Quick-ish Introduction

Hello, beautiful people.

Before sending out the first official restaurant/wine post I wanted to do a quick introduction of myself and this newsletter.

My name is Edmond Hong (he/him), born in Los Angeles, raised in Atlanta, and now based in Brooklyn. I have been working professionally as a cook since 2014/15. I started cooking during college to pay for schooling but my big galaxy brain moment of “I can make money (lol) and eat for free? Sayless”, drove me into the kitchen.

To my parent’s dismay after I graduated with my incredibly useful economics and political science degree I chose to commit to the food&bev world. I was neck-deep in fine dining at this point and became obsessed with working the line and learning about food. Working from 11:30 am to 1 am, buying obscene amounts of cookbooks, practicing on off days, and trying to run as hard as possible became the norm. Shout out to Chef Smith, Kara, Jen, Jake, Shanna, and the Staplehouse crew for cultivating a deep love and obsession for this world while also whipping me into shape. I love and miss y’all deeply.

Long story short, I love cooking but I am not a chef’s chef. My technique is not precise. My brunoise isn’t perfect. My protein breakdown isn’t as swift and clean as it should be. My eyes started to slowly glaze over as I would attempt to hunker down into cookbooks. My once laser focus started waning and my gaze drifted from my saute pan on the french top to looking outside small restaurant windows wanting to be outside and drink wine with my friends.

I realized that I actually don’t love sprinting for 70 hours a week, getting paid barely enough, not having benefits, and not having a life outside of work as much as I once did when I was younger. But I still deeply loved everything around it. The philosophy of food, the restaurant culture, the incredibly talented and hard-working people who make it what it is, and the pure bliss of hearing the clinking of silverware on plates within the loud hum of friends eating together have always been my true north star.

To be completely honest I am tired, burnt out, jaded, and currently have no desire to commit to life on the line anymore. I don’t have it in me to pursue my dream of opening a small, sexy, and fun restaurant with the hopes of a Michelin star and Beard nomination.

I’ve worked my ass off to try to be in the same echelon of young badass chefs like Jake Pollitz who has been carrying Staplehouse, Sam Schwarz and Robbie Cox who are running the most badass restaurant in Brooklyn, Telly Justice who is about to open a very important restaurant in the East Village, Maxime Pradié who has a beacon to the otherwise sleepy Midtown scene, and Joss who quit her corporate job to pursue cooking and now shoulder to shoulder with René at Noma.

I love these friends and I admire them all deeply, but they’re in the trenches daily as I am frequently finding ways to run AWOL from the frontlines. They’re running to a beat that I have had to finally admit is not the pace that I want to run anymore. I wallowed daily at this realization, still do, but now I’ve accepted it. Though I may not be in the heat of the kitchen anymore I want to spend time exploring the world I devoted so much time, energy, and life into through a different angle.

As the late Bourdain once said, “I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy". I am that guy. But maybe this is just another one of my attempts to outwit him again.

I hope that these newsletters can do more than just be another foodie blogger who thinks they know what they’re talking about just because they eat marginally better than their other friends. I love this industry and I hope I can express my thoughts eloquently enough to be able to show you all why I love it.

If this newsletter helps shift your perspective on why food costs are going up, why you should always be a little early for your dinner reservations, why it means more than you think when you bring the kitchen crew some beers or even little treats like candy or pastries, why these crazy ass people devote their entire lives to creating what they do, and why you should try to love the places that I do then I’d like to think I’d find some sort of solace.

I won’t be writing these newsletters in such a dramatic tone. I’m having a lot of fun figuring out how to write these and I hope that you’ll enjoy them. This newsletter will be growing and changing along with me as time progresses. I truly hope this passion project brings you some value and pleasure.

I am planning to send out a newsletter every Monday evening. It will include at least one restaurant “review”/recommendation and also a bottle of wine that I enjoyed during the week that I want to share. Also planning a few interviews with friends who are in and around food&bev scattered throughout.

Thank you to all who have subscribed already and for all the support. I’m feeling the love. Thank you.

All love,

Edmond