Meet Edmond Hong of We Are Gük

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edmond Hong.

Edmond, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I got my first kitchen job at a Vietnamese bahn mi spot in EAV. I was a broke college student and I thought that if I could find a job that would pay me and feed me, it would be a win-win. When I started cooking, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. After a few months, I watched Chefs Table on Netflix and I felt like I got hit in the gut. I was blown away by how beautiful, thoughtful, and deep these fine dining chefs were with their food. After binging a couple seasons, I knew I needed to do it. I googled “best fine dining ATL” and Staplehouse came up. I took a shot after class and biked down Edgewood to Staplehouse and asked if I could get a job as a prep cook.

I didn’t have enough experience. Nowhere close to the needed experience. So I left the bahn mi spot, got a part-time job at a better paying spot in Ponce City Market and volunteered a few days a week at Staplehouse for a few months. I eventually landed a job as a prep cook and I jumped on full time while finishing up my undergrad at Georgia State. I moved up to work the line but eventually left after a year to focus on my schooling. I worked as a catering chef with HomeSpunATL while finishing school and in that time a couple of friends and I wanted to do a Korean American food pop up.

We threw a few parties around ATL and had a lot of fun with the pop-up. I graduated last December and as much as I enjoyed the pop-ups we were throwing, I was eager to jump back into fine dining. I just recently jumped back into Staplehouse with renewed energy and vision, ready to rock.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been an incredibly hard road. Cooking is definitely a career driven by passion and determination. Cooks work when everyone plays and we miss holidays, birthdays, and other life events. It just comes with the territory, but the temptation to jump ship to have a “normal” life is ever present at times. I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with whether I should just find a 9-5 with my degree. It’d be nice to have a good paying job with benefits, nights and weekends off, and an overall flexibility and freedom that is hard to find in a kitchen. But I always come to the same conclusion. I’m a cook. Cooking and practicing the art of hospitality garners a deep sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. I have always juggled school and work, but for the first time, I have the opportunity to commit fully to becoming the best cook I can be. My journey as a cook has just started.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with We Are Gük – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are Gük is a Korean American food pop up made by three friends, Paul, David, and myself. We wanted to provide fun takes on Korean food while partnering with our DJ friends and local artists. We ended up throwing a couple of fun parties around ATL before it got too cold to be throwing events outside.

I wanted our food to be a representation of myself. I am Korean American, basically perpetually in a cultural grey zone, not fully Korean and not fully American. Our food for the pop up was an embodiment of that. Simple food like Korean fried chicken with a scallion waffle for example. Influences of Korean food and southern upbringing.
Our proudest moment was when we threw a party that we called Super Low Güks at Revery VR bar. Our friends at We Super Lowkey DJed inside for a few hours, while we cooked outside alongside a space and artwork curated by our friend Paula. It was amazing to see so many people have fun at a big party that incorporated everything we loved.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I LOVE Atlanta. I will forever rep Atlanta wherever I end up in the world. I love our music, our art, our people. I love being able to recognize and see friends throughout different coffee shops, restaurants, bars, spots, etc. We are a big and growing city full of amazing people who help make the city feel smaller than it is.

I love that I can be in LA or NYC and strike up a conversation with someone wearing a Braves hat and connect on a mutual love for our city. I love how diverse our city is as well. The diversity provides amazing restaurants and communities. Tons of Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Ethiopian, Jamaican, Malaysian, etc. spots throughout the city and especially on Buford Highway.

What I don’t like about our city is a lack of public transport and bike lanes. A city that is growing like ours needs funds to go toward an expansion of MARTA to connect our neighborhoods and not fancy bridges to stadiums (yikes). We don’t need more highways and parking lots… Just more trains, buses, and bike lanes… Please?

Contact Info:

• Website: EdmondHong.com / Weareguk.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @edmondohongo

Image Credit:
John Song (WATS Media)

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