Judy Joo Talks Iron Chef, Food Critics, And Mother's Day - Exclusive Interview

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Iron Chef Judy Joo might not have earned every single letter in her title. If there were a Carbon Steel Chef, Joo would have knocked that competition out of the water, too. Meet the woman who dominated on Wall Street before setting aside that prestige and pursuing the excitement she felt when cooking — only to find a shockingly parallel world. "Orders are urgently hollered across the kitchen, the way trades echo over an exchange floor," Joo wrote in a Wall Street Journal piece exploring the similarities between the two aggressive, sexist industries. Still, she predicted, more women would rise to the top of the culinary world.   

They have, and Judy Joo certainly has. The world famous chef survived hazing in Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurants (stay tuned for more, later). She became the world's second female Iron Chef and an Iron Chef judge. In the face of xenophobic and, at their best, ignorant restaurant reviews, Joo has opened two triumphant Korean restaurant concepts: Jinjuu — which Joo has since sold — and Seoul Bird.

In this exclusive interview with Mashed, Joo explores the passion for food, especially Korean food, at the center of her drive, her journey to the top and her experiences on "Iron Chef." Also — because we know you're scrambling — we asked Joo to pass on tips and tricks for how to successfully celebrate (and cook for mom) on Mother's Day. 

The Korean philosophy, that food is medicine, is something you've been spreading through your work. How do meals change when that philosophy is at the center of meal prep and enjoying food?

Food is medicine, but this is also based around the rule of five. In Korean cooking, [the rule of five is] really the foundation of it, that you're supposed to have the five flavors, the five textures, and the five colors in every single meal. If you do this, the philosophy around it is that you'll get all of your vitamins and minerals and nutrients in one seating. Then, you are taking care of your entire body. In order to support gut health, you need to eat a wide variety of different foods. It's the best way. No matter how many probiotics you take, you really should eat a wide and varied diet. That not only means different types of foods, but also different types of preparation.

You should have things that are raw, things that are sautéed, and things that are perhaps fermented or pickled ... [You need] lots of different colors and types of vegetables and fruits and fish and a bit of meat and all different types of things. That's why in Korean food — when you sit down — it's [presented in the form of] banchan, side plates — they call it mezes in the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern culture, also. You have this whole sharing concept, so you can have lots of different types of food. Koreans are obviously meat-eaters, but we don't just eat meat, it's meat and 16 other types of vegetables and other things around it.

You wrap the meat in fresh lettuce and you always have kimchi, which is fermented vegetables and lots of different things with it. It's a very healthy way of eating and a very interesting and satiating way to eat. You never really have FOMO when you eat in this Korean style, because you get a little bit of everything.

You've described getting cast on "Iron Chef UK" as your big break. As you reflect on that journey, do you have memories from the show that keep coming back to you?

That's a classic example of panicked learning, of like, "Oh my God, I've landed this role, and do I deserve it?" [It was a lot of] second-guessing myself and practicing and getting all the timings right [and] working with my team and rehearsing things and toning down the recipes, making sure that everything tasted fantastic and looked even better. [I had to add] those creative touches and [keep] doing everything and anything that I could to prepare myself and my team to win.

When you were filming "Iron Chef," you said in an interview once that one of your sous chefs cut himself and started bleeding over the place. What was that like for you? Talking about panicked learning!

That was Jamie. Yeah, he freaked out! That was actually funny, that was in New York. It's a lot for somebody to take in that hasn't had a lot of television experience, [and] that was his first time as one of my sous chefs filming in New York at The Food Network. It was very much lights, camera, action. [There were] 20, 25 cameras on you, roaming cameras in your face. You have Alton Brown making funny commentary and teasing you the entire time. He cut himself very badly and spaced out.

He had stage fright and he was looking in the air at one of the lights, bleeding with his mouth open. We were screaming his name, "Come back to us, come back to us," trying to snap him out of it. I think it was the shock of cutting himself, he was bleeding, the medics all over him, he's under all these hot lights. We were all covered in sweat. My other sous chef hit him on the back to bring him back, and then they clicked back to us. He was gone for a minute or something, yeah. I forgot about that. We should tease them about that one.

