Page 17 - MidWeek - Oct 6 2021

MIDWEEK
COVER STORY
STORY BY NICOLE MONTON PHOTOS BY LAWRENCE TABUDLO
OFTEN CALLED THE “KING OF KIMCHI,” MIKE IRISH HAS BUILT HIS GROWING FOOD EMPIRE ON EQUAL AMOUNTS OF HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE, AND A DASH OF GOOD FORTUNE.
blessed.
“I owe a lot to REHAB,”
satisfying generations of lo- cal palates, Irish entered the
Less than a month later, Irish was the “kine” Korean
“I thought I’ d never walk again, which gives you a whole different perspective on life,” he recalls.
That shift in outlook has stayed with him till this day — demonstrated by his nev- er-give-up attitude and desire to help others whenever pos- sible (he also still sits on the board of Hawai‘i Community Foundation) — and serves as the foundation on which he built his local food empire.
With the help of doctors and staff at Queen’s and Re- habilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Irish put in the work and, with a little bit of luck, regained full mobility of his limbs.
Known as “King of Kim- chi,” Irish has been keeping the flavors of Hawai‘i alive as head of Halm’s Enterpris- es, perpetuating the legacies
“I know I was very fortu- nate,” he humbly says. “It’s
shares Irish, who sat on the organization’s board for a decade.
SEE PAGE 24
All the kimchi made within the umbrella of Halm’s Enterprises is packed by hand and taste-tested at least twice a week by CEO Mike Irish himself.
of kimchi brands such as Parks, Kohala and A-1 in the pro- cess. So cemented is the fermented foods icon in the kimchi scene that a docu- mentary filmmaker recently tapped him for insight on the
food industry with no expe- rience, chalking up his suc- cess to hard work, persever- ance and, again, a little bit of luck. He bought Park’s Brand in 1984 at the urging of the late Alice Yang — the creator of Chicken Alice, which uti- lizes Park’s Brand Kimchee Sauce.
OCTOBER 6, 2021 MIDWEEK 1724
It was 1971 when Mike Irish’s life changed forever. As a freshman football player for Universi- ty of Hawai‘i, he sustained an impact injury that broke his neck and left him paralyzed from the neck down.
an experience I’m glad I could overcome, and I feel very
dish.
For someone so suited to
“(My brother and I are) half Korean, and she con- sidered us her kid brothers,” says Irish, who grew up eat- ing his Korean mom’s home- made kimchi. “I didn’t know what (Parks Brand) was, and Alice said, ‘What kine Kore- an you?’”