Chef Albert Ok, owner of the newly launched Oken in Oakland, originally pursued a career in art before shifting to the culinary world due to practical reasons. After attending UC Irvine and working at various sushi restaurants, Ok noticed similarities between cooking and art in terms of flavor pairing and presentation. Although inspired to open a fast casual restaurant first, he seized the opportunity to launch his sit-down concept sooner than planned, recognizing the challenges and work involved in this transition.
"I just found art to be slightly more solitary, a lot of just sitting down and being alone, which was probably the least enjoyable part of doing art, so I just transitioned to cooking."
"Ingredients could be sort of similar to the color palette. Different tastes make different flavors, and certain colors go well with other colors."
"Even though Ok's is doing very well right now, this is a little sooner than I was hoping to move to a sit down spot, but the opportunity came up and I decided to take it."
"My vision was always to start with a fast casual restaurant before moving to a sit down. The plans formed in the back of my mind over the past 18 or so years."
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