Chef Beverly Kim-Clark of Aria at Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park - Biography

Chef Beverly Kim Clark grew up in the kitchen, preparing home-cooked Korean food alongside her mother and making birthday cakes as gifts for friends. At 16, her older sister recommended a career in the culinary arts as a natural fit for this be-floured, would-be chef, and Kim Clark never looked back. In high school she took a summer job at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago Dining Room under famed Chicago Chef Sarah Stegner. As her mentor, Stegner encouraged Kim Clark to pursue a culinary degree at nearby Kendall College.
Kim Clark graduated from Kendall College and worked the line at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago before taking her turn at Charlie Trotter’s. Meanwhile, frequent trips to Korea allowed Kim-Clark to survey a number of courses on Asian cuisine in Seoul. Kim Clark met another mentor at Chicago’s Red Light: Chef Jackie Shen, who instructed her in discipline and running a kitchen. Kim Clark further expanded her pan-Asian repertoire with stages at Chicago’s Opera and Takashi.
A growing family inspired a move to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Kim Clark lent her expertise to Whole Foods, as a supervisor and then as a chef consultant at Lucky John Market. Ready to return to the kitchen, Kim Clark returned to Chicago, where she currently brings her accumulated culinary talent en force as chef de cuisine at Aria at Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. Apart from her duties in the kitchen at Aria, the seemingly tireless Kim Clark helps run Aria Bar and Sushi, as well as the Eno Wine Room, alongside Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park Chef Brad Parsons.