Pushing New Frontiers in Food Culture

Have you heard the joke where three guys - a managing partner, a boba enthusiast, and a chef - walk in to a downtown San Francisco bar?

Meet the panel of Tuesday's event, "Where Culture Meets Food".

• Hanson Li - investor, foodie, Stanford alum, founder and managing partner at Salt Partners Group, a food and beverage investment and development company. Salt's current portfolio includes Saison (3 Michelin stars), Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, Bacon Bacon, Halcyon, Stella Public House, Mealtop, and Bright Wine.
• Andrew Chau - co-founder of Tea People USA, former blogger of GOOD magazine, Berkeley alum, and professor at Stanford. Chau is perhaps most notably co-founder of Boba Guys, an idea originally pursued as a pop up despite thinking "Asian people can't have milk".
• Deuki Hong (IG @deukihong) - residing chef at Sunday (San Francisco's Asian Art museum restaurant), former executive chef of Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, author of Koreatown: A Cookbook, Eater's 2015 Young Gun, New Jersian claiming to be a New Yorker, proud graduate of the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), and voted one of Food Network's 2018 Sexiest Chefs Alive.

Despite coming from extremely different backgrounds, these three individuals crossed paths through common ideology and work ethic in the ever competitive food business. In just a few hours taken away from their normal lives (typically 12+ hour days, 6+ days a week, all year round to serve others taking vacation or holidays), they share how culture is changing the way restaurants manage. Through a peek in to their friendship, mentorship, and rivalry, they comment on the observation of positive culture as a valuable factor in the industry, when previously restaurants flourished despite poor culture. A merit most closely associated as a driver of attracting talent in Silicon Valley tech, culture is now adding to the value proposition of work in food.

Hong begins with a memory of his friend and fellow chef David Chang (who is known for his potty mouth), humbly admitting to not being the best cook but recognizing talent like no other. Contrary to common behavior seen by chefs today, Chang was willing to take a step back in the kitchen after hiring the best. Hong continues to speak about the behavior and culture typically associated with the restaurant life - rude, brash, loud, intolerant - popularized by chefs like Gordon Ramsey. The food industry is known for being cut throat and brutal, a fact now widely accepted and tolerated. To take it back even further, Hong talks about the origins beginning with the French who created this culture and perhaps the standard of unpleasant expectations walking in to a kitchen. Hong aspires to change that as he talks about coming from New York, a location where work ethic is second to none, cheating through AP Chemistry, and originally not caring about his team's personal lives. He later recognized that when his team member wanted to talk for 30-minutes about AnimeCon, he should, because changing culture mattered.

Li sheds additional light on the lack of glamour in a restaurant and how those breaking in to the industry expect the grueling hours and lack of verbal recognition or encouragement coming in. For some, it breaks them. For others, they spend 3 hours picking parsley or peeling potatoes.

"Seriously, someone would have to pick parsley for 3 hours and it had to be perfect parsley. You had to have 47 of them to be exact because that's how many dishes there were. I don't know why you're laughing, it's not a joke", adds Hong.

Li continues to talk about the importance of building a team because when asked what he looks for prior to investing, he mentions a good "crew". I find his choice of words particular and intentional. "Most people come with a concept or idea, they want to serve Mediterranean food or have a restaurant on that corner. But the concept is tertiary to me. Give me a good team and we'll figure out the concept later; the concept is important, but at the end".

In building that type of environment, you are able to last long. Each of the speakers notes that food in general is tough to be unique, so the only real differentiation that has loyal customers coming back is the culture. Li speaks about a personal friend who owned a restaurant for over 80 years, spanning 3 generations. Li admits that while its common and almost expected for restaurants to close down (you see one every other week in San Francisco), he recognizes some just run their course. Li calls us to action, to celebrate those that may choose to retire from the demanding industry and to go out and support the local businesses who choose to keep serving.

Maybe my most favorite aspect of Tuesday night's panel was how these three men from ages 28 to over 40, had the common belief that their parents helped them develop this idea of what culture means. Chau talks about his mother who was a stereotypical "tiger mom", wanting nothing but success for him and to become a doctor. His father was a freedom swimmer, a refugee who swam over 8 miles to cross borders, and gave him a different perspective. Chau's call to action:

"The most disappointing thing you could probably do is to follow what they did, because they worked so hard to come here for you to have different opportunities".

