Why just sit in a Le Corbusier Armchair when you can also plunge your knife deep into its buttery heart and spread it on toast? A conversation with SUEA, the amazing Korean-born Brooklyn-based cook and food designer
Sep 19, 2024
Hugo Hoppmann
Sticky fingers run down jelly sandwiches. Tomato sauce splatters are unleashed upon unsuspecting tabletops. Most adults might gawk at the regressive desire to pick up a fist full of food and create worlds. But for Suea, a Korean-born, Brooklyn-based cook and food designer, tapping into this impulse unleashes possibilities with the power of nuclear fission.
Hugo: Hey Suea, it’s great to meet you. We’re big fans of your work since a while! How did you arrive at where you are right now in your life and career?
Suea: I was born in Korea, and my family immigrated to the US when I was around five. We settled in Montana, in the American West. It’s very white and there is a lot of nature. As a kid, it was good because you’re just playing in the fields. I became enamored with nature from a very young age, but I think I wouldn’t be the same person if I had fully grown up there. When my parents separated, we moved to New Jersey with my mom. It wasn’t my first time being in a big city since I was born in Seoul. But New York was definitely a culture shock for me. In Montana, everyone in my town was Christian. In New Jersey, we were living in a Jewish neighborhood, and I remember when a teacher corrected me, “You can’t say ‘Merry Christmas,’ it’s ‘Happy Holidays!”
From a young age, I knew I wanted to work in fashion and do something creative. When I was 12 or 13, I was obsessed with Vogue and Elle magazines. But I always knew what I wanted to do. Even today, there are still so many things I want to be, but I take my time to focus on one thing at a time.
How did you transform your love for fashion into a career?
I remember when I was in elementary school, my next-door neighbors—two Indian girls around my age—would ask me to pick their outfits and to create looks for them, and I loved it. Their mom taught me how to make naan and other Indian food. I loved these moments at the time. I never thought I would be as interested in food like I am today. Back then, it was really about fashion for me. I was completely obsessed with Abercrombie. I would beg my mom to take me there and buy a polo or a mini skirt.
It kind of just grew from there. I have two older sisters, and both were really good in school. I wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t care as much. My mom was a single mom of three girls and didn’t speak English well. In many ways, my upbringing was similar to many of my immigrant friends, but it was also very different in a lot of ways. My parents weren’t focused on me being good at math or becoming a doctor, but the pressure of doing well in school and having a “good” career still existed for me.
I didn’t want to stay in New Jersey. I developed the traveling bug after completing a study abroad program at high school, called The Traveling School. For four months, we traveled through South America, and we lived with our teachers. They were super young cool women and we learned literally in the field. A science class would be a hike in the Andes Mountains and our gym class would be swimming in the Pacific Ocean. It was such a cool program.
Even though I didn’t care about school as much as my sisters, I still studied really hard and got into UCLA in Los Angeles. I applied without knowing much about the university — I just wanted to be in California because it sounded so fab! (laughs)
UCLA is a large research university and state school, and they have a lot of programs, but not a big arts program and nothing specific to fashion. I knew that whatever major I chose it wasn’t going to be my career goal, so I studied International Relations and French. The reason I chose French is that I knew I wanted to study abroad in Paris. I studied at Sciences Po for a year and got to travel a lot in and around Europe.
How did it feel for you when you went back to the States?
After traveling and partying a lot in Europe, I was ready to work. I graduated from UCLA and got a buying internship at Dover Street Market in New York City. I was so excited because Dover Street is so chic. I worked in the store for some time before eventually landing a job as an assistant buyer for Opening Ceremony. This was my dream job, and I was thrilled—I ended up working there for almost five years until January 2020 right before the pandemic.
At OC, I went from the assistant buying team to working with the fashion director on collaborations and special projects. Then I moved to social media for a while and eventually led the content and branding team. We did lots of editorials, which was really fun, and I got to travel a lot. I worked my way up in the company a bit faster than usual because I was there at the right place and right time and had a lot of great mentors.
How and why did you start Suea’s Dinner Service? When did you realize it was the time to do it?
I started Suea’s Dinner Service in 2019, a year before I left Opening Ceremony. Toward the end of my time at OC, I had been on five teams in just four years. I was only 26, but I felt like even though I had accomplished a lot, I wasn’t “learning” anymore on a day-to-day basis. I think that anyone who is creative can relate to how difficult it is to work under someone else. I wanted to start my own creative endeavor that was truly all mine.
