Chris Jung
Maxwells Trading | Chicago
SEPTEMBER 2024
As a Korean-American kid growing up in Virginia, Chris Jung was shaped by television programs like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. But, despite his love for cooking and culture, he enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh to become a lawyer. By his junior year, Jung was more disillusioned than ever. He withdrew from school and finally decided to take a stab at life in the kitchen. In Washington D.C., Jung took a job at BlackSalt, learning the basics in a big kitchen, before going to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and joined the team at Pacific Standard Time, where he met and worked under Rising Stars alum Erling Wu-Bower.
During his time at the restaurant, Jung applied for the Japanese Cuisine & Dietary Culture Human Resource Development Program. In 2019, he was accepted as one of 13 international chefs and flew to Japan, where he immersed himself in the cuisine and culture, studied the art of kaiseki, and worked in restaurants across the country. When he returned stateside, the pandemic hit, but he was able to find a sous chef position at Rising Stars alum Gene Kato’s Momotaro. Jung was promoted to chef de cuisine a few months later, learning the financial side of the business and managing a team while developing new dishes for the menu. He then took some time off from the industry and went back to Japan before joining Wu-Bower’s new concept as executive chef and diving into research and development for the restaurant. At Maxwells Trading, Jung is building a collaborative environment for his team and drawing on his expansive cultural and culinary interests to help shape the menu, paving the way for dishes like his soup dumpling tortellini with ground pork, prosciutto, maitake mushrooms, black vinegar, ginger, and chives.
