It was important to her parents that their daughter feel like she belonged.
Better not to dwell on the ways in which she was different.
Still, as a child, Leach was curious about her heritage.
Photo: Craig Lee
Even though she was only 6 in 1988, she distinctly remembers watching the Seoul Olympics.
When she got older, she’d tell people she wanted to drive a Hyundai.
“I mean, what kid dreams of owning a Hyundai?”
Craig Lee
After college, Leach worked in agriculture in the Pacific Northwest before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Many chefs who worked there went on to launch projects that were representative of their heritage.
It inspired Leach to do the same.
Ryan Liebe
Growing the perilla came easily to Leach; figuring out what to do with it was harder.
“I was more familiar with Korean plants than I was with Korean people,” Leach says.
So she started bringing boxes of her produce to Korean community events.
Ryan Liebe
“However vulnerable I felt, I knew I could show up with those leaves and be welcomed.”
Among those who welcomed her was chef Dennis Lee.
Leach turned up unannounced at one of his restaurants in 2011 with a crate of perilla.
Ryan Liebe
“At that time, it wasn’t easy to source perilla,” Lee says.
“So we were really psyched to have straight-up Korean perilla leaves just drop into our lap.
I told Kristyn I would buy as much as she could grow,” Lee says.
That relationship between farmer and chef eventually flourished into a formal partnership.
It’s just one of the heirloom varietals that Leach also preserves throughSecond Generation Seeds.
“Korean chile peppers are such a vital part of Korean national identity,” Leach muses.
But, she explains, most of the peppers grown today in Korea are hybrid varietals owned by multinationals.
“To me, this raises an interesting question,” Leach says.
“What makes a pepper Korean?
Is it the chile itself?
Is it who grows it?
Is it the land that it’s grown on?”
“Breeding is a slow reinforcement of your personal preference.
It’s not a birthright to grow these crops.
While Leach may not have childhood memories of perilla, her 1-year-old daughter certainly will.
‘Let’s justInceptionthis into your tiny brain!'”
“It’s probably the one thing I’ll grow until I die.
Even when I’m too old to farm, I’ll always have a perilla patch.”
Find her on Instagram at@mackenzie_fegan.
