RICHMOND, Va. -- Daniel Harthausen is not yet a household name in Richmond's culinary scene. But that has not stopped his Korean and Japanese cuisine-inspired Young Mother pop-up restaurant to sell out for the remainder of 2021.
He is taking reservations for 2022.
"I don't see myself as somebody that's a part of the Richmond chef community. I still just work and I do a pop-up once a month. People really like it and I love that," Harthausen said. "I kind of just see myself as still an employee at Adarra, which I love."
The 26-year-old Korea-born, Hampton Roads-raised chef said he has learned a lot from Adarra owner and chef Randall Doetzer.
"We're fairly similar. I pick up on very blunt direction well," he said. "I think it's just coming from an athletic background or playing sports my whole life and then also coming up as a military kid. Being very coachable is a skill I think is really important for people. So like having someone just tell me directly when I need to do, I'll go do it and then also learn from it."
His time with Doetzer, plus stops at other Richmond restaurants like Yaki and Black Sheep, has given Harthausen the confidence to move forward with Young Mother.
"Primarily we're focused on Japanese and Korean food. Kind of like this meshing of the two cultures. It's pretty interesting on my end, being able to research how the two cultures kind of interact with food," he said.
Click here to learn more about Young Mother pop-ups and DM the Instagram account to get on the waiting list for the next event.
You can listen Daniel Harthausen share his story on the Eat It, Virginia podcast.
