Adam Tsang, owner of Soyumi Asian Kitchen, has an exciting collaboration taking place with Georgia Southern tight end Beau Johnson. Soyumi will host the “It’s Beau Time” Chef Pop-up on October 19th from 6:00 to 9:00PM, featuring a dish Johnson helped create.
“We will be launching a dish at Soyumi Asian Kitchen," Tsang said. "The dish is going to be a mix of multiple different cultures, but the base of the dish is going to be Korean fried chicken and it’s going to be topped with a creamy Caribbean jerk sauce that has been developed by Beau.”
Tsang and Johnson met at a dinner that Tsang’s friend, Statesboro realtor Paul Newman, was hosting. Johnson was cooking for Newman and his guests when Tsang struck up a conversation about Johnson’s culinary proclivities. When the two started talking about their shared love of all things culinary, it was clear that an alliance was in their future.
Johnson’s parents were the inspiration for his love of the kitchen.
“Growing up I was always around the kitchen watching my mom and my dad," Johnson shared. "My mom’s family is from the Bahamas, so she would always cook a lot of Caribbean food and my dad, he does his thing in the kitchen as well. I took a liking to cooking.”
Johnson says the upcoming event is a great opportunity for all involved.
“I think it’s a nice platform to show my love for cooking and food, and gives me another platform to reach people other than through football,” he said.
Johnson’s teammates will be there to support their favorite foodie as well as other friends of his. In addition, Nillie, a Savannah-based company that specializes in helping student athletes develop and sustain themselves as entrepreneurs, has designed merchandise for the occasion that will be available for purchase.
“Beau will be present, putting the final touches on the dishes that are going out,” Tsang says. “We are just trying to do some really cool and different things for the area.”
Johnson, a senior who has hopes for the NFL, would eventually like to open restaurants of his own. As of now he is enjoying each step in the journey.
“I’ve been praying for God to use me in different ways and just to show all of the God-given abilities that He’s given me,” Johnson says. “He’s given me the opportunities to display that and I think this is one of those, just to show other people and ultimately give Him His glory as well.”
Soyumi Asian Kitchen is located at 722 Buckhead Drive in Statesboro. For more information, visit https://soyumieats.com/. To learn more about Nillie, visit https://www.nillie.io/.
