Sim Wimbush ’08

As the daughter of a Korean mother and African American father, Sim Wimbush ’08 enjoyed the best of two cultural and culinary worlds.

“I got a lot of exposure to soul food through church — black-eyed peas, collards, mac and cheese, smothered pork chops, and chicken. Then my mother would try her hand at making those things,” Wimbush says. “She’d often ‘Koreanify’ soul food, which would mean adding ingredients like ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, or Asian chives that she grew in her garden.”

While working as executive director of Virginia Housing Alliance, Wimbush began thinking of starting a food truck to indulge her love of cooking. In November 2019, she launched her food truck, Seoul 2 Soul. For two years, Wimbush featured a Korean-soul food menu that reflected her roots and incorporated both meat and vegan meals.

The combination of the pandemic, a full-time job, and not being able to find someone to run the business when she wasn’t around made her decide to sell the truck and switch her food focus.

She’s now working on getting two of her fusion recipes onto store shelves. She’s also creating a cookbook and has started a new position as disability policy engagement director with Anthem, an insurance company.