Proximity to celebrity is as much a draw in the food world as it is in Hollywood, making WTTW’s studio taping of Dishalicious an irresistible draw. A live cooking demonstration show hosted by Monteverde’s Sarah Gruenberg, whose ascending star began rising with her stint as Executive Chef at Spiaggia, is about process. Not competition. She invites three top caliber chefs onto the show to cook in the vein of their specialties. The three preliminary tapings featured programs based in Italian, Mexican and Korean fare and were recorded before a live audience.
The station recently wrapped up its third taping where the focus was Korean. The roster of chefs participating came loaded with both popular recognition and respect within the industry. Of the three, Beverly Kim’s star might be shining more brightly at the moment. The restaurant she co-owns with her husband, Johnny Clark, had Chicago’s food culture quaking with anticipation before it opened. When the now Michelin starred Parachute finally did fling open its doors a couple of years ago, the reception it received was rapturous.
Bill Kim earned his creds years ago when he opened his first Urban Belly in the West Loop.
Dave Park completed the trio. Young, and with a resume that includes time in the trenches at Takasaki and Grant Achatz’s Aviary, Park wears the mantel of a trailblazer. Although it’s closed now while he fine tunes his next move, when he opened up his own place, HanBun; it became a coveted destination.
The guys took on the savory options, Japchae with bay scallops and Korean BBQ skirt steak; while Beverly Kim prepared the sweet course. Her baked apple dessert incorporated roasted miso which brilliantly fused Asian culinary aesthetics into classic Americana.
Wait staff carried platters of each throughout the crowd of 200 or more who braved snowy storm conditions to take part in the event. An appetizer of radish with kimchi butter conceived by Chef Gruenberg was included with the other items. As expressions of creative imagination and skillful execution, each excelled. You were struck immediately by Beverly Kim’s inventiveness and the dexterity in which Park prepared the vegetables accompanied the scallops and noodles. Bill Kim’s BBQ skirt steak, an homage to how his family prepared the dish while he was growing up in the suburbs, was delightful.
That such a wide gap in the amount of each course served was a little discomforting. Waiters started with the radishes and kimchi butter and liberally shared them among the crowd. Dave Park’s excellent course of noodles, vegetables and scallops followed. It wasn’t long though before the scallops disappeared from the servings. Even more disconcerting to some was the dearth of Bill Kim’s Korean BBQ on many of the serving platters. A few folks who paid $150 each to participate in the taping began going out into the hallway to intercept servers before they entered the studio. As one person was overheard saying, “You’ve really got to want it”.
No such qualms existed with the entertainment aspect of Dishalicious. Gruenberg’s as approachable as your favorite aunt and shared an easy camaraderie with her fellow chefs.
Dishalicous airs in April 2018.
Channel 11 – WTTW
