London's up-and-coming chefs
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By Jenni Muir
Posted: Wed Jul 5 2006 -
Hwi Shim 'People think I must be crazy'
The entrepreneur
Hwi Shim, 33, Wizzy
These days chef and restaurateur Hwi Shim (Wizzy to her friends and almost everyone else) is sleeping at her eponymous restaurant. ‘It’s okay really,’ the 33-year-old explains. ‘I finish late here, and we have a shortage of staff at the moment.’ That’s the sort of thing you do when you’ve put everything you’ve got, plus a £65,000 loan from the bank, into your own business. Wizzy is not just an entrepreneur, she’s an innovator, opening London’s first modern Korean restaurant at a time when many had yet to try the cheaper traditional Korean establishments. A design school graduate and former journalist, she learned a lot about dealing with customers while working front of house at Hakkasan and Nobu, but despite returning to Korea for six months to work in a top restaurant kitchen, it was not her intention to become head chef at Wizzy – she simply couldn’t find the right person to do it. ‘People ask me why I’m doing things the hard way. They think I must be crazy. It’s not for success, or fame, or money – it’s about my ability, my passion, my interest and what I want to be. If I gave it up, I don’t think I’d do anything else better.’
Wizzy, 616 Fulham Rd, SW6 5RP (020 7736 9171) Parsons Green tube. Feature continuesAdvertisement
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3 comments
I went to the Ledbury about a year ago for the first time. I think I am now on my 8th visit. If it is the sort of food you love (check out the menu), low on the number of ingredients for michelin star, then this place is like eating in heaven. I could wax lyrical about the celeriac baked in ash (I only tried it because of we had the tasting menu), the heritage tomato salad, the 24 hour cooked lamb but you need to try it yourself. Lunch is stunning value.
I agree, I followed jeff's advice and google searched Mat Lucania, this guy has done so much and deserves some recognition. me and my boyfriend travelled to his pub and had the most delish meal, the attention to detail in the food and service was great. Mat even came out and said hi, my partner complimented on the wood pigeon so much that he askedthe chef for the recipe, mat glady gave it and I thought that was really nice. I'll keep my eye of this boy over the next couple of years if I were you.
I was hoping to see more up & coming chefs but you only have 1, we dont want to see who runs the top places or who has the michlen star, we want to see the guys in the shadows just starting to make a noise. I can think of a few chefs off your list, like Mat Lucania, kenny atkins etc