Danny Kim celebrates the genius of chefs in every video he makes.
Danny Kim , known by his monikerDanny Grubs , did not expect to have a vocation in food for thought . This may add up as a surprisal to the renowned chef he collaborates with or the hundreds of grand of follower he ’s gained on social media . Kim ’s dad is a dentist and essay to manoeuver him towards that path , but when that did n’t interest him , they concur being a mechanical railroad engineer would be fine , too . But food has been on his mind since puerility .
“ Growing up , my mom packed me the half-baked tiffin — the biggest subs , kimbap , ribs . All my Friend wanted my mom ’s food so bad , ” Kim laugh . Post - basketball biz haunt and soccer squad company always occurred at Kim ’s theatre , where friend would scramble for a pungency of Kim ’s mummy ’s cooking . “ It got to a point where I even started selling my mom ’s subs at school as a side hustle . ”
But that was high schooltime . College was four year of mechanical engineering with a tidy fling from Northrop Grumman , a extremely consider aerospace engineering and United States Department of Defense company , that follow commencement . Everything seemed as it should have been , but Kim had a wear away realization that mechanical technology was n’t for him .
“ I went from being a graduated engineer with a full - time chore to stop that within the yr , ” Kim explain . “ All of the sudden , I ’m trying to originate a social medium agency for restaurants . ” Kim did n’t have any social media experience , nor experience in video yield — which is voiceless to believe when regarding his 123,000 Instagram followers and 45.6 million like onTikTok . But what he lack in experience , he gained in a echt sake in nutrient and the cordial reception community .
" Chefs are so serious at what they do and I palpate like it ’s an obligation for me to highlight that . "
It begin withEat the Capital , an Instagram and Facebook group that Kim start up to highlight DC - based eating place . Kim desire that , with metre , his micro food for thought blogging would bear off as a portfolio for potential restaurant client . “ It was a two - year process with no clients , ” Kim admits . “ I was just living in my mom ’s basement and she was feed in me and that was it . But I was hustling . ”
In clock time , Eat the Capital gained traction , and eating place owner who once flout at Kim when he had approached them years prior were contact him with renewed interestingness and a desire for collaboration . Kim went from zero client to 30 .
But once the pandemic hit , Kim — similarly to everyone in the restaurant world and beyond — had to pivot . He swiftly lost 80 % of his clients as restaurants shuttered or struggled to budget ingredients , let alone social medium consulting . But Kim know he could still use the tools he gain from use up the Capital to help eatery . “ I put it upon myself for the first year of the pandemic to do my best to support these local businesses , ” Kim explains . “ I had a whole series on my TikTok about supporting local businesses and would attempt to feature a unlike business sector systematically . ”
It make for — not only for the restaurants , but for Kim ’s own TikTok account . His followers billow to 150,000 . When the first undulation of the pandemic seemed to be settling down , Kim decided to embark on a new series of telecasting : chefs turning fast food items intogourmet meals .
Kim admits he is n’t the originator of this approximation — there ’s all sorts of broke - to - bougie video serial publication out there . But he need to make it his own , connecting with restaurants he ’s been supporting for long time and foregather new chef who are concerned in a challenge . “ Chefs are so ripe at what they do and I feel like it ’s an debt instrument for me to highlight that , ” Kim explain . “ When people go to a eating place , they only see the final mathematical product — but what ’s the 99 % of the work behind a dish ? I want to enamour the prep working being done in the kitchen and the originative concepts chef are come up with every solar day . ”
Fast solid food is a fun vehicle for chef to show off their skills and creative thinking . Who knew a McDonald’sapple piecould metamorphose into a macaron , orPanda Expresstake - out could have a 2nd life history as paella ?
One of the most scandalous transformation for Kim was when Chef Mike Friedman ( ofThe Red HenandAll Purposein DC ) transformed two McDonald ’s Quarter Pounders into a beef wellington . “ He ’s got a smashing personality and he ’s exceedingly skilled in the kitchen , but when I see that go down … dude , it was unbalanced , ” Kim express joy . “ I thought you could only do beef wellington with specific factor , but he turned the cheapest of product into a fine dining dish and it was so nerveless to see . ”
The videos are entertaining for everyone involved : the chef who are up for the challenge , Kim himself who gets to taste the end results , and the gazillion of viewers who tune up in . At the beginning , Kim would let chefs go wild and select whatever firm food joint they want and whatever cup of tea they felt like making . But after trial runs — in which Kim noticed which videos were successful and which did n’t drive as many opinion — he began to curate or chime in mind .
“ My job is to help oneself them get the most views and attention , ” Kim explains . “ I do n’t tell them what to do because they ’re the chef and that ’s not what I ’m about , but we join forces . ”
From the get-go , Kim created food for thought capacity that celebrate chefs . At first , it was strictly about the pandemic and survival . Now , it ’s purely about fun . Although he dreams of collaborating withGordon Ramsay(with whom he share the same opinion , that In - N - Out is better than agitate Shack ) , he ’ll always defend the mom and tonic chef .
“ I regain that local chef who have not been on television set are every bit as creative and so good at what they do , ” he beams . “ I ’d screw to encapsulate their expertness in every video I do . ”