Does having experience competing on "Iron Chef" give you a different perspective when you get to the judges' table?

100%. I think that no one should judge that hasn't ever competed, honestly, because you can't appreciate it. You don't have that 360 view that lets you understand the blood, sweat, and tears that literally went into making that plate, and [you can't understand] how hard it is to produce five dishes in one hour using that one ingredient, and the creativity and the planning and the practice and all of that stuff — everything that is involved in getting those dishes out. You don't have the right lens of empathy to be able to judge it fairly. In the same way, I don't think critics should be food critics unless they've worked in the kitchen. They don't understand it.

You got your formal training at what is now the International Culinary Center with Dorothy Cann Hamilton. You've said that she helped you navigate kitchens as a woman and also counseled you through your divorce, which was a turning point in your career path. Could you share the advice she gave you?

Dorothy was such an inspiration, because she was all about thriving and never giving up and doing your best at absolutely everything that you could. She was divorced, also, so she had been through it. She was like, "Take this stress and anxiety and transform that into will and productivity. Take all of that angst and nervous energy and use it towards your advantage. Somehow, try to channel that into a productive effort, and you will get knocked down a thousand times, a hundred times over, but keep on getting up and trying."

Failure is a big part of the journey. It is an integral part of the journey towards success. You have to get used to it, you learn from it, and you embrace it. She was such a calming person to talk to all the time. She was like, "Look, Judy, don't worry about it. Don't sweat the small stuff, move on and look forward. You can't change the past, don't play the 'would've, could've, should've' scenario in your head. Look at your mistakes, learn from them. Don't make them again and charge forward." She was such a visionary also ... I miss her dearly.

You took her advice running!

She was always like, "Go for it." She had this mentality because, as women, we always have this tendency to second-guess ourselves like, "Am I qualified? Do I have enough experience? Can I do it?" She's like, "Just do it. Go for it, and you're smart enough; if you don't know certain things, you're going to learn it." It's true — for whatever reason, because we're more thoughtful beings as women, we overanalyze things. I can absolutely say that I've been under-qualified for every single job I've ever taken in my life, and that's my vision of it. 

Men would never say that, and I see it all the time in the businesses I run. The guys are always asking for promotions, and they're jokers. They show up late, their skillset level is low, all this stuff, whereas the women are incredible, they're technically flawless, they're never late, they never call in sick and they never ask for anything.

Let's go back to your origin story. You grew up with your mom, who made everything from scratch. You've talked about the vivid memories you have of making dumplings with her. What was the most important thing your mom taught you about cooking?

My mom was always tasting, so I would think it would be that. She would even taste raw meat all the time, she didn't care! I don't know how she got away with that, but she would constantly taste, and she taught me that act of cooking instinctively. She can never write down a recipe, because she would say, "It's a handful of this. It's half a handful of that. It's a little bit of this and more of that." Watching her and seeing how things came together and learning how to taste, and educating your palette — [those were] the most important [things she taught me].

What do you most enjoy cooking for your mom today or with your mom, if that's the case?

I love cooking dumplings with her, sitting there and stuffing dumplings and talking and catching up. That's such an enjoyable memory of mine that we've done ever since I was a little kid.

Do you have any tips for readers about celebrating Mother's Day that you could pass on to us?

You're cooking for your mother, so cook her favorite foods. Try to make something that she loves and enjoys, so maybe it's a recipe that she's taught you and that you could, for once, make it for her and see what she thinks of it. That's a good way to make sure that these recipes are passed on and don't die with a generation. You have to cook them, and to get to know them, and then to teach the next generation always. 

It's something that is done with kimchi and the spaghetti sauces of the world in different cultures. Every family has recipes that should be treated like heirlooms. It could be something as simple as mom's Sunday pancakes or loaded tater tots or something. It doesn't have to be something that is majestic at all. It could be that simple bowl of chicken soup that hugs you back on a cold, rainy day after school.

Follow Judy Joo's Instagram for the latest from her everyday life and career. Her most recent book, "Korean Soul Food," is available for purchase.