Khuin, a pop-up start-up, kicks off Saturday, February 26th

How do young chefs roll these days? Something like how Fred Noinaj is. Noinaj is only in his second semester at Washburne Culinary, but on Saturday, February 26th he'll strike out on his own with a pop-up restaurant called Khuin.

Khuin, which translates from Thai as "to rise," will take place at Delicious, which is closed on the weekends and is making an effort to host pop-ups. It's a one-night-only affair, but if it goes well Noinaj hopes to make it monthly.

If a pop-up sounds like an ambitious project for a guy who's barely graduated from his garde manger class, consider that Noinaj comes from a restaurant family. His parents opened a Thai restaurant called Pad Thai in Wrigleyville when Noinaj was 3. "After school the school bus would actually drop me off [there]," he says. Pad Thai is no longer around, but Noinaj's cousins, aunts and uncles all own restaurants of their own, including Duck Walk.

In a departure from the food his family members cook, Noinaj will serve American food on the 26th. After that, he says, maybe a Thai street food thing. And after that? Well, the kid is still in school...give him a little time to breathe...