Murphy’s story of re-invention might be the perfect narrative for Lee’s film. One thing Lee is quick to admit is not perfect, however, is the film’s working title, “Asian Chops.” She hopes someone will suggest a better one. “PBS held a focus group and 'Asian Chops' was the best they came up with. It beat out other titles like 'Wok Across America' and 'Chop Suey Nation.'"

Eric Ehler of Seoul Patch and Gung Ho Restaurant rediscovered his cultural roots in Korea

Another attendee at Saturday’s launch, Eric Ehler, chef at Gung Ho Restaurant, asked Lee to include stories with regional diversity. “Originally I’m from Iowa and I’m a Korean adoptee. It would be great for this show to connect with other Asian adoptees. We’re still Asian American. As a cook, I feel it’s my duty is to educate and help Korean adoptees understand more about their culture and traditions. When I left culinary school at 18, I went to Italy thinking I wanted to cook Italian and French cuisine. But ultimately I decided I needed to learn to cook Korean, it’s part of my heritage. So two years ago, I took my first trip to Seoul, tried to learn the language, and cooked at a restaurant there. I came back and started a pop-up called Seoul Patch. This show is important; it can inspire people.”

Grace Lee definitely wants her film to explore boundaries beyond the big cities of the East and West Coasts. Lee was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, where she was afraid people thought her Korean American family was “weird and exotic.” “We had two refrigerators (one was for kimchi) and always worried about offending our neighbors.” She plans to include film shoots in the South and Midwest. “I’m excited to embark on this journey,” says Lee, “but I realize the topic is almost limitless. It’s not specifically about cooking, travel or famous chefs, but more about people we’ve never heard of: farmers, suppliers, the guy who introduced sushi to Texas.”
Producer Louise Lo told the crowd, “This unique point of view will hopefully come from people like you, who want to submit ideas. This is the first event to find out what you think should be included in the film. For the ideas that don’t make it into the film, we’ll also have web videos, blogs, recipes, photo essays on PBS.org/Food."

Indigo Som has strong opinions about Asian-American food

“I don’t think you can really talk about Asian food in America without talking about racism and identity," commented Indigo Som, a visual artist, who worked on a project photographing Chinese restaurants in places like Wyoming where there were very few Chinese people.

"One of my pet peeves is the perception that Asian food should be cheap. And it’s supposed to be grungy and dive-y. Then I think, ‘Oh, is that because Chinese people are cheap and dirty?’ And as a foodie," Som said, "it’s very frustrating to me because I want really good ingredients in my Chinese food and it’s hard to find a restaurant that does that because I guess most people won’t support it. For example, at the Ramen Shop in Oakland, most people are like ‘Oh my God, $14 for a bowl of ramen! It’s a crime.’ No it’s not, it’s because the ingredients are so much better.”

Hyunjoo Albrecht makes and sells kimchi from her Grandmother's recipes

Hyunjoo Albrecht, came to the U.S. from South Korea 10 years ago. “As the oldest daughter in the family, I did a lot of housework and learned to make my grandmother’s kimchi…but thanks to my grandmother, now I make her kimchi and sell it at grocery stores and the farmers market.”
“I think every Korean child has this experience:" Albrecht added smiling, "you eat a lot of galbi or barbeque and your stomach gets upset and your grandmother always brings you a bowl of kimchi juice and makes you drink it and it really calms your stomach. So now besides the kimchi, I have the juice left over and I’m selling this and I named it 'Kimchi Aid.' My grandmother couldn’t read; of course she didn’t know what 'probiotic' was, but she learned from experience it was good for the digestion. Now I have chiropractors and doctors asking me if I have any kimchi juice?"

With one story easily leading to the next, time was for the launch was soon over. “I know this is a huge project for one-hour documentary," said Grace Lee, "But maybe it can be a jumping off point for more. It’s important to go to places that we haven’t been before, even if it’s just down the street.”

You can listen to the audio of Saturday’s brain-storming launch party below and participate directly in shaping this exciting project by answering the following questions, which were on a survey distributed at Saturday’s event. Or share YOUR story; you might end up in Grace Lee’s new film.

What’s a great title for this project?
What topics or stories or communities are you interested in seeing in this film?
If you could only eat one Asian dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Suggestions for the best/worst named Asian Restaurant. Where is it?

You can leave comments below or share your own story by sending an email to: asianchops@gmail.com

Asian ChopsAsian Chops

PBS Wants YOUR Stories for New Film “Asian Chops”