This piece is part of the weekly series “Growing Forward: Insights for Building Better Food and Agriculture Systems,” presented by the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University and the nonprofit organization Food Tank. Each installment highlights forward-thinking strategies to address today’s food and agriculture related challenges with innovative solutions. To view more pieces in the series, click here.

Jonathan Kung is a chef, cookbook author, and influential content creator known for his vibrant “third culture” cooking—blending cultural traditions, flavors, and ingredients that hold personal meaning. After working in some of Detroit’s top kitchens, he launched the successful pop-up Kung Food Market Studio. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced its closure, Kung pivoted to social media. Since then, he has amassed a following of more than 2 million. Through short-form videos, he not only shares inventive recipes but also delivers accessible, reliable messaging on food, nutrition, and climate.

Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg spoke with Kung about what it means to be a third culture cook, how to combat misinformation around nutrition and health, and the local, grassroots communities that he hopes to see more young people plug into to drive change.

You identify as a third culture cook. Can you explain what that means to you?

Being a person of third culture is a specific lived experience. It’s where you grew up on the precipice of two very distinct cultures: the one that inhabited the home where you lived, and a completely separate one that operates directly outside of that home. In my case, I grew up in a very Chinese household and that household was in North America.

From my early  childhood through to  adulthood, I have crossed a cultural threshold and had to dance, communicate, laugh, eat, and drink the differences between the two on a daily basis. It’s not a good or a bad thing. I was able to use it as a creative outlet, and I express that through my food. We have some wonderful nuances and the ability to combine our experiences in both worlds into something completely distinct.

Read the full article about third culture cooking by Jonathan Kung at Food Tank.