Miro Chun and TJ Culp Arizona Plate

Miro Chun is a ceramicist who divides her practice between making functional ware and creating sculptural objects. Tableware is an integral part of her work—it originally drew her to ceramics, when she became interested in learning how to make her own dinnerware, both as a designer and as someone who cooks and grows fruits and vegetables. She and her husband, Bryan, practice permaculture and share their orchard and gardens with 11 chickens.

Chun enjoys working with TJ at Restaurant Progress, as she feels their respective attitudes toward hard work, and the importance of honoring ingredients and materials, totally align.

Chef Culp uses Miro’s tableware in his restaurant every day. Their relationship goes beyond what is on the table—Miro’s husband also composts the restaurant’s kitchen scraps—capturing a potentially lost food waste stream and turning it into a beneficial nutrient resource for their own garden.

Artist Miro Chun
miromadethis.com

Chef/owner TJ Culp of Restaurant Progress smiles as he plates his dish on the stunning pink plate Miro Chun selected for the collaboration. He’s decided to make a Rhode Island day boat scallop crudo with pickled fennel, fennel fronds, garlic chips, pepitas, sliced radish and an orange vinaigrette.

Culp says, “I wanted to pair light citrusy flavors with bold savory components that do well in the winter,” namely roasted garlic and pepitas.

He explains that he and Miro have the same taste in food, and in design. The two of them have become good friends. Culp loves her great attention to detail, and that she truly cares where her products end up. She wants to make sure her work is represented by someone who has respect for style and has similar views about food culture.

“She is so dedicated to her art.” Plus, says TJ, “Miro is a badass.”

Restaurant Progress
restaurantprogress.com
602-441-0553 702 W. Montecito Ave.
Phoenix