Seung Kyu Kim

The Climb

In New York kitchens, the ladder was built on volume, pressure, and exacting standards. Seung Kyu Kyu moved through that structure at Jean-Georges and Nougatine as Senior Sous Chef, positions that demand control over pace as much as product. The next step, director of Culinary Development at Gracious Hospitality Management, shifted the work from line execution to the larger mechanics of building a restaurant identity. From there, Seung moved into Executive Chef at COQODAQ, a role that carried the authority of the kitchen itself. The same group later became the site of a wider stake in the business, with Seung Kyu Kyu as partner of Gracious Hospitality Management. That transition ties development work to ownership: the planning, the execution, and the operating decisions now sit in the same hand.

Today

The present role remains inside Gracious Hospitality Management, where Seung Kyu Kyu is Partner. Because that title follows a previous position as Director of Culinary Development, it reads less like a departure than a continuation of the same operational framework. The language around the food is similarly direct. Seung has said, “We wanted something sustainable and something that doesn't oxidize super fast.” He has also said, “Putting health forward was always something we wanted.” Those lines point to a kitchen built around durability and restraint, where the brief is not only flavor, but how the food holds up once it leaves the pass.

Signature

Seung Kyu Kyu's signature dishes include Better Fried Chicken, Coqodaq Original Fried Chicken, Soy-Garlic-Glazed Fried Chicken, and Gochujang-Glazed Chicken. The set is recognizably built around fried chicken, but the naming shows a kitchen working through variation by glaze and seasoning rather than by abstraction. Each version keeps the form intact while separating itself through a specific finish.

In Their Words “We wanted something sustainable and something that doesn't oxidize super fast.” “Putting health forward was always something we wanted.” The quotes frame the kitchen as a system with a practical brief. The emphasis is on shelf life, stability, and a health-minded approach, which places process ahead of flourish.

Recognition

Seung Kyu Kyu's honors include Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024). The recognition aligns with a career that moved from senior kitchen roles into development, then into executive responsibility and partnership within the same group.