The Wanderer’s Curse x Gentle Foods
Philbrook Museum of Art
May 22
The faint, oceanic fragrance of kimchi hung in the air in Philbrook’s guest lounge, whose floor-to-ceiling glass windows illuminated the little cups of fermented cucumber and radish—a thing in a place I never thought I would see (or smell). It made me feel at home; one whiff hurled me into the serenity of congruity despite being in a hall full of complete strangers. Even Walmart sells kimchi now, so I should probably learn to tamp that feeling down.
“Koreans are everywhere,” said food writer Christina Chaey—formerly of Bon Appétit and currently of the popular Substack Gentle Foods—as she led a book talk in the Philbrook gardens with award-winning Bon Appétit editor and Tulsa Artist Fellowship alum Jennifer Hope Choi about Choi’s new memoir, The Wanderer’s Curse.