Food Heals the Heart

I was born in a small village in South Korea. I grew up playing with my brothers, foraging for chestnuts, and learning from the neighborhood 아줌마 (ajummas/mothers, wives, aunts) how to prepare and cook the most traditional Korean foods. Growing up with little money and limited access to ingredients, preserving vegetables in the authentic Kimchi process became a fundamental part of my life.

I was adopted at the age of 11 and brought to the US where I was introduced to new flavors like Eggo Waffles, ketchup, and rice pudding, and for brief moment in time, forgot about my days bent over clay pots making Kimchi with my elders. But as I built my own family, my journey back to Korean food helped me reconnect to my heritage and my culture, and once again, it became a fundamental and beautiful part of my life.

I learned that food is home - wherever you are in the world.

I want to share my home and my healing with others, which is how Sue Chef Kimchi was born.

In the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic, I started making Kimchi virtually with my daughter, and eventually did the same with other family and then friends and their friends. It made apparent the value of sharing the family secrets I learned back in my village in Korea, even if simply through my phone.

I can go on and on here about all the the delicious and healing properties of Kimchi. But instead, reach out!

I would love to Kimchi for you, or with you!

-Sue Bailey, Sue Chef Kimchi