Food has always been a significant part of my life. But when I discovered the farmers’ market in New York, it changed my perspective on local, seasonal ingredients. They just tasted so much better. I wanted to tell my friends how insane the fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market were, and I wanted to do something cool. I had been vegetarian/vegan for a few months and wanted to show how vegetables can take center stage at a dinner table. So, the whole dinner service started with me trying to show my friends that vegetarian/vegan food is great, even without processed substitutes. If you look at the earlier menus, there is no meat on them, which is so funny because now I’m eating a lot of meat.
I invited eight of my closest friends and once we started eating, I made the announcement that the candles were edible and made from ghee, so they could dip the bread and eat them. Everyone was so shocked, and I loved it. This feeling got me excited to do more, but I never thought it would be a money-making career either. Unlike fashion, I wanted to keep this a side thing so it would always be fun. I think if you make anything your job, the magic can get lost. I was saying no to it being my job for a long time. I lost interest and a lot of love for the fashion world after it became my career; I didn’t want that to happen with cooking and food.
What made you change your mind?
After I left Opening Ceremony, the pandemic happened. I ended up getting a job on the brand team at Instagram. I was excited that the job search was over, but the salary was the main thing that made the job worth it for me. The job wasn’t as exciting or as fulfilling as I expected, especially after being pretty spoiled at OC [Laughs] with a lot of freedom. I was posting more of my food work on my own Instagram and brands started to message me.
I really wanted to pursue my food career for a long time before I eventually took the leap. It was hard for me to say goodbye to stability and honestly, a great job. But I felt like my precious time was better spent on other work. Towards the last few months of my time at Instagram, I had an Excel sheet where I wrote down every time someone reached out to me and how much money they offered. I knew I would earn less than at Instagram, but I was down if I would be happier and fulfilling my dreams. So, I did all that calculating, and when I thought it was good, I quit Instagram and never looked back!
Where did you find the courage to pursue your dream?
I always wanted to be that person who could separate their work and personal lives. For a while, I thought I really could be that person. If I didn’t have such strong other interests, maybe I would still be working a corporate job. But my work with food started to gain traction and it was making me happy.
It wasn’t about not believing in myself; I was just stressed about money, especially after the pandemic and being unemployed for over a year. But I realized I’m young, and it’s okay to be worried about money. So, for my last four months at Instagram, I tried to do both. I would wake up at 5 am to make a cake for a brand and then go to work at 9 am. But eventually, it became unsustainable, and I had to choose.
I spoke a lot with friends, my sisters, and mentors and they helped me realize that I should just follow my gut. And so far, it’s been good. I’m not making as much money, but I’m definitely happier.
Congrats, because it’s bold to be able to leave money for happiness in what you’re doing. It’s courageous to consciously step out of your comfort zone. Even with lots of talent and potential, many people would never make the jump. It’s sad because you can have all the stability you want, but in the end, if you regret not having done your own thing, you’ll probably feel much worse. At least you’ve tried everything you could! From an outside point of view, it seems like you’re constantly producing content for your socials. How do you keep up with it, and how do you stay focused in general?
In recent years, my relationship with Instagram has changed a lot because it is my main income driver. That’s why I take it seriously. I try to look at it from a professional standpoint, which in the beginning was honestly kind of annoying!
In an ideal world, I would love to be just as successful without Instagram. If I could one day get to a point where people just know my name and see my work through my website or through word of mouth, that would be super cool. Instagram is stressful. Recently, and especially since the pandemic, the food scene on Instagram has gotten a bit out of control [Laughs].
I know a lot of people say that social media is toxic, and of course, I don’t disagree. But I’m also at a point where I think we need to use it to our advantage. It’s free marketing. It’s free advertising. It’s a great platform for artists and creative people to share their work and make money out of it. Instagram is such a big part of my life and work, and that dependency on anything is uncomfortable. Is it about me, or is it about work? People always ask me to make a Tik Tok or even Twitter, and I just don’t think I can handle any more apps.
Throughout the last year, I’ve learned that balance is what keeps the cycle going for me. I’ll do catering for an event where I make real food and snacks. I will also do food styling for an editorial where I like making things look cool and pretty for a photo. Or I’ll make a cake for a girl’s birthday, a cake for a company party, or a cake for someone’s advertisement. Sometimes I do influencer-type things where a company will hit me up to push a new product, make a recipe with it and post it on my story. People ask me what my favorite role is. In terms of balance, I would say none of them. At first, I thought it would be the events because I wanted so badly to cook for other people, and that’s how it all started for me. But now that I’ve done so many, after an event I need to sit down for two weeks. It’s just so much work, and how much money can you actually charge for catering?
