From Salsa to Sneakers, 10 Things Chef Antonio Park Relies on to Stay Inspired
Chef Antonio Park has all the time frolicked within the kitchen. The Montreal-based restaurateur grew up in South America, serving to his mom peel onions of their kitchen in Argentina. Park’s multicultural background—his mother and father are Korean and his household additionally lived Paraguay and Brazil—has influenced not solely his cooking model, but additionally his dedication to farm-to-table eating and his altruistic outlook on life.
Before opening his first restaurant, Park, in Montreal in 2012, Chef Park attended culinary faculty in Japan and put in his time working at kitchens world wide. Now, with 13 eating places in cities like Seoul and Montreal, he captivates diners throughout the globe with dishes that seamlessly mix Japanese, Korean and worldwide flavours.
Park’s most up-to-date restaurant is Yama, a Japanese-fusion joint that opened in May within the newly reimagined Vogue Hotel Montreal. It comes sizzling on the heels of final yr’s opening of AP, serving Japanese and Pan-Asian impressed dishes, on the 51st ground of Toronto’s Manulife Centre, an idea Park plans to increase into Colorado and Tokyo. A second location of Park is ready to open in 2024 in Tangier, Morocco within the first Waldorf Astoria lodge to open in Africa.
Here are 10 issues the chef and father of 4 depends on to gas his inspiration and hold his gastronomic empire rising.
Live sports activities
From UFC and soccer to baseball, hockey and tennis, Park is a large fan of sports activities and all the time makes time to look at them on TV. He cheers the loudest for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Canadiens. “As a kid I used to watch Montreal Expos baseball games with my dad,” he says. “He was a semi-professional baseball player in Korea, and put me in every possible sport as a kid, which I’m grateful for.”
The Girl with Seven Names
As a younger boy, Park devoured detective novels and mysteries by Agatha Christie. These days, he enjoys studying non-fiction as a substitute. “I recently read The Girl with Seven Names, the story of a North Korean woman who escaped the country and wrote about it,” he says. “Biographies inspire me to be grateful for what I have and where I am in life.”
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Park spends at the least six hours a day on his iPhone 13 Pro Max. “I get thousands of emails and text messages a day,” he says. “I wouldn’t know how to do my work without it. For communication, conversation and problem-solving, there’s nothing better.”
Seoul
Park goes to Seoul at the least twice a yr to see his mom, who retired there. It’s additionally the positioning of his first abroad restaurant, Centre Cheongdam, which serves up a fusion of Western and Japanese dishes. Park opened it in 2022 partially as a tribute to Montreal and Canada. “We go through a lot of maple syrup,” he says. The candy stuff is utilized in dishes just like the Monte Cristo sandwich.
Sneakers
A self-professed shoe freak, Park estimates he has over 500 pairs from manufacturers like Nike, Adidas and Prada. Cool socks are additionally on the high of his listing—his favorite pair has Batman on them. “When I was a kid we were really poor—my socks always had holes and I couldn’t change my shoes for four or five years, so they had to be taped shut at the front and sides,” says Park. “I always told myself, the day I have money I’m going to buy all the shoes, socks and hats that I want.”
Clear broth with spicy codfish
When it involves consolation meals, nothing fairly hits the spot like his mom’s clear broth with spicy codfish. “She does a lot of broths I really like and also makes the noodles herself,” says Park. “Mom always says, ‘You can eat the same food at a restaurant, but they’ll never put in the same heart and soul as when parents make it for their children.’”
Karla de Lara
As considered one of Mexico’s most celebrated artists, Guadalajara-based Karla de Lara is also known as the mom of hyperrealist pop artwork. Her not too long ago commissioned portray of a Montreal cityscape might be seen adorning the partitions of Yama; Park additionally counts her as a detailed good friend. “Karla is a beautiful human being,” he says. “Even though she’s beyond popular, she is super humble and so nice.”
Luis Miguel
With just one cassette participant in the home, and an older sister who cherished Luis Miguel, Park rapidly grew to understand the Mexican-Puerto Rican celebrity as properly. “He’s a very romantic singer with a beautiful voice; I love how he composes his lyrics,” he says. “His music always brings me back to the memories I have from growing up in South America.”
Dancing
Park likes to sing and dance each likelihood he will get—from salsa and merengue to hip hop and reggae, it simply comes naturally to him. “My parents used to put on Julio Iglesias and dance together all the time,” he says. “It was always my dream to become a professional singer; when I was 18 I secretly won the grand prize at a singing competition. My father found out when it came out in the newspaper and he wanted to murder me, because he wanted me to go to school and study. I still sing—when I’m driving to work, in the shower and to my children.”
Helping others
Park’s personal life philosophy is: “Be the sun, not the flower. Let all the flowers underneath you grow bigger than you.”
“If someone has learned from you to become better and stronger, then you’ve done your work and the world will be a better place after you’re gone.”
