Sang Kim has made the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for The Proper Storage of Kimchi.

Born on a radish and cabbage farm called Love Village in South Korea, Sang Kim is a chef and restaurateur based in Toronto. He also runs North America's most popular sushi-making workshop called Sushi Making For The Soul.

"Can't make kimchi without love."

"The response of my mother during my grandfather's funeral. I believe that kimchi making is the perfect culinary metaphor for love, loss and longing."

My mother's holding the jar out in front of her like someone else's sick baby. She inches her way across the linoleum, lowers it into the sink and runs her fingers gingerly over the bulge on the lid. The bottom of her hanbok is flecked with soil and mascara smudges are visible through her sunglasses. I know she will shower and change before the guests arrive, so I don't mention anything.

"Such stupid," she says. The reproach is self-directed because she's broken one of her cardinal rules: Never let kimchi sit at room temperature for more than three days.

She'd made this batch the morning the call came in from Wellesley Hospital. My grandfather's condition had taken a sudden downward turn.

"Your harabujee not going to make it," my mother told me over the phone. "Only matter of time."

That was 12 days ago.

The winner of the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 18, 2019. The winner will be announced on Sept. 25, 2019.