Fishers unveils lineup of chefs at test kitchen

The Fishers Test Kitchen has announced its inaugural class of chefs, just weeks before the restaurant accelerator is expected to open at The Yard at Fishers District.

Three concepts—Korean barbeque, California street food and global street food—will fill out the restaurant stalls at the test kitchen first.

The chefs are Rook co-owner and chef Carlos Salazar who will operate Lil Dumplings, a global street food concept; brothers Jung Min Kim and Jung Gyu Kim, who will operate Korave Korean BBQ; and Leisha Berg, who will run West Coast Nook featuring California-inspired street food.

The chefs were announced at an event held Tuesday night at the IoT Lab in Fishers. The test kitchen is expected to open to the public in November.

The Fishers Test Kitchen, which is located inside Sun King’s new Brewery at The Yard, will be run by co-founders Jolene Ketzenberger, a local food writer, and John Wechsler, founder of Launch Fishers and the IoT lab. Mayor Scott Fadness and Dave Colt, co-founder and head brewer of Sun King Brewing, joined Ketzenberger and Wechsler in selecting the first three concepts.

They were chosen among six applicants who were evaluated based on their concept and how it would fit into the beer hall and experience. The judges also taste tested their food.

Salazar has worked in several restaurants across Indianapolis and is currently the head chef at Rook in Fetcher Place, where he makes Asian street food.

Berg, who currently works at Traders Point Creamery and Point on Penn in Indianapolis, moved to Fishers two years ago for culinary school. Now she’s ready to launch her own restaurant.

And the Kim brothers moved to Fishers a year and a half ago from Utah and brought with them their Korean munchies food truck, which operated around Indianapolis until last spring, when they sold the truck to focus on their goal of opening a restaurant.

For more on the chefs and their background, see this weekend’s print edition of the Indianapolis Business Journal or visit the “This Week’s Paper” tab at IBJ.com.