloomberg praised the dish, as well as the "excellent" bibimbap, "authentic" japchae, and "well-judged" mandu. Jay Rayner of The Observer concluded that the restaurant was "mediocre" and the food "serviceable, if expensive." He also stated, "It seems to me that this merely proves “authentic” really is not the same as “good”." She also noted that Jinjuu's japchae was missing citrus and fish sauce,

Jinjuu was awarded with "Plate" status in the and 2018 Michelin Guide, and was awarded for its design at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards.

Later in 2015, businessman Bruce Rockowitz invested in the opening of a Jinjuu restaurant in Hong Kong, following a recommendation from his daughter, who had dined at the London location. Following the closure of the Hong Kong and Mayfair restaurants, Joo left the business in 2019. The original Soho restaurant closed in 2023.

Seoul Bird

In 2020, Joo opened a fast casual concept, Seoul Bird, in the Westfield shopping mall, Shepherd's Bush, London. A second location was opened in 2021 in Canary Wharf and then Seoul Bird opened in the Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas in 2022. Seoul Bird opened in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2023. In 2024 and 2025, Joo opened in Citi Field, Edinburgh Airport, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and Madison Square Garden.

In 2021, Joo taught Mark Flanagan, royal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, how to make kimchi at an event organized by the Embassy of South Korea in London. In 2023, Joo served British-Korean fusion canapés at 10 Downing Street during a state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Television Following a chance encounter with a television producer at a party in 2008, Joo began to appear as a regular guest on cookery show Market Kitchen. She was later cast for the 2010 launch of Iron Chef UK on Channel 4, alongside Sanjay Dwivedi and Michelin-starred chefs Martin Blunos and Tom Aikens. The game show saw four contestants, each cooking one course, competing against an expert "iron chef" who must prepare four courses in the same amount of time.

However, the exposure led to further opportunities. Since 2011, Joo has served as a judge on Food Network competition shows in the United States, including The Next Iron Chef, Iron Chef America, Iron Chef Gauntlet, Kitchen Inferno, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy's Grocery Games, Bobby's Triple Threat, Worst Cooks in America and House of Knives. She also competed as a global Iron Chef challenger on Iron Chef America against Alex Guarnaschelli.

In 2012, Joo hosted the documentary Judy Joo's Homecoming: Invitation to South Jeolla Cuisine for Korean channel MBC, where she learned from masters of kimchi, octopus fishing and soy sauce. Following this, she hosted two seasons of Korean Food Made Simple, which was broadcast in the United States on the Cooking Channel, on MBC in South Korea and in 13 further countries on Food Network. Joo said she had been pitching the show for over four years before it was eventually funded by the Korea Food Foundation, a government agency.

In 2021 and 2022, Joo appeared on the ITV cooking competition Cooking with the Stars, serving as a mentor to musician Naughty Boy and comedian Joe Wilkinson. In 2023, Joo appeared as a guest judge on Top Chef: World All-Stars on Bravo. She has also appeared on shows including Today, Good Morning America, Sunday Brunch, Saturday Kitchen, The Wendy Williams Show and James Martin's Saturday Morning.

Books Korean Food Made Simple, 2016 Judy Joo's Korean Soul Food, 2019 K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or Less, 2025 In addition to her cookbooks, Joo has also written for magazines and periodicals including the Financial Times, the Guardian, Forbes Travel Guide and National Geographic.