Welcome to uslifechef.com.
I’m Chef J, and this is the story of my journey back to the kitchen.
For 15 years, I worked as a tour guide, spending much of my life surrounded by nature and meeting people from all over the world. I loved helping people have memorable experiences and discovering what made each journey special.
Then COVID-19 changed many things.
It became a turning point that made me seriously think about my future and what I wanted to do with the next chapter of my life.
That led me to the kitchen.
From Japanese Cuisine to a New Beginning
I worked as a Japanese cuisine chef for three years.
At first, I wasn’t sure whether professional cooking was the right path for me. But once I started working in a professional kitchen, I quickly discovered that I enjoyed it.
I was comfortable with the pace of the kitchen, enjoyed learning new techniques, and found that working with a knife and preparing food came naturally to me.
For a while, I thought I might eventually retire as a chef.
But life took me in another direction.
For more than three years, I devoted myself to building an AI and social-economy platform called Wonia City. I invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into that project.
Eventually, I realized that it wasn’t the path I wanted to continue.
So I decided to return to the kitchen.
Starting Again
After being away from professional cooking for more than three years, I didn’t want to assume that I could simply return to where I had left off.
Instead, I chose to start again as a kitchen chef.
In August 2026, I began this new chapter.
It won’t be easy. Working in a professional kitchen is demanding, both physically and mentally. There is always something new to learn, and there will always be mistakes to overcome.
But I’m doing this because I want to build a better future.
And I believe that starting over is not something to be ashamed of.
Sometimes, starting over is exactly what we need.
Why I Created uslifechef.com
This website is where I document that journey.
Here you’ll find:
- Recipes and cooking ideas
- Lessons from the professional kitchen
- Cooking techniques and kitchen skills
- Stories from my journey as a chef
- Experiences from working in an American kitchen
- The challenges and lessons that come with starting again
I’m not here to pretend that I have all the answers.
I’m still learning.
I’m still making mistakes.
And I’m still growing.
That’s what I want to share.
Cooking for People
After 15 years as a tour guide, I learned something important about creating a good experience.
People remember how they feel.
Food is a big part of that experience.
When I took guests on tours, I always cared about where we ate. I didn’t want to take people somewhere that served disappointing food.
I wanted them to have a meal they would remember.
That same idea follows me into the kitchen today.
I want every guest who visits our restaurant to be able to think:
“If I come here, I know I’m going to have a really good meal.”
Whether someone eats at the restaurant or takes their food to go, I want to give them the same level of care.
For me, good food isn’t just about following a recipe.
It’s about making someone feel good.
The Journey Continues
I don’t know exactly where this journey will take me.
But I know that I’m willing to work for it.
While I continue growing in the kitchen, I’m also building this website as a long-term project. I hope that the experiences and lessons I share here will eventually create new opportunities online as well.
Maybe two or three years from now, I’ll look back at this beginning and see how far I’ve come.
For now, I’m taking it one day at a time.
One recipe.
One lesson.
One step forward.
— Chef J
uslifechef.com is a personal food and lifestyle blog documenting Chef J’s cooking journey, professional kitchen experiences, recipes, and lessons learned along the way.