Two hours of my life I am never getting back.  Before we get to that story, I feel as though I should explain my absence for the last couple of weeks. Unlike Korea, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are a big deal here in the states and this year there was even a bonus. Since the holidays fell on a Sunday, well we picked up Monday as the “observed day” and everyone got a three day weekend!  This would be awesome except I’ve been waiting on my filing from the secretary of state so I could call the IRS so I can get a bank account set up, etc.  Now, with the three day weekend I was waiting longer than expected for the filing since Monday was the holiday and we all know what happens when we take a three day weekend: the work piles up and with everyone basically treating the Friday before New Year’s as a half day. So there are actually only 3.5 working days between December 23rd and January the 3rd. Yippee for everyone except for me. So I basically gave up on...

The Korean Street Truck Adventures TCS, SOP, HACCP,MSDS, FAT TOM... If I hear another acronym this week I’m going to scream. TCS, SOP, HACCP,MSDS, FAT TOM, and the list goes on and on. I’ve been swimming in a veritable alphabet soup this week all because of one issue that no foodservice operation can ignore. Sanitation. Why the alphabet soup and concern with sanitation this week? ServSafe. ServSafe is a program from the National Restaurant Association that certifies a person in sanitation and safety issues and is nationally recognized. While ServSafe isn’t required for mobile operations by my local health department I decided to renew (you have to re-up every five years) my certification. The material is pretty extensive, not just your garden variety “wash your hands and watch out for salmonella”. It has not been fun to study, for example, look up Anisakis or any other seafood toxin and you will understand why I’ve gone almost borderline vegan this week. Ick . ...

Korean Street Truck Adventures: Chapter 2 Kermit always said it wasn’t easy being green, but sometimes I think that being a female in the culinary profession is just as hard. Ever wonder about all that stuff that Anthony Bourdain talks about in his books? It is all true, to varying degrees of course, being a part of the culinary world requires being a little bit crazy. (Okay, maybe a LOT of crazy) One of my favorite quotes about being a chef actually comes from the Korean drama "Pasta." “Being a chef is like digging a well in the desert” In other words, a crazy endeavor that sometimes pays off. Being a woman in a kitchen requires you to be even crazier. Everything is built for the men, right down to the clothes. Sure, now they make “women’s cut” pants and jackets but trust me, that has only been in the last 5 years. Even with these modified cuts, there is no good way to look like a girl. Hair pulled back and under a hat, no makeup or jewelry, a boxy jacket and even ...

I am happy to introduce Ms. L, a chef that is embarking on starting her own Korean Street Truck business in middle America. These are her true story. Names and locations have been omitted. You can leave Ms. L a message in the comment section of this post. Dan Chapter 1: Insomnia So here I am, it is 3 in the morning and I'm spending another insomnia filled night on the Internet researching recipes. If trying to develop a menu was the only thing I have to deal with I would have been asleep hours ago. Licenses, vendors, legal protections, insurance, marketing are just the beginning of opening your own business. Trying to find a place to start has made my head spin and I've had to keep reminding myself of one of my favorite sayings: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And in this case, preferably with some ssam and kimchi. So how did I, a half Korean, half American get to the idea of opening up a Korean street food truck? I didn't grow up with Kor...