#57 - Culinary Director Paul Chung of Saison Hospitality

On this episode of the Spoon Mob Podcast, Ray chats with the culinary director of Saison Hospitality Paul Chung about growing up in a Korean family in Virginia, starting out as a server at iHop, reflects on his time at Johnson &amp; Wales, staging around the world after graduating, how he wound up at The Four Seasons in Washington D.C. with Michael Mina, moving out to San Francisco to join the restaurant opening team with The Mina Group, why he went to work for Eatwith, joining the advisory board at City College of San Francisco, how he landed at Saison Hospitality, defines what a culinary director is &amp; does, the biggest challenge with opening Angler SF, how they approached losing a Michelin star by default at Saison, differences between opening the Angler SF and Angler LA restaurants, how the idea for Saison Smokehouse came about, implementing his own voice and style into Saison, how the seasonality of ingredients dictates menu updates, the structure of the tasting menu at Saison, what’s next for the restaurant group, activities outside of cooking, how San Francisco has changed as a restaurant city,&nbsp;answers the question left behind from Ian Holmes of Coastal Local Seafood,&nbsp;and more before taking on the "burning grill" questions! For more on chef Paul Chung, visit spoonmob.com/paulchung and follow him on Instagram @pbkitchen, @saisonhospitality, @saisonsf, @anglersanfrancisco, @anglerlosangeles &amp; @saisonsmokehouse. Visit saisonsf.com &amp; anglerrestaurants.com for menu details, reservations, and upcoming events. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1). Audio Editing by @TrackEditPrint. Intro music by @kabbalisticvillage.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>