Su Jang grew up in her father’s Chinese American restaurant. Raised with a passion for food and all things delicious, Jang began working in the family business from a very young age, cooking for the staff by the time she was ten. Today, food continues to connect her to parents, both of whom have since passed away. “I will look through their cookbooks,” she says, “and make a childhood recipe and instantly I am back in time and flooded with happy memories.” With her business, New Rose Catering, Jang gets to share her talent for cooking and continue her family legacy of making people happy with great food.
Originally, Jang began New Rose Catering as a catering-only business. Then, a family asked her if she would be their personal chef. It was an idea she had never considered, thinking that a personal chef was something only celebrities had. Quickly, though, she realized that there was a huge need for her services. Busy families were struggling to put dinner on the table and getting tired of just ordering out. Instead of just catering large parties, Jang found herself making meals for individual families. “In essence,” she says, “New Rose Catering could be called New Rose Kitchen.”
Today, while still providing catering services, Jang also prepares weekly meals and offers free delivery to Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, Monday through Thursday evenings. Each week she prepares two fresh soups and three entrees, selecting seasonal and fresh ingredients and incorporating recipes that are both comforting yet healthy. Since all of her meals are freshly prepared, Jang can accommodate special dietary requests easily such as vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
There are few things more satisfying than a successful family meal, and Jang loves the immediate gratification she gets from her customers, often in a text or email after dinner. One message said, “My kids are picky eaters and I thought they would NEVER touch dinner but they ate it and asked for seconds.” For Su Jang, that was the “BEST COMPLIMENT EVER!”
For holiday parties or family dinners, Su Jang can be contacted at 708.261.6908 or newrosecatering@gmail.com. You can also visit her website (starting in November) at www.newrosecatering.com.
