RuPaul Alum Kim Chi Releases Cookbook – 75 Recipes Fit for a (Drag) Queen
Drag stage knockout, fierce business mogul, and culinary connoisseur – Kim Chi is introducing the world to her favorite global recipes.
Featured Images: Kim Chi Eats the World by Kim Chi © 2025 Published by and courtesy of Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group / Photographs by Andrea D’Agosto
Kim Chi self-describes as sickening drag queen, fierce business mogul, and lifelong culinary connoisseur. And now she’s introducing the world to her favorite “tried-and-true, easy-to-follow” recipes. Known for her love of sharing Korean culture, it’s not a surprise that this collection comes with an international flair, “all with a unique Kim Chi twist.”
Released this week, the book is divided into four parts, covering four continents and foods from 21 countries. First stop, North America with Birria Tortas from Mexico, and tempting Canadian ketchup chips. Next stop is South America for Brazilian Brigadeiro Cake, a delectable chocolate truffle equivalent. Then European French Lemon Sole, Swiss Roasted Flour Soup, and Italian Warm Lemon Ricotta Dip. Final destination, Asia, to try her Bossam (she swears it rivals top Korean restaurants and asks that you include a small bowl of ssamjang), Indian Dal Tadka, Taiwanese pineapple cake bars and more. Kim Chi whets the appetite with promises of other types of dishes: personal anecdotes about the journeys that led to this particular curation of foods (like those ketchup chips, inspired by childhood roadtrip gas station snacks in Toronto).
To be clear, this diva is no novice to food. Let’s start with her drag name which just happens to be the classic Korean fermented vegetable dish. She’s hosted the 1 For The Table podcast on YouTube with Jon Kung, with episodes that include “Stinky Tofu for the Table.” Kim has appeared on Hulu’s “Drag Me to Dinner;” and partnered with Chipotle, donating $1 for each sold Kim Chi Pride Bowl to Human Rights Campaign.
And the cookbook isn’t the first time Kim Chi (a.k.a. Sang-Young Shin) has put a well-manicured hand to the pen.
She is also the co-author of a recently-released children’s novel, Donutella Hamachi and the Library Avengers—a contemporary superhero story that draws on her own South Korean roots via twelve-year-old protagonist, Korean immigrant Jae Han.
Books and food aside, many first got to know Kim Chi as a Season 8 “Donut come for me!” runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race. (Facts: she’s 7 feet tall in heels, and only learned to walk on them after Season 8). Think breathing anime character with a bionic doily aesthetic who stole viewers hearts when she “came out” on the show and her mom learned for the first time that Kim did drag.
Bottom line: if food is your love language, 75 Recipes Fit for a (Drag) Queen just might expand your vocabulary.
