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Meet Roberta Kung of GiftedTaste in West Hollywood

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Roberta Kung.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Roberta. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a first-generation American deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, my frame of reference is a composite, a hybrid of Eastern and Western perspectives.

Education was held in high esteem by my parents, both of whom worked in the medical field.  That for many years I would follow the path of a physician through a sense of obligation, without due deliberation, was no surprise. Many of my most precious childhood memories were centered around food and the symbolism of food that is deeply rooted in the history of Chinese culture.  Stories told around a dining room table, conversations and delicacies nourishing both mind and body, and festive occasions with family and friends had always left me with a sense of renewal.

As an adult, I married a successful man and I spent each day as an active and involved mother of three beautiful children. I worked in a profession that I cherished, but which I had pursued blindly and by default.  I was living the appearance of a perfect life, which I came to understand was not authentically my own.

At the age of 46, it all caught up with me.  I felt lost, unfulfilled and full of angst at the lowest point in my life. I began to question my role as a physician, even my roles as mother and wife.  And although I loved being a physician, I felt frustrated and hollow. I came to realize that I had suppressed and denied aspects of my professional aspirations and that I was living my life through my husband and children.

My marriage had been crumbling under my feet – and I no longer had the desire to repair it. I realized I wasn’t perpetually tired from lack of sleep – I was depressed and profoundly unhappy at the thought of continuing to live my life in ongoing denial of what my soul was telling me.   By living an unfulfilled life , by fully denying my dreams in deference to what others had always expected of me, what kind of example was I setting for my children?

My motivation was both personal and altruistic: I desperately wanted to wake up happy and joyful. I wanted each morning to be filled with excitement about my work. I wanted to be inspired by what I was doing.  Above all, I wanted to inspire others and give back in a way that was true to my spirit.

So, I filed for separation from my husband of 11 years.  I resolved to be a more present mother to my children and to become a powerful role model for them.  I searched for the things that would bring me closer to the happy and fulfilled life I desperately wanted, knew I deserved, and was capable of living.

After some deep soul-searching, I focused on what had always brought me joy: storytelling and connecting with others through shared experiences, using my creativity and problem solving skills to help others, and educating people about their health and wellness.  As a physician my major focus was solely on the latter. I resolved to realize my full potential through a professional endeavor that engaged all of my strengths, all of my being.

During this time of reflection, I realized that my understanding of the role of cuisine in human connections had evolved early in my experience of life. Food is unifying, an affirmation of life and the authenticity of our common human experience.   Sharing a meal connects us with family, changes acquaintances into friends, promotes understanding and trust in both our personal and business worlds. These tenets became the foundation of a business that unified my deep desire to be of service to others with my profound spirit of gratitude. The culture of food has always held a magical quality that was enlightening, connecting and transformative.

And thus, my incredible journey began:  a company born with a mission to bring people together through the power of culinary educational entertainment.  GiftedTaste is a fusion of my innate ability to connect to people , my business acumen, and my newly found passion and purpose in life.      GiftedTaste – an authentic manifestation of Me, Roberta: My Mind, My Body, My Spirit. My Everything.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Transitioning from being a full-time physician to become a businesswoman presented new struggles. I quickly realized I knew little about entrepreneurship – in fact, I have to admit, I did not fully understand what it meant until I read a definition and realized that it defined me perfectly. I learned everything I could about business – and committed myself to use it as a guide, but never as a bible.

I wanted to do things differently. I needed to create a culinary-focused business that didn’t exist. When I started out, many of my otherwise supportive friends and family didn’t understand what I was attempting or believe in it. I took that as a challenge. I knew I didn’t want outside funding because I wanted my vision to be expressed unfiltered.

I developed a great deal of patience and stayed open to what unfolded in front of me — what started as a B2C e-commerce model organically developed into a larger B2B opportunity. The key for me is to always stay open and follow the business where it naturally wants to go.

GiftedTaste – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Today, GiftedTaste is an immersive market & cultural intelligence consultancy with unique expertise integrating culinary content and educational entertainment for top tier professional development, market expansion, team building, and corporate incentive programs.

Specializing in producing industry specific and brand integrated cultural entertainment at the intersection of education, world cuisine and the culture of business, GiftedTaste exists to help organizations understand and benefit from the challenges of cultural differences vital to business success in the international marketplace.

We collaborate with our interdisciplinary global partners to leverage our relationships and enlist the talents of leaders in transformative innovation with culturally enriching industry specific marketplace experiences in the U.S. and abroad.

We are unparalleled in our refined taste and unsurpassed in the integration of apropos culinary content with the ever-transforming landscape of the industries that drive the global economy.

GiftedTaste is inspired by love and gratitude. It’s an expression of my most sincere appreciation for the people who have left indelible impressions and profoundly changed my life with their wisdom, love, and devotion. We are, at our foundation, a blessing to be shared and passed around through meaningful and unforgettable connections.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment has to be what I am living now. Living my dream, staying the course, being steadfast in my conviction, and having belief in myself.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory of childhood was coming home from a long day at school to a house filled with the sweet aroma of soy sauce chicken with Chinese herbs and spices, the warmth from the steam of a rice cooker in the kitchen, and the sound of my mother’s voice barely audible, calling out to me from the floor of the kitchen where she knelt chopping a whole chicken on a thick nondescript wooden board.

And each time she came down on the chicken with a Chinese cleaver- the size of both her hands- there was the hollow schluck! schluck! schluck! Signaling that morsels of her mouthwatering chicken would be available to the lucky one sitting next to her on the cool tiled kitchen floor.

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Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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