Genie Kwon
Chef/Owner, Kasama | Chicago
September 2021
Genie Kwon, a native of New Orleans, graduated from Newbury College’s culinary management program in Massachusetts. After cutting her teeth at Flour Bakery & Cafe, Nobu Fifty Seven, and Eleven Madison Park, she moved to Chicago to run the pastry wing at GT Fish & Oyster where she worked alongside her future husband and business partner, Tim Flores.
In 2018, Flores and Kwon left to conceptualize a space of their own. After two and a half years, they built that space in the Ukrainian Village and named it Kasama, meaning “together” in Tagalog. The couple lives up to the restaurant’s name by collaborating on the Filipino-inflected sweet and savory offerings. For example, Kwon’s halo halo recipe combines her own flavors with her mother-in-law’s recipe for leche flan.
2021 StarChefs Chicago Rising Stars Game Changer Award Winner presented by S.Pellegrino