Hong describes his mom as a "horrible cook". Everyone listening cracked a smile when Hong blatantly warned everyone not to eat his mom's food, it was "disgusting". In contrast to Chau, Hong didn't have the stereotypical Asian parents. He never felt pressure in disappointing his parents. With a side glance to Chau and Li, Hong says he was never expected to attend Stanford or Berkeley but what his dad did ask of him was to "try to be the best and try not to hurt people".

In retrospect, Hong credits the gift of his parents paying for his tutelage at CIA in one-shot to not have debt, as a gesture he didn't fully appreciate at the time. His dad said it would be the last thing he ever paid for Hong and he wasn't lying. Hong ends his anecdote with a short "I love you mom and dad" (though the panel is not being recorded) and "thank you" to both Li and Chau as mentors.. At a time when Hong "felt uncomfortable feeling comfortable in New York" and discovered maybe he wasn't "as hot as" he thought he was, he was able to change a concept over a weekend with his mentors' help before the brink of failure and his breaking point. Li left him with casual advice in passing that Hong says stuck with him as deeply profound:

"Don't build a restaurant, build a company".

Similar to Hong's earlier struggles, Chau continues to say that when asked, he doesn't cite "entrepreneurship" as difficult for reasons people may typically assume like raising capital or quitting your corporate job. Instead, Chau talks about the fear of the social risk.

"All your friends are working at McKinsey and as an entrepreneur, you look stupid for years. The hardest thing was to swallow my pride. For a split second you feel sorry for yourself, but a good entrepreneur gives no f****s and turns that off quickly".

Chau says he doesn't care that he disappointed his parents and that business school was a waste. To which Li quickly assures the audience, "business school is not a waste, at least mine wasn't". Note: Li was the Stanford alum and Chau was the a Berkley alum.

Crystal Lee, the moderator of Tuesday's panel and a Stanford alum herself, seamlessly transitions us away from the banter to wrap up asking the panelists for a final piece of advice.

Li says, "I would start sooner. 'I'm going to pursue something I love later in life', said no one ever".

Hong refers back to when he was in New York and was "too comfortable". "When you surround yourself with cheerleaders, you think you are God's gift to Korean food... I don't think that now, but I did!" he quickly adjusts. To which Li throws him a life line, "But don't lose your swagger either. If you got it, flaunt it".

Chau agrees with them both and ends us on the most powerful call to action of the night: "Don't shame those who may misunderstand our culture. Shaming someone for their ignorance will make enemies of our culture for their entire life. Don't antagonize. We need to do a better job at communicating our culture so it is more accessible. Take the time to build the bridge; think about the long-term. There would probably be less war. Together, tonight's event may very well prevent WWIII .

Thank you to our speakers for providing one of the less cliche panels I have attended and kept me so engaged I was taking notes the entire time.

Thank you to our partners. First and foremost, thank you to Asian Health Services (AHS). AHS provides an important service too often taken lightly until needed. With over 100 staff, offering care in over 14 languages, their mission personally resonated with me considering my own parents experience with health services.

• When I was young, I once asked why my family only ever saw Chinese dentists and doctors. I was soon embarrassed and ashamed when my mother rightfully corrected me. I had mistakenly assumed discriminatory, ignorant behavior instead of behavior due to motives of security. My mother said, "should I be terribly ill or in pain, I may not know how best to describe my symptoms in English. I would feel more comfortable to speak my first language to a medical professional". That risk was not something I was willing to gamble with either when it came to her well-being. Offering languages for others to also feel that sense of security with their loved ones is something I know is important and am grateful for AHS contributing to.

Thank you to ETC Labs (Ethereum Classic Labs) for their space. Thank you to The Booth Brewing and Blue Ribbon for providing drinks.

Last but not least, thank you to my fellow board members of Asian Business League San Francisco (ABL-SF). This was one of our most successful events and as always, proud to be a part of a fantastic crew. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, reach out if you want more information.