entrée features
Rumi Spice: Interview with Kimberly Jung Will Deeks My phone rings on a cold day in February. The number that shows on my screen is unfamiliar and has a Los Angeles area code. I know I have a call scheduled to interview Kimberly Jung. It is her, she still holds the area code from the city she grew up. I am not aware at that moment, but the fact that even after all the places she has been in this world, she still holds that area code speaks volumes to what she learned there, and how some of that early learing has informed her life since. When I spoke to Kim that day, coronavirus was just a headline buried under the digital fold. It was nothing that the majority of people, even regular news consumers, were spending more than a brief moment raising their internal eyebrows at. It was still to many a problem created by a country many miles away, with consequences that couldn’t possibly reach the shores of the United States. Now, to be clear, this is not an article, profile, or interview about coronavirus. What follows here is conversation and reflection about one person’s journey to find a place of productivity, and purpose. In recording the conversation, and adding some reflections, I cannot imagine a more important time for people to be informed by someone like Kim’s story and philosophy. Leadership is in the news right now. The idea of it, the question of what makes a strong leader. The question of what makes people feel safe in terms of who they trust to steer the ship, and work in a global community for the common good. — Our conversation takes place while she is on a bike. The weather outside is cold and blistering New England. Boston at its most windy. On the tail end of a mild winter, this is without a doubt an outlier of a frigid day. Still, her voice comes through clear and focused.
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If she had not told me she was on a bike, I would have assumed the traffic sounds were the result of an open window in her office. I have met Kim but I don’t know her well so we begin with Kim’s initial connection to the Juliet + Co. Universe, Rumi Spice. Rumi spice is a company that connects saffron farmers in Afghanistan to the proper channels to sell their saffron to chefs. Kim first became exposed to the situation in Afghanistan while she was serving in the Army, after graduating from West Point. While earning a Business degree from Harvard she met her business partners and started Rumi. Not too long after that, Josh Lewin emailed her wanting to utilize the saffron from Rumi, and she told the story. —
KJ: I got an email from Josh, and I am like who is this
guy? A Marine turned chef that wants to work with me? So we meet up, and share stories about Afghanistan. It’s rare to find that kind of an environment to speak about those situations. He invited me to come to the James Beard House with him for a dinner he was cooking there. He wanted to feature Rumi Spice. I was amazed that he would be willing to share his spotlight with me like that. It changed a lot for us, and Josh was just amazing about the whole process.
WD: But how did it start, where did the idea for Rumi come from?
KJ: I was at harvard business school and I heard about a farmer named Hadjif who couldn’t find the proper channels to sell his saffron. I bought a plane ticket to Afghanistan and went back as a civilian. I bought the ticket on a whim. We met with farmers and it started from there. —
