*By Samantha Errico*
After earning a Bachelor of Science in engineering, interning at Goldman Sachs, and working at Morgan Stanley, Judy Joo left Wall Street to follow her passion for cooking.
"I really just got sick of the grind. Fixed income derivatives wasn't really my passion," Judy Joo told Cheddar.
The Korean-American chef wasn't afraid to start back at the bottom and climb her way to the top of another industry. She described squeezing lemons and picking through spinach for hours at a time.
"It's so much more rewarding. I'm creating memories, where as before I felt like I was just pushing paper around," Joo said.
But she still relies on her Wall Street savvy. Her financial background provided her with an important skill-set that translates to the culinary world. "I can actually model spreadsheets and do all my own forecasting, which is really helpful because most chefs can't do that," Joo said.
In 2015, the celebrity chef opened her first restaurant, Jinjuu, in London. She wanted to create a "cool" restaurant that borrowed from her Korean-American heritage. She now has a second location operating in Hong Kong.
"I need to create a space that is really representative of, and really shows off, the true beauty of Korean culture in every sense of the word," she said.
Popular menu items include Philly cheesesteak dumplings and wild mushrooms and duck dumplings. Joo is a French-trained Londoner, so she incorporates different robust flavors from her multicultural background.
"I am trying to globalize Korean food," she said.
Joo has made her footprint both on and off screen. She is the mastermind behind the cookbook "Korean Food Made Simple," and serves as a host of the Cooking Channel's "Korean Food Made Simple."
"Life is too short not to live your dream," Joo said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/chef-judy-joos-journey-from-wall-street-into-culinary-world).
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Japan's Nippon steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a settlement over a 2022 holiday season disaster that saw the airline cancel thousands of flights and leave millions of people stranded.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
