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(From left) Seoul 2 Soul owner Sim Wimbush, along with niece Morgan Wimbush and sister Rosetta Wimbush at The Veil Brewing Co. during the food truck's inaugural outing. (Photo courtesy Hatch Kitchen)
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A Seoul 2 Soul platter (Photo courtesy Hatch Kitchen)
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Seoul 2 Soul offers three types of kimchi, including this cucumber variety. (Photo courtesy Sim Wimbush)
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Sweet potato pie from Seoul 2 Soul (Photo courtesy Sim Wimbush)
“I wanted something that was going to be reflective of my background,” says 33-year-old Sim Wimbush, owner of the recently debuted Seoul 2 Soul food truck and catering service. “I really wanted to be able to show where that passion for cooking comes from, and it comes from my cultural upbringing — from watching my mom, and from being inspired by the background of my father.”
The Dinwiddie native’s mother is Korean, her father African-American. Growing up, Wimbush recalls eating grits with kimchi and collard greens with garlic and ginger — a combination of cultures.
“People always ask, you know, ‘What are you? Do you identify more as Asian or more of black?' " she explains as we sit inside Hatch Kitchen, the local food-business incubator where she is currently based. “I'm not half of anything, I’m both."
A similar ideology applies to the concept of Seoul 2 Soul, whose offerings are reflective of those early food memories and connections. Wimbush first began experimenting with cooking while attending Grinnell College, a small private school in rural Iowa. Dishes like Korean barbecue and kimchi were a form of comfort food as she dealt with homesickness.
“Cooking was a way for me to stay connected to home,” she says.
Upon graduating, Wimbush attended the University of Southern California, earning her master's degree in clinical social work before returning to Richmond. Despite having never held a full-time professional cooking position, Wimbush says the kitchen, and a desire to be her own boss, was calling. In November, Seoul 2 Soul officially launched.
“I don’t want people to think of it as half-Korean half-soul food; I don’t want you to think of them separately,” Wimbush says. “There are so many more similarities cuisine-wise that I don’t think a lot of people realize.”
Chicken and waffles gets a refresh aboard the food truck with the help of gochujang, a traditional Korean sweet and spicy fermented red chili paste. The fried chicken, with a vegan option available, is marinated in a gochujang-buttermilk ranch mixture, double fried, topped with ranch and then paired with an orange-infused sweet potato waffle with ginger honey.
“Everything is better with ranch,” Wimbush says, laughing.
For fans of bibimbap, Wimbush offers “Seoul 2 Soul Bowls," where guests choose a base of rice or mac and cheese, one protein, and up to three veggies. The bowl can then be topped with gochujang-buttermilk ranch, bulgogi sauce or gochujang with sesame oil sauce, and an optional fried egg. A sampler platter presents a protein, rice or mac and cheese, kimchi, and two sides, which rotate but typically include succotash, collards, yams, cooked bean sprouts and sauteed spinach with garlic.
“Items are meant to be fused however you wish and pay respect to both [cultures],” Wimbush says. “You can freak it however you want — if you want to go more traditionally Korean or more soul food or mix the two together.”
What diners can always expect to find at Seoul 2 Soul: kimchi. Wimbush, who jokes that she’s a “bad Korean” for disliking fish, doesn’t use fish sauce, a staple ingredient, in her ferments; she does use organic sugar. Her various types of kimchi, from sweet white radish to cucumber to Napa cabbage, are all vegan. Wimbush says she envisions bottling and selling her kimchi in the future.
Seoul 2 Soul has forthcoming appearances at The Veil Brewing Co. on Dec. 27 from 5 to 9 p.m., Ardent Craft Ales on Jan. 1 from noon to 5 p.m., and Triple Crossing on Jan. 4 from noon to 8 p.m.
