Meet Clara Park | Executive Chef, Teacher, Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clara Park and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Quite frankly, I wanted to work for myself. I wanted autonomy and full creative freedom. I like the ability to do many different things instead of one thing every day. I knew that I had what it takes to be my own boss.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a chef, I am always cooking. I think what makes my food especially good is that I am always thinking about what I want to eat 🙂 I don’t understand chefs that prepare food that they wouldn’t want to eat. If you don’t want to eat it, why would someone else? I still get excited about ingredients, new dishes and techniques. I love to travel and find inspiration everywhere from the corner deli to the far corners of the globe. Every time I cook something, there is something new to be revealed and learned. I find that very exciting. While most good chefs are good cooks, they are not always good people. I am really proud that I am a more calm, compassionate and understanding chef than anyone i ever worked for. I think it was difficult to undo all my own years of trauma and abuse in fine dining kitchens. I started out only wanting to work in the best restaurants in the country. You couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to that lifestyle today. I am thankful for the intensity of those kitchens for training me to be the best cook I could be. There is no situation in a kitchen where I would feel uncomfortable. I have seen it all. I transitioned to food media, cookbooks, consulting and even corporate sales. I had a brief tenure as a product development chef and culinary development chef for a huge airport dining company. I think the key for me was always keeping an eye out and more importantly, always taking the meeting. These opportunities presented themselves to me because I was in the right place at the right time and had the right relationships. I think for the first 10 years of your career you are applying for jobs and trying to get people to notice you. For the second ten years of your career, people have noticed you and are seeking you out. My last ten years pretty much every job came to me via a personal relationship. I worked very hard to get to this point. It wasn’t easy but I am so happy to be here. My mom always stressed how important “human relations” are. She could not have been more right. Every person you meet could hold the key to your next big opportunity, so be nice to them! Another thing that I think is so important is to maintain your reputation. Work hard, show up early, be helpful and kind. Operate with integrity. If you do all these things regularly, the word will spread that you are all these things. I like to think that these are all things I’m known for today. My story is also one of representation. I go out of my way to mentor young women because I really didn’t have too many female chef mentors when I was coming up. Through my various jobs, competitions, gigs and what not I’ve come across some really nasty and competitive women who were so awful to me. I never understood that. There’s plenty of success and opportunity to go around.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love Philly and I regularly show off the vibrant dining scene to out of town visitors. My absolute favorite place in the city is Palizzi Social Club in South Philly. They have some of the best cocktails and bartenders in the city and Italian American food that would make any nonna proud. The warm welcome embraces you the moment you set foot through the front door. For a nice dinner, I love Vernick. I have been known to order a cocktail, crudo course and then their glorious roast chicken while dining solo at the bar just because. Pizzeria Beddia has stellar pizza but also these fun wine tastings where you get to try some unusual wines with light snacks. Han Dynasty is always a solid choice for spicy and delicious Chinese food. I love their cumin spiced lamb, dan dan noodles and spicy beef noodle soup. Kalaya in Fishtown is always such a memorable meal. I love their food, the energy and the fact that Nok treats everyone like a long lost friend. As a die hard burger fan, I am super impressed with the burger at Khyber Pass. It has a pickled green tomato, chipotle remoulade and Happy Valley Beef. So good. Wash it down with any of their excellent rotating beers. Seo Ra Bol in NorthEast Philly has great Korean BBQ. It’s so fun getting 5 or 6 people together and ordering half the menu. You may end up with the meat sweats but it’s totally worth it. Manatawny Stillworks has amazing cocktails and equally amazing bartenders. They have the best adult slushies in the city. Bar none. They take the time to use local produce and make their own syrups and tinctures. It takes a ton of time but you can’t beat how good these drinks are! Weckerley’s and Milk Jawn have incredibly delicious ice cream. Finally, I am a big fan of a. bar and a. kitchen for any time of day. I’ve had breakfast, lunch and dinner at a. kitchen and am always so glad I ate there. The drinks at a. kitchen are always tasty, well crafted and a touch cerebral. I live in Old City so can’t get enough of the history that is everywhere. I highly encourage anyone to spend the day walking around and exploring the area. You might see Ben Franklin or Betsy Ross. Walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge for killer views of the city and a great workout!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents definitely deserve the most credit for who I am today, I was raised to believe that I could do anything and if something didn’t work out, I knew they would always be there to help me in any way that I needed it. I navigated my life and career with a ton of courage because of their love and support.

Website: www.claraparkcooks.com

Instagram: @claraparkcooks

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claraparkcooks/