Interview

Chef Hong Preaches the Virtues of Hansik

Originally published Mar. 23, 2012

Near the gleaming mirrored wine bar in cozy Sebastian’s Bistro in Huntington Beach, California, a short 46-year-old Korean man in chef’s whites and black-rimmed glasses, sets up a cooking station on a large rectangular table for a demo. His compact stature, boyish looks and nimble movements make him appear closer to 30 than 50.

Chef Mike Hong, Photo by JournoJames

This is chef Mike Hong. He preaches about Korean food. Even in little Italian bistros absent of any hungry Koreans.

While he considers himself a professional sushi chef first, he says that introducing people to Korean cuisine, or Hansik, is his true calling. (more…)

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Verbum Dei’s Oscar Rosa, Soccer Coach

Originally published Nov. 20, 2011

Helping kids through sports.

Such a simple and noble thing has been sadly twisted and perverted in the last couple of weeks with all the recent revelations of alleged child abuse at schools, such as Penn State and Syracuse.

Coach Oscar Rosa, Photo by JournoJames

Kids and sports should always go together; it’s something that should be celebrated, never mourned nor questioned. There’s too much darkness right now. A moral compass that points to some light is desperately needed.

A little bit of that light was found this week.

On a late Thursday afternoon in Watts, under a crisp, darkening November sky, a rookie assistant coach keenly watched his young soccer team perform passing drills. (more…)

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