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Sam Kang competed on the season 19 of Bravo's Top Chef. He was part of15 contestants who participated in the reality cooking competition and placed 13th. After a difficult but a memorable run, he was eliminated on the third episode, titled "Noodles and Rice and Everything Nice.”
Sam Kang has had an immense amount of learning experience while being on the show. But nothing can compare to the experiences he had in his life prior to being on Top Chef. He has, without a doubt, climbed up every sort of ladder to reach where he stands now. He now pursues his passion with more dedication than ever before, and continues to work as a chef educator who provides culinary education to passionate students.
In a conversation with SK Pop's Varsha Narayanan, chef Sam Kang spoke about his personal hardships, his perspective on life and his future projects. He spoke about when he started thinking of cooking as a probable professional career and said:
"Right when I got the chance, I decided to move to NY to become a chef and to bring this joy to all people. I used all the money I saved up from high school and moved to New York to start attending the Culinary Institute of America. While at CIA, I worked as a dishwasher after class and went to Manhattan on the weekends to work for free at different restaurants to gain experience."
Sam Kang reflects on his life and learning experiences before and after Top Chef
Chef Sam Kang shared his humble beginnings in New York and reflected on where it all began. He started cooking at the age of 12 for all of his friends when he realized that his parents, being immigrants, were so busy working and trying to provide that all of them really needed to support one another.
He eventually landed an externship at Momofuku Ko. But by the time the externship was over, he was unable to go back to school because he could not afford the tuition and was unable to receive any financial aid. Thereafter, he worked at the Momofuku Noodle bar for two years, following which he ventured into fine dining at Eleven Madison Park.
Speaking about his experience at Eleven Madison Park and further endeavors, the chef said:
"Joining the team at Eleven Madison Park was an experience that helped shape my entire culinary future by refining my cooking techniques."
He continued:
"After 2 years at Eleven Madison Park, traveling a number of countries around the world, and opening a ramen shop in Brooklyn, I decided to go back into a more formal dining setting and join Momofuku Ko, working my way up from a line cook to a sous chef and, in 2019 becoming the head chef of at the time of the newest Momofuku restaurant, Bar Wayo."
Sam Kang revealed that the pandemic, rising violence, and racism towards minorities and individuals of color, especially in New York City, encouraged him to pursue a career as chef educator for children. Speaking about this experience, he said:
"I wanted to help and be of service to the community. I learned quickly that the rise of violence and racism was due to ignorance of understanding one another and the lack of knowledge when it came to cultures other than one’s own."
This is when he decided to teach people about dumplings. He continued:
"I started teaching people about dumplings because I wanted to highlight how every culture had their own version of a dumpling. I began hosting dumpling making classes and received great feedback from the community."
Further continuing, he said:
"I [met] the Chinese American community at Harvard University and each week I hosted the class, I would get more and more people interested, and with that, more and more parents who wanted their children to learn about dumplings."
While speaking about his outlook after teaching children, he said:
"I saw first hand that food, regardless of its direct cultural influence, was the epitome of a bonding experience, and that through food, we can better understand culture and build lasting connections to live in a more friendly world."
While Sam Kang has a lot of projects under works, he shared his vision for the first major project: his first children's book. His mission is to take steps towards world peace and in order for people to get there, world hunger needs to end first. Speaking about his project, the chef said:
"My first project, a children’s book, will teach future generations of children and their parents how to say 'please' and 'thank you.' While a children's book might seem far away from achieving world peace, I would argue that building upon good manners and kindness might be the most stable base by which to pursue this vision for our world."
He also spoke about how these basic tenets are being missed out on at the moment.
"I believe that a lot of etiquette, unfortunately, has been lost in our fast-paced lives and I want this book to draw us back to the foundational power of saying 'please' and 'thank you.'"
Sam Kang is also in the process of putting together ideas for cookbooks and children’s education videos with similar themes to promote the same message. He would also like to open up a restaurant in the near future as well to bring people together with food.
Top Chef season 19 premiered on March 3, 2022 and has been a classic fan favorite ever since. Along with Sam Kang, fourteen other contestants competed against each other and experimented with challenges inspired by Houston's predominant dishes, out of which eight are still battling for the coveted title.
Tune in to Top Chef every Thursday at 8.00 PM ET on Bravo.
