Meet Keon Kim | Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keon Kim and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keon, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is absolutely necessary and is a part of every day life- from the little decisions to the big decisions. Knowing that, I don’t believe anyone is exempt from living their lives without taking risks. It all boils down to: does the risk outweigh the potential benefits or vice versa? Even if you’re a child, you could sneak a few cookies before dinner time. You risk getting caught, getting punished, getting an upset stomach. But is that all worth it for those few moments of sweet delight or is it not?

In my life, my risks grew as my goals and aspirations grew; the bigger the decision, the bigger the risk, but I also knew that those would merit bigger accomplishments for myself. It started out small and gradually got bigger: my decision to go into the culinary world, my decision to come to the states, my decision to put all that I have and am into my restaurant. If I didn’t take this risk, I wouldn’t have been able to open up my own restaurant. Fear is the number one thing that deters people from taking risks, and I truly understand that. But I believe if you’ve carefully weighed your options and truly thought about your end goal, sometimes, you need to take the leap into the unknown. Sometimes we may fail, but sometimes, we succeed. That small potential of success, I believe, is worth taking the risk every time.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve worked in the food industry for about 20 years now, and I love it. I’ve always loved it. Of course there are those moments of difficulties like how to properly hold a knife, the different flavor profiles of different foods when cooked by different methods, etc., but I look back on those moments fondly. I’ve met and worked with some great people along the way.

What makes me different from others? When things get difficult, it only encourages me to work harder. I’m not one to give up easily. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I see a goal I want to reach, I’m going to go for it no matter how difficult the road is and no matter how long it takes. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long! But quitting is not my style. I’ll find a solution one way or another.

One of my most biggest difficulties that I’ve faced here in the states, is the difference in culture, work ethic, and mindset. In Korea, there are no differences that I needed to learn because that’s where I was born. I grew up knowing all the social cues and norms. It was a completely different world here. People acted differently, there were different expectations, and everything moved a lot slower. I had to learn English pretty quickly, I had to learn the different social norms, and I had to learn that not everyone worked as I did. If I kept comparing them to my past, I was setting myself up for failure. This isn’t to say that there aren’t hard working people here. It was just a culture shock and I had to alter my mindset in order to get over it.

If there’s one thing I want everyone to know about my restaurant and my food is that it’s made with love. As cheesy as that sounds, I want people to know that I went into this profession because it was and still is my passion. Not many people are able to do what they love, but I’m one of the lucky few. I love what I do. I love to cook. I love to create things that people will enjoy- kids and adults alike. Money is great, but this is about love for me. I cook with love. And I want to share what I love with everyone. The Porklet is my baby. The name, the logo, the design, the interior design-this was all made by me personally. This is my baby and I want to share it with people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d just take them to my place and cook for them! No, this is Colorado, so we’d obviously go to hiking. Castlewood Canyon, Chautauqua, the Incline. I’ve never finished it myself, but I’d like to inflict some of that unnecessary pain on my friend!
I love the hot springs. Hot Sulphur Springs, Indian Springs, Iron Mountain, and this quaint roadside springs Penny Hot Springs; it’s very fun.
If my friend was visiting from Korea, I’d like to have him try flavors and foods that he couldn’t try in Korea. I want to go chicken sandwich hopping! Hear me out. Every restaurant and fast food chain has a chicken sandwich. The chicken has become the star of this country. We go from place to place, eating chicken sandwiches and rating which one has the better crunch, the better sauce, the better pickles. Korea has a TON of chicken spots too, but chicken sandwich hopping? I don’t think that’s ever been done.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many people who have been in my life or whom I’ve come across briefly that have helped me become who I am and who have helped shape the person that I am today. One person in particular, I’d like to give a little shoutout to, the person who put the fire under my butt, is my friend, Jin Suk Oh.

I’d like to thank every single person I’ve worked with. From small part time jobs to the big leagues, someone has always been able to teach me something new.

I’d also like to thank one of my very first managers, Shim. This person really helped me realize that I’m nothing in the world of the culinary arts. I’m just a stain compared to some of the greats. This knowledge has motivated me to work harder and longer and to practice and fine tune my skills. No one is perfect, and there is truly something new to always learn. I may still not be one of the greats or even on the map, but I’ll never stop trying and I’ll never stop learning.

Website: theporklet.com

Instagram: the_pork.let

Facebook: The Porklet

Other: email: porkletnokim@gmail.com phone: 303.364.1287