Seoul 2 Soul food

Sim Wimbush ’08
   Sim Wimbush ’08

April 7, 2022 — Cornbread with Garlic Chives. Oatmeal with Kimchi. Collard greens spiced with ginger and garlic. As the daughter of a Korean mother and African American father, Sim Wimbush ’08, who grew up in Virginia, enjoyed the best of two cultural and culinary worlds. 

Though dad was a former Army cook and supervisor, it was mom who made nearly all their meals. Wimbush usually helped, and she fell in love with cooking. 

“People think there’s just one type of kimchi, made with Napa cabbage, but we’d have at least five or six varieties at home,” says Wimbush, who’s a social worker. “What we ate was often a fusion but skewing more toward Korean, since that was reminiscent of flavors from home for my mom.

“I got a lot of exposure to soul food through church – black eyed peas, collards, mac and cheese, smothered pork chops and chicken – then my mother would try her hand at making those things. She’d often ‘Koreanify’ soul food, which would mean adding ingredients like ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, or Asian chives that she grew in her garden,” Wimbush added.
 
At Grinnell College, Wimbush was a QuestBridge scholar and anthropology major who fully embraced both sides of her heritage. She was involved with Concerned Black Students, became president of the Asian American Coalition [now Asian and Asian American Association], and was a member of the Multicultural Students Association. 

“The first time I cooked a legit Korean dinner was for my fellow cabinet members of the Asian American Coalition,” she says. “I was nervous, so I called home to ask my mom how she makes her kimchi.” Sim invited the group over to Lazier Hall, where they enjoyed bulgogi, rice, kimchi, and japchae. The meal was a hit.

Korean fried cauliflower bites with vegan ranch and seasoned sweet potatoes fries is another dish that was served up by the Seoul 2 Soul Food Truck.
Korean fried cauliflower bites with vegan ranch and
seasoned sweet potatoes fries is another dish that
was served up by the Seoul 2 Soul Food Truck.
A Korean dish, vegan bibimbap made with tofu for protein, is displayed.
A Korean dish, vegan bibimbap made
with tofu for protein, is displayed.

After graduation from Grinnell, Wimbush worked in the nonprofit sector in D.C. and Virginia, before returning to school to earn her master’s from the University of Southern California in clinical social work in 2013. She spent the next two years working for Virginia state government first at the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and then for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, focusing on ending veteran homelessness. In 2016, Wimbush became the executive director of Virginia Housing Alliance, a statewide homelessness and affordable housing advocacy nonprofit. She was also a board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition from 2017 to 2019. 

But in the back of her mind, Wimbush had been thinking of starting a food truck. It was a way to work for herself and indulge her love of cooking. She began cooking for her staff to test recipes and hosting meals at her home. “Any holiday I’d cook and have people come eat and enjoy food and give me feedback,” she says. 

Finally, in November 2019, she launched her food truck, Seoul 2 Soul. For two years, Wimbush featured a Korean-Soul food menu that reflected her roots and incorporated both meat and vegan meals. 

Her signature dish was kimchi mac and cheese. Other dishes included Korean fried chicken and sweet potato waffles, Korean fried cauliflower bites with vegan ranch and seasoned sweet potatoes fries, along with more traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap and bulgogi.

Also in 2019, Wimbush began working at the Disability Law Center of Virginia and ran the food truck primarily on weekends. The truck was popular at Richmond-area neighborhoods, festivals, and breweries, as well as corporate catering events. The combination of the pandemic, a full-time job, and not being able to find someone to run the business when she wasn’t around made her decide to sell the truck and switch her food focus. 

She’s now working on getting two of her fusion recipes onto store shelves: a bottled Korean inspired sauce for BBQ and dipping, and her kimchi mac and cheese. She’s also working on a cookbook and has started a new position, as disability policy engagement director with Anthem, Inc. 

“You think these two cultures might be so different but in reality, there are a lot of similarities in both the culture and food,” says Wimbush. “And though the recipes are simple, you have to master the balance. You have to be able to taste the love.”

— by Anne Stein ’84

For your information:

The Concerned Black Students, Asian and Asian American Association, and Multicultural Students Association are several of the multicultural student organizations at Grinnell College.

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