Meet Stephanie Bender | Chef & Owner

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

Hi Stephanie, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Every time we had a guest over, my mom would have a dish of her Korean Fried Chicken wings ready. This is a recipe that’s been passed down through our family – it’s double-fried with a sweet & spicy homestyle sauce perfected by her. Her KFC wings were always a hit at gatherings and constantly requested for potlucks and parties. And one day we found ourselves toying with the idea of a food truck while living in DC. But life brought us to Atlanta, and since then we’ve kicked off the pop-up and have been serving up at kitchens and breweries ever since!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Before discovering my passion as a chef, I had a long career in marketing, which I still consult on the side for! I was always culinary-curious, which stems from growing up helping out in the kitchen and revolving my entire life around cooking, food and travel! I am also half-Korean and grew up in South Korea for 10 years. And with that, I have fond memories of the street food culture of Seoul and creating memories through food with my family there. Korean food is a very emotional and nostalgic experience for me, and I love that I can tell my story through my food and help create memories for others too. It was a hard journey to get to where I am today as I feel I’m getting into the chef life late, but the food industry is extremely welcoming and I feel like I’m growing into this role very quickly.

Recently, as a mixed-Asian woman, I’ve struggled with coming to terms with my unique identity and feeling like my story wasn’t enough for my brand. But I’m fortunate to be surrounded by many supportive friends and other female chefs that help me realize that I have my own unique experiences to tell, and that I’m in a position to uplift Asian women and speak out against Asian xenophobia, racism and hate.

In the end, I realize I don’t want to grow my business just to showcase who I am, but also to give back to our wonderful & diverse community that I’ve come to love since moving here.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my friends for a trip down Buford Highway – making our stops at the best places to get the best banh mi, dim sum or unique Korean finds! Buford Highway Farmers Market is a definite destination to get all the best ingredients for a home cooked meal. I also like to get a little touristy with friends in town, so we would make our way over to Ponce City Market to browse and have rooftop drinks at Hotel Clermont. For nightlife, we’d hit up a few places in EAV and get late-night wings at JR Crickets!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To my Umma; I wouldn’t be here in life and in business without my Korean mother!

Website: www.seoulchikinatl.com

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/seoulchikinatl

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/seoul-chikin-atlanta