Long gone are the days of behind the scenes pot-stirring cooks. Now, chefs are culinary rock stars. They are young, connected visionaries who see their career both in and out of the restaurant. Take Chris Oh— Michelin rated chef & owner of Um.Ma. San Francisco, Chingu Hawaii, Kamu Las Vegas, Founder of Seoul Sausage Co. and Kpop Foods and the winner of multiple TV competition shows , and a budding TV personality, author and clothing designer. His goal is to bridge previously unrelated markets together through new culinary traditions.
All it took for Chris to get to this point was a straight up genuine love for food. Sure that’s cliché for any chef, but for Chris, this passion could not be ignored. As a kid, he would watch his mom navigate through their kitchen. And when he and his baby brother would come home from school, he would make meals with whatever he could find in the fridge. Think of it as “Iron Chef” with ingredients like Kraft cheese slices, top ramen noodles, and hot dogs. After years of being creative and learning from mom, he wanted a formal education. But with only one sentence into a culinary school presentation, his parents shot him down. So he appeased them – went to college, and opened a real estate company and car wash business. His entrepreneurial spirit earned him beaucoup bucks, but still something was lacking. Then 10 years ago, he took a leap of faith.
He sold his businesses, his home and his life to fill a void 382mi south to Los Angeles. He landed his first culinary job by lying on his resume to eventually work in kitchens all over Los Angeles where he learned new skills, honed his creativity, and developed his palette. With these newly attained skills and his entrepreneurial spirit, he was able to build his ongoing empire of restaurants, food companies and brand.
In between, he’s cultivating new projects all over the country. Even with all of that – he even got the approval of his parents – he’s still not where he wants to be. The end goal is pretty simple: To continue to build his brand and educate people all over the world about his culture, his food and most importantly, his swag.
When you sit with Chris, you’ll understand why he’s a perfect fit to this new standard of cool. Most of the time he’s in his nike air force ones, with drink in hand, likely talking about the debauchery he experienced the night before. Then he switches topics to food. And it’s eloquent dialogue leaving listeners to believe that this guy is really meant to be in the food universe. Chris now sits at the center of a cultural revolution and he got there by breaking the rules in every way.
AWARDS
Food Networks Great Food Truck Race Champions
Esquire Networks Knife Fight Winner
Food Networks Cutthroat Kitchen Winner
Asian Supreme Chef West Coast Winner
NBC Food Fighters Winner
Food Networks Kitchen Inferno Winner
Best new restaurant in the country by Thrillist
Best new restaurant in San Francisco by Eater SF
Top 25 Food Trucks by Forbes Magazine
Top food trucks of Los Angeles by LAist
Featured on Food Networks favorite food trucks
Top anticipated restaurant openings Eater LA
Best new Korean Bbq Los Angeles Magazine
Top LA restaurant by Zagat
Voted best poutine by LA Weekly
Voted top 10 fried chicken by LAist
Voted top bite of Los Angeles by BuzzFeed
Voted top 10 bites at 2013 LA Food & Wine
Featured on the cover of Korean Magazine
Best sausages Details Magazine
Voted best kalbi Food GPS
CLIENTS
Coachella
Hedley & Bennet
The Hundreds
NFL Network
FOX Studios
Universal
CBS Studios
Outstanding in the Field
Golden Voice
City of Culver City
JW Marriot
Scion
BMW
Los Angeles Times
Rheefined Company
Ssur
Riot Games
Nong Shim
CJ Entertainment
Hello Kitty
Tastemade Studios
MEDIA
With 'Recipe For Deception,' Chris Oh Courts A Culinary Empire/ Forbes Magazine
Where to eat out in Koreatown, LA: Chef Chris Oh/ Traveller
Chris Oh's recipes with LIVE with Kelly/ ABC
Chef's Night Out/ Vice
East Coast Tacos Reviewed by a West Coast Chef | The Daily Dish/ Bravo
The Best Korean Bbq/ David So Comedy
The Breakfast Show - Chris Oh
Going Off The Menu: Chris Oh
Secrets of Restaurant Chefs: Chef Chris Oh makes Kimchi Fried Rice in Hanjip Korean BBQ
Korean Fusion Cook-off ft. Far East Movement + Chris Oh
Johnnie Walker Presents Chris Oh: Real Estate Agent, Celebrated Chef
A Small Bite with Chris Oh
RESTAURANTS
Um.Ma. San Francisco
1220 9th Ave.
San Francisco, Ca. 94122
Chingu Hawaii
1035 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu, Hi. 96814
KPOP Foods
1401 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90024
Seoul Sausage Co.
11313 Mississippi Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90025
Escala
3451 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90020