Restaurant Shik closes as owner seeks ‘clarity’ for next venture
The first hospitality venture for Peter "Kimchi Pete" Jo, Restaurant Shik, has closed, with the Niagara Lane premises in Melbourne repossessed last week.
Jo had no formal training as a chef or experience as a business owner, but his take on Korean dishes, which leaned towards unusual ferments, received much critical praise. However, the acclaim did not translate into the number of diners needed to keep the business afloat.
Jo says one problem with his approach was it "clashed with a lot of people's preconceptions of what Korean was".
"My style is old-world Korean,” he told Good Food. “Most of the foods that people know from Korea came about after the war. I love the food of Korea pre-war, when it was poor, when it was about survival. That's why I had the most fun on the menu with the pickles. One of my favourite things was getting greens from farmers that would usually go to waste. That's what my food is about."
Jo hasn’t thrown in the towel yet though, adding that “this is the beginning".
Plans are already underway to find venues to host Shik pop-ups and pay his outstanding debts.
Sheridan Randall, 12th April 2019
