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Top Chef is set to return with Season 19 on Bravo next month. The network recently announced the names of 15 aspiring chefs who will participate in the popular competition series and one of them is restauranteur Jae Jung.
Though she was raised in Seoul, Korea, she later moved to the United States in 2009 to learn culinary arts. After her graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, she traveled to New Orleans. It was there where she found her love and passion for Cajun cuisine, soon creating flavors and techniques of Korean-Cajun dishes.
Last year, she launched her pop-up restaurant, KJUN, in New York. The title of her start-up comes from a witty combination of Korean and Cajun cuisine. In one of her Instagram posts, she described her role in the company. The post read:
“The chef, butcher, dishwasher, designer, logo maker, investor, manager, PR person, and delivery person @KJUNnyc. You name it. She is it.”
Jae Jung’s restaurant featured in Food & Wine magazine
Clearly, the popularity of Jung’s restaurant showcases her talent with her distinctive cuisine being featured in multiple magazines, including Eater, Bon Appétit Magazine, the New York Times, and Bloomberg Pursuits. The latter magazine named KJUN as “one of the Best New Restaurants in New York.”
Jung’s work has starred in the American Food & Wine magazine. Interestingly, the winner of Top Chef will be featured in the very same publication along with receiving a $250,000 cash prize.
Besides her start-up, Jung is also a sous chef in Café Boulud after she worked in highly-starred restaurants like Le Bernardin.
Jung is all set to participate in Bravo’s Top Chef. While she is best known for Korean-Cajun flavors, the contestant will definitely have to cook different cuisines on the show. Only time will tell whether Jung will be able to bring the same excellence to other flavors.
When will Top Chef Season 19 premiere?
In addition to Jung, the remaining 14 contestants are Evelyn Garcia, Jackson Kalb, Damarr Brown, Buddha Lo, Leia Gaccione, Monique Feybesse, Jo Chan, Stephanie Miller, Nick Wallace, Sarah Welch, Sam Kang, Robert Hernandez, Ashleigh Shanti and Luke Kolpin.
All the cooks are set to showcase their talent in Houston, Texas, where Season 19 has been filmed. Top Chef host and judge Padma Lakshmi alongside head judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will return to their seats.
The premiere of the cooking show will be held on Thursday, March 3, at 8.00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on Bravo.
