Ji HYE KIM

Chef and Managing Partner of MISS KIM; Ann Arbor, MI

Ji Hye Kim is the chef and managing partner of MISS KIM, a Korean restaurant greatly influenced by Korean ancestors and Michigan farmers. Miss Kim is a part of the Zingerman’s community of businesses in Ann Arbor, MI, famed as much for its fair values and innovative business practices as for its full-flavored artisanal food. Miss Kim’s food is simple and good, with the menu dictated by seasonality and locality as Korean culinary tradition dictates. After graduating from the University of Michigan and successful career in hospital administration, Ji Hye switched to the hospitality industry in 2008. Having trained at various Zingerman’s businesses and the Rome Sustainable Food Project, she then went on running an Asian street food cart for 4 years before opening a brick and mortar location in 2016. As well as providing convivial service and delicious food, Miss Kim has been committed to doing away with tipped credit and paying a fair wage to all staff since opening. Ji Hye is a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award Best Chef Great Lakes in 2020. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and as independent restaurants across the country are at risk, she was admitted to and participated in the James Beard Chef Boot Camp for Policy Change and Food Lab Detroit’s Fellowship for Change in Food and Labor. She believes that service is an honorable profession and envisions a more delectable, sustainable, and equitable future for the industry. (Ann Arbor, MI)