Two years ago, Ealing mum and small business owner Bini Sudo found herself at a crossroads.

After running small businesses for over a decade, she hit a serious burnout, the kind that forces you to stop and reassess everything. In the middle of what she describes as a midlife crisis, one thought kept resurfacing. Why wait?

For years she had joked with friends that one day, when she was older and retired, she would open a Korean cooking school. But standing at that crossroads, she realised there was no reason to put her dream on hold.

And so Kimchi Club W5 was born.

Today, Bini has officially opened the doors to her Korean cooking school here in Ealing and in January published her first cookbook, Seoul Food, a milestone she had imagined as part of a long-term dream but which arrived far sooner than expected.

A Love of Food That Started at the Family Table

Bini grew up in South Korea in a large extended family where food was not just nourishment but central to life.

“We all loved eating and family gatherings always involved lots of cooking and sharing food together,” she says.

Yet she did not begin cooking seriously until she became a mum in the UK.

“I simply wanted to feed my children the food I grew up loving.”

Mostly self-taught, she experimented in her kitchen as a new mum, rediscovering flavours from her childhood and realising how much joy she found in feeding good food to the people she loves. For years, it remained just that, joy rather than a business plan.

That shift came only recently, when she realised her experience as a business owner could shape her love of Korean food into something meaningful, not just a job but something that would enrich her life in a deeper way.

The One Korean Dish Every Ealing Kitchen Should Try

If there is one Korean dish Bini believes every Ealing household should learn to cook, it is Korean Seafood Pancake, or Haemul Pajeon.

“It’s seriously delicious and shockingly simple to make with easy to find everyday ingredients,” she says. “It’s the perfect, failproof entry point for Korean food newbies.”

Even better, it is one of the tastiest ways to eat what she calls “a ridiculous amount of vegetables and not even notice it”.

Below, she shares her recipe.

Korean Seafood Pancake

Ingredients for 2 Large Pancakes

Filling

150 to 200g frozen mixed seafood, defrosted, drained and chopped into small pieces
100g spring onions, about 5 to 6 stalks, sliced lengthwise and cut into 5cm batons
Half a courgette, about 100g, julienned
Half a carrot, about 50g, julienned, optional
1 red chilli, thinly sliced, optional

You can pack a surprising amount of vegetables into these pancakes. The more vegetables the better they taste. The batter simply acts as glue.

Batter

100g flour
60g potato starch
1 tsp baking powder
Half a tsp salt
Half a tsp Asian chicken stock powder
200ml water

Classic Korean Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce
Half a tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vinegar
A third of a tsp sugar
Half a tsp sesame seeds
Half a tsp Korean chilli flakes, adjust to taste

Method

1. Prepare the vegetables and seafood.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the batter ingredients and mix well. Do not overmix as this can make the pancakes stodgy.
3. Gently fold the vegetables and seafood into the batter.
4. Heat a frying pan with a generous amount of vegetable oil. You are almost shallow frying to achieve maximum crispiness.
5. Add half the mixture to the pan and spread it out thinly.
6. Fry until golden brown and crispy on one side.
7. Flip, adding more oil if needed, and cook until the second side is crisp.
8. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

What’s Next for Kimchi Club W5?

Although the cookbook launch came earlier than expected, Bini sees it as just the beginning.

“My biggest goal is to really serve the Ealing community and become a business Ealing can feel proud to call its own,” she says.

Currently running classes from her home kitchen, she hopes to secure a local venue in Ealing to host larger classes and community events. This year is about getting involved in as many local activities as possible and spreading the word about Korean cooking in W5.

For Bini, Kimchi Club W5 is not just about recipes. It is about connection, culture and community.

And judging by the crisp, vegetable-packed joy of her seafood pancakes, Ealing kitchens are in for something special.