Unmi Abkin is the author of Curry & Kimchi, which was named one of NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019. Her early relationship with food centered around longing. As an orphaned child in South Korea, she experienced hunger on a daily basis. Eventually adopted by a Jewish-American father and a Mexican mother, Abkin was steeped in diverse food traditions. A graduate of California Culinary Academy, she interned at Chez Panisse and worked at Boulevard Restaurant. Abkin is the owner, with her husband Roger Taylor, of Coco & The Cellar Bar in Easthampton, Massachusetts. She is a four-time semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast.