Joo graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She began a career in the banking industry working at Goldman Sachs and then Morgan Stanley as an institutional fixed income derivatives saleswoman. However, she switched careers and began working as a chef after attending The French Culinary Institute, in 2004 and graduating at the top of her class. She then went to work at Saveur magazine in the test kitchens as well as in editorial. She also worked at Slow Food USA, where she founded their first inner citySlow Food in Schools program, "Harvest Time in Harlem". A move to London led her to restaurants, where she worked at Gordon Ramsay's restaurants, including Maze, Petrus, Gordon Ramsay Restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's and The Boxwood Café. She has also completed "stages" in the restaurants The French Laundry and The Fat Duck. In January 2015, she opened up her own restaurant in London called Jinjuu in Soho. Prior to that she was the executive chef for the Playboy Club London. In December 2015, Jinjuu launched a second location in Hong Kong and a third in Mayfair, London shortly afterwards. In 2019, Joo left Jinjuu and is opening a new venture, entitled Seoul Bird in 2020. She notably delivered the key note Commencement address to her alma mater, Columbia University, in May 2018.
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Joo was one of the four Iron Chefs on the cooking showIron Chef UK and was a resident judge on season four of the Food Network showThe Next Iron Chef. She has also been a regular judge on Iron Chef America and a Challenger in the Iron Chef UK vs. Iron Chef America battle. She is also the host of Korean Food Made Simple, and Season 2 of the same title on Food Network worldwide. She is also a resident judge on Kitchen Inferno. In addition to her Iron Chef roles, Joo has appeared on UK Food Channel’s Market Kitchen and Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate and The Best Thing I Ever Made. She is also a regular judge on Guy Fieri's Guy's Grocery Games. Joo also makes regular guest appearances on various TV shows, radio and digital videos in USA, UK and in Asia. Her first book, "Korean Food Made Simple", was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Jacqui Small/Quarto Publishing in May 2016. In 2019, she came out with her second book, Korean Soul Food, published by Quarto/White Lion.