As you’re inspired by the natural beauty of Montana, where else do you draw inspiration from?
When I have an idea, I write it down in my notes on my phone. When you work with food, nature is your inspiration. I’ve always added a special touch to food to make it cute. I’m really inspired by design, whether it’s product design and packaging or architecture and furniture. I want my house to look like a Noguchi museum [Laughs]. My style is pretty simple as well. I love old Celine, Prada Sport, and The Row. I surprise myself with how colorful my work is. When I see these crazy colorful vegetables at the farmers’ market, I honestly can’t help myself! It’s crazy that nature can produce a purple Napa cabbage or bright pink radish. My inspirations are also things I see in my daily life. I’m sure this is how it is for most creatives—you just see things, and sometimes ideas come to you.
Furniture is a huge inspiration for me, like the Le Corbusier chair I made with butter. I always looked at that chair and thought it looked just like butter. I would say that what makes my work interesting is that my inspiration comes from non-edible things. Another example, I love rhinestones or ribbons on clothes. I try to implement them into my food design with edible or non-edible things. I experiment a lot until something great comes out of it. Rice and butter are so moldable you can pretty much do whatever you want with them. That’s why rice and butter have become such a big part of my world.
What is your latest obsession?
I’ve just moved into a new apartment, and because of that, I’m once again so obsessed with furniture. After living in a place for a few months, I don’t usually have an excuse to buy anything new. But now it’s taking a lot of time for me to find new furniture that I love. Our kitchen is being refurbished, but once I have a kitchen again, I want to get more into table displays and custom things to display my food on.
What is your ideal work environment?
I’m really excited about this new kitchen that’s not yet done. It has the most light I have ever had in a kitchen. That’s something that I wanted, but in New York, it’s really hard to find a bright and sunny kitchen. Light is essential for taking photos. I’ve always been super jealous of people who post such gorgeous, sunny photos of their food. Light is also important for drying vegetables. They dry so much faster in the sun! Another luxury in New York that I kind of have access to now is outdoor space. I’ve always been interested in fire cooking and grilling, so I’m really excited for the weather to get warmer and to do things outside.
In terms of my kitchen, I need a lot of space. I have so many tools, pots, and pans—my collection has been building up. And not to be super materialistic, but I have this fancy new refrigerator that I’m excited about. A good refrigerator makes such a difference. Produce like lettuce will last so much longer. For the first time in my adult life, I will have an ice machine. I love to make shaved ice in summer, and blanching vegetables is usually an unheard-of-luxury in
New York.
What has been a failure that turned out to be something good for you?
With my work, I try a lot of ideas, many of which don’t work. For example, I had the idea to make a fruit-shaped onigiri series but it didn’t work because I’m not technically skilled enough right now. With all my failures, especially with food, I always learn something. I obviously learn what doesn’t work, but I also teach myself not to be so driven by the aesthetics of everything and to go back to my roots—does it taste good?
What is your favorite dish to make?
I’ve been obsessed with nurungji — Korean crispy rice these days. Traditionally, Korean rice is cooked in a clay pot, and the bottom layer of rice gets scorched. In Korean restaurants, they add hot water to lift it up so it’s both crunchy and soft, and the water itself has a distinct taste similar to toasted rice tea.
While this apartment was getting ready, I lived at my mom’s, and we ate lots of Korean food. When I was younger, we often ate nurungji, but I had forgotten about adding warm water. It tastes different, it’s more filling and it is done in just five minutes. I like eating it with grilled kimchi. Just sauté it in olive oil for five minutes, and the flavor changes so much. It’s so good with nurungji, you guys have to try it!
What is your favorite unrealized dream project?
It would be to work for a client that I love. I’ve collaborated with some amazing clients that I wouldn’t believe myself I would be working with two years back, but you always have dream clients. For me, it would be Prada or Arc’teryx. They are my two favorite brands, and l would love to do something with them. They do a lot of work with food. Arc’teryx had this cool camping program where they hired someone to cook in the wilderness. That’s my dream project—to do something outdoors for a brand that I love while getting paid for it.
What does being present mean to you?
Being off of your phone and having real conversations.
Art Direction: Erika Kamano and Suea
Photography: Erika Kamano
Photography (top portrait): Min Hyun-woo
Rice TV: Suea
Dress: Barragan
Talent: Minami Gessel
Originally Published in
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