Judy Joo to open Seoul Bird in August

Chef Judy Joo is set to open her Korean-style fried chicken concept Seoul Bird at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush in London on 6 August.

During the first week of opening the restaurant’s signature Korean fried chicken will be £1 from 12pm-1pm. All proceeds from this will be donated to Only A Pavement Away, a charity that supports the homeless, ex-offenders and vulnerable veterans into jobs within the hospitality industry.

Joo said: “The Korean way of cooking is so generous and hospitable, something that we all need right now. Seoul Bird is my interpretation of true Korean comfort food – we won’t hug you but our food will! I can’t wait to bring my favourite flavours and a big taste of Korea, from shatteringly crunchy fried chicken to warming, spicy gochujang sauces to Westfield!”

Following an engineering degree at Columbia University and a career on Wall Street, Joo retrained and moved to London in 2007, joining Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as a pastry chef. She opened her own modern Korean restaurant Jinjuu in 2014, before leaving last summer to focus on her new cookbook and Seoul Bird, which was originally scheduled to open in April.

Andrew Hales will be chief operating officer of Seoul Bird, and Jeremy Simmons of Berkeley Simmons Leisure also joins the team as a consultant.