Chef Ann Kim's restaurant and entrepreneurial tips

Chef Ann Kim tells Chris Farrell how she became a restaurateur, offers her perspective on entrepreneurial creativity and shares her ideas for innovation in the restaurant business.

Ann Kim is the Owner and Executive chef of the restaurants Young Joni, Pizzeria Lola, and Hello Pizza. A Korean immigrant, she credits her culinary palate to helping her mother and grandmother at an early age make traditional staples such as fermented bean paste and kimchi.

Her college years at New York's Columbia University laid the foundation for her dream of bringing great pizza to Minnesota, and her years as a freelance actor fostered her value of creativity.

She opened her first restaurant, Pizzeria Lola, in 2010: an artisan wood fired pizzeria that has been lauded both locally and nationally. Her second restaurant, Hello Pizza, is an East Coast inspired slice shop and frequently tops Best of Lists. Young Joni, which opened in late 2016, features an eclectic wood fire inspired menu and has been named one of the best new restaurants in America 2017 by GQ magazine and Eater National.

Ann Kim recently received her first James Beard Award semifinalist nomination in the category of "Best Chef Midwest."

Chris Farrell is host of "Conversations on the Creative Economy," and senior economics contributor at APM's Marketplace and Minnesota Public Radio.

To listen to their discussion, click the audio player above.