Hello, how are you?
Hi! My name is David Kim, and I’d like to introduce myself and let you know a little about me so you can see the mind behind the writing. A sort of method or reason to the madness that is this blog – Nosh With David. The recipes and experiences here are a representation of my life’s journey up to now. Food, and the enjoyment of it, whether preparing for friends and family or dining out, has been at the center of many of the happiest times of my life.
Several years ago (probably more like ten years), I started documenting my favorite recipes that I most enjoyed cooking for my friends and family, then started compiling them into a cookbook that my kids jokingly named, “Dave’s Fave’s.” That cookbook sat in my drawer for years until I recently decided to put in into this blog. Some recipes are adaptations and some are my original creations.
The Beginnings
Let’s start with the beginning of my Nosh With David journey. From my earliest childhood years and as far back as I can remember, my family has owned and operated nearly every type of restaurant imaginable. Ever since I can remember, I was running around a professional kitchen. At the ripe old age of 10, I learned to cook Chinese food by watching my father at the wok flipping stir fry at 800 degrees. At 12, I learned to toss my first pizza round, being able to maintain a 16″ round like a pro. By 14, I was hot-smoking St. Louis-style ribs and chicken… and so forth. By the time I had graduated high school, I already had a healthy stable of restaurant recipes that I could depend on as well as a relatively well-trained palate.
After the beginning of my (non-culinary) career, I decided to try my hand at operating a restaurant of my own. After hours and hours of my parents attempting to talk me off the ledge, insisting that it was a horrible decision, at the age of 28, I opened a Japanese restaurant. I love Japanese food, and my love of Japanese food grew even more after training under a master chef for nearly a year. Only a year because that’s how long I was able to last in the restaurant industry before I decided that 18 hours days were not healthy for my family or me. But, again, I left with a very healthy book of recipes as well as a newfound skill for crafting Japanese cuisine and sushi – yes, sushi!
Growing up
The next ten years of my life was spent recovering financially from the near bankruptcy I had faced after dumping my entire 401k, stock options, home equity, and credit cards, totaling over half a million dollars into a restaurant that I ended up practically walking away from at pennies on the dollar. With just a few hundred dollars in my pocket to support my family, I started over. I focused on my career but used cooking as a healthy outlet for me to express myself and my creativity.
Eat, Pray, Love
At a certain age, you look around and wonder, “is this all that is to this life of mine?” I was getting old, fat, gray, and had grown plain tired. I was 50 pounds overweight, and any attempt at working out or losing weight was met with failure. I came to the realization that I needed to change. I loved to eat, but I didn’t seem to savor it truly. Then one day, I woke up and decided that I needed to act on the changes that were needed in my life. I discovered that my life could be summed up in the book Eat, Pray, Love. So, I decided to set three goals for myself and subordinating everything else in my life to them:
Eat healthy – Eat smaller portions, more frequently, and reduce processed foods, added sugars, dairy, and grains. I found a modified Paleo / Whole30 regime to be well-suited for me. Nosh With David is not by any means a Whole30 nor Paleo blog, but it does contain some Whole30 and Paleo tagged recipes.
Live healthy – Exercise my mind and body. Learn or try something new every week. Practice Yoga twice a week. Run twice a week.
Enjoy healthy – Enjoy life, what it has to offer, and what you can offer in return. Give back to the community, not just financially, but with time volunteering and helping others learn from your mistakes and successes.
Nosh With David
So, after just one year of working towards my goals, then meeting and exceeding, the incredible happened: My body became healthier in all aspects. I lost 60 pounds and returned to my Marine Corps weight and BMI from twenty years earlier. I no longer suffered from several ailments: at-risk type 2 diabetes, borderline hypertension, acid reflux, back acne, knee pain, back pain, frequent headaches – all gone.
I started to enjoy life. I started to enjoy the better things in life, without judgment, reserve, nor regret. I started working towards my next goals in life of travel and adventure. I stayed at some of the best hotels in the world, dined at Michelin-starred restaurants, and gained a newfound appreciation for culinary talents as a true art form.
Through motivation from these Food and Travel experiences, I’ve started compiling a story of the food from my travels, as well as the foods from my family presented as Nosh With David. I hope you enjoy! I welcome any questions or comments, positive or not, to help me make your experience here better!
Cheers,
