Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions with Chef William Joo of Pizzeria Sei

Honestly, I ordered Thai chicken barbecue from a random place in Beverly Hills once, and it surpassed even a three-Michelin-star meal. It’s not the same anymore; it was only one time. It was delivery, yet the skin was still crispy, and [it was] juicy, tender, and well-marinated. They included a sweet Thai chili sauce and it was perfectly seasoned. Everything was professional, like, oh my God! There were no expectations for that kind of food and it was so incredible. Michelin-star restaurants, you expect to be great, but I wasn’t expecting greatness here.

I always felt Italian food felt similar to Korean cuisine. It’s not the same in taste, but the essence of it, no waste, being simple, that’s the core of it, is very similar. To me it feels like another home country food. Both countries emphasize the same thing: grandma’s cooking. We both cook in an expressive, no-recipe way. There’s a lot of similarities.

Try to improve myself and pass the knowledge to my staff so they can build something special for themselves in the future. I want to be a good mentor, someone who can teach them.

Good salt.

People who push boundaries in terms of sustainability, the way they mentor the kitchen staff and how they cook, how they source it. Pushing boundaries in every category. Not by price.

Anything with noodles and soup. It could be pho, it could be ramen, it could be boat noodles.