Jina Yoo, a name that’s become synonymous with innovative Asian-fusion cooking in mid-Missouri, didn’t arrive in Columbia with a culinary degree. She arrived with sheet music. Her path from South Korea to the U.S. Midwest is a story that combines two of her loves: music and cooking.
Born and raised in South Korea, Yoo came to the United States to pursue musical studies. She relocated to get her master’s degree in pipe organ at Indiana University, where classical training sharpened not just her ears for structure and timing, but also taught her patience and discipline. Those skills easily translated into a professional kitchen, though she “never, never, never” thought she would open her own restaurant.
Although Yoo has always loved music, the kitchen called her. She learned to cook by sneaking into the kitchen and experimenting at her home in Korea. Her mother did not approve of her cooking because it could lead to cuts or burnt fingers, which would jeopardize Yoo’s musical talent.
Once Yoo was in the U.S., she began teaching herself to cook more seriously. By the 2000s, she had transformed herself from a classical musician to a self-taught chef and restaurateur, opening Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro and later Le Bao Asian Eatery in the North Village Arts District. She quickly gained a reputation for boundary-crossing dishes that marry Asian ingredients and Midwestern staples. She feels that in music and food, “if you are not first, you are last.”
Yoo talks about the similarities between performing a musical score and composing a menu.
“In music, I know how the notes will sound before I play them,” Yoo says. “For me, it’s the same with food.”
Yoo describes how a trained musical imagination helps her assemble flavors that will harmonize on the palate. She imagines the finished piece before making it, ensuring everything is balanced.
Her restaurants also serve as a cultural exchange. She has introduced Mid-Missouri diners to flavors and dishes we might not otherwise encounter: Bao buns and creative sushi-inspired plates that nod to both her Korean roots and her Midwest training.
Although Yoo knew English when she first came to the U.S., she did not know or understand “conversational slang” English. She tells me she would watch repeat episodes of Seinfeld and Days of Our Lives over and over to learn to converse with her American friends. If you have ever had a conversation with her, you quickly realize she has definitely mastered “conversational slang.”
Yoo has been extremely successful in training her staff, so she doesn’t need to be in the kitchen all the time, but she rarely misses a dinner service. She is also skilled at giving of her time and talents. Yoo is involved in several Columbia charities, and she was also a guest chef in my Intro to Culinary class at MU. The students loved her sense of humor and her refreshing approach to food:Begin with the end in mind.
Yoo is always looking for the next challenge. This led her to expand her catering business several years ago. She is now a regular caterer for Veterans United, including its annual holiday party for approximately 6,000 people. She works for several days straight on the 30,000-plus pieces of sushi for the party, and her station has a line of people the entire evening.
Yoo’s career began as a musician and it later evolved into that of a chef; but she did not give up one art for the other. Rather, she looks for the harmonies between them. She bridges traditions of a South Korea-trained musician who made a home in the Columbia Hospitality Scene.
Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro has been open eighteen years and Le Bao Asian Eatery has been open nine years. For someone who “literally had no idea what I was doing when I first opened,” she is doing a lot of things right. And that is music to our ears and our palates.
Ciao for now,
John
