Ben and Laura Kwon have a beautiful love story that started not too far from Blackhawk. Having both been raised in Fremont, CA, they had been in each other’s orbits for years, with Ben being friends with Laura’s sisters and ultimately running in the same circles. It wasn’t until they were both living in San Francisco, establishing their lives and careers, that their long-standing friendship turned into a romantic relationship and partnership centered on family, friends, and food. They were married in 2012, and their love of all of those things continues to be the pillar of their life together.
Ben and Laura left San Francisco for the Peninsula around the time that Ben’s son from a previous relationship, Christian, was about to start high school. “We wanted more space for Christian, and a strong sense of neighborhood community for his high school years,” says Laura. Foster City was a great fit for the family as it was also close to their offices, specifically Laura’s job as a Food Scientist at Mattson, a product development consulting firm which she began working at right after earning her Degree in Food Science and Meat Science Processing from Cal Poly. One thing Foster City lacked, however, was a thriving food culture like the one Ben and Laura grew to love in San Francisco, so cooking elaborate meals for family and friends became commonplace in the Kwon household. It was also Laura’s first time striking a home-work life balance, striving to provide tasty and nutritious meals for her family. Laura would come home from her work in food science and cook meals that her, her software executive husband, and their highschooler could all eat on the go as schedules were often conflicting.
During the pandemic, Ben and Laura found themselves at another crossroads as they wanted to return to the East Bay to be closer to their families and put down roots for their family, which now include their daughters Kacey (11) and Kennedy (7). While they looked all over, there was a pull to Blackhawk that they could not escape. It was an aspirational move, having grown up so close to this beautiful community, dreaming about living behind the gates. Laura states, “it feels like a dream come true!”. While there are many draws to Blackhawk; the golf course, the strong community, the beautiful trees; the kitchen was one of the biggest selling points for Laura. Since living in Blackhawk not a week goes by where she isn’t hosting friends and family. Whether she is preparing Korean meals with Ben’s family or Italian feasts with her parents, there are always meals being made and friends to feed.
In January of this year, Laura found herself once again striving to strike a home-work life balance for her and her family. With the encouragement and support of Ben, she made the tough decision to leave Mattson after 20 years. Laura knew she wanted to continue working with food, but wanted to pursue something different and on her own terms. “Ben really pushed me to go out on my own. I was very nervous, but he was so encouraging. He has over 25 years of experience scaling companies and growing startups, so it really meant a lot to me that he believed in me so much,” Laura says. Ben states that friends and family have always called her asking for advice on what to make for dinner, “She was always planning meals for people, her friends would call for tips in the kitchen and ideas of what to make. It just seemed like a natural path for Laura to help other people and families with meals moving forward.”
After hearing from numerous busy families and professionals about their struggles with cooking healthy meals, Laura and Ben birthed a new business, Krave Kitchen. Krave Kitchen is a freshly prepared meal delivery service, where Laura plans the menus, cooks, and packages all the meals herself. Currently, you can select and order meals online and Krave Kitchen delivers to families throughout Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, and Alamo. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I want Krave Kitchen to be a simple and satisfying solution to all people who struggle to find the time, inspiration, or know how to cook up healthy and delicious meals.
Sometimes, with just one less thing to think about, you can open up your time to be more productive with your passions or be more present with your families,” Laura states.
As a family, Ben loves to go on fishing trips with Christian, working on his classic overlanding vehicles, and camping. Before every camping trip, Laura and Ben plan extensive menus, and they enjoy cooking them outdoors. They recently took their sprinter camping van to Yellowstone for a big family road trip where they camped, cooked, and took in the beautiful sights. They love to travel, and will always find the best restaurants, both well known and hidden gems, along the way. But mostly, they love being at home in Blackhawk where Ben can golf, the girls can spend time with the close friends they made, and Laura can cook up meals for all to enjoy.
“We absolutely love the Blackhawk community. We love driving our golf cart around and visiting friends, meeting up for walks, play dates at Eagle Nest park or taking Maximus, our English bulldog, to the dog park. Our family is deeply involved with the Blackhawk Swim Team. Kacey has been swimming with HOX for three years, and Kennedy for two. Summers are spent mostly at the pool, where we’ve created a swim family of friends we’ll cherish for a lifetime. As a board member, I also have the privilege of helping organize all the exciting events throughout the season,” says Laura. Additionally, Kacey plays competitive
SRVGAL softball and Mustang soccer and is also on the dance team with Next Step Dance Studio. Kennedy also plays Mustang soccer and dances with Next Step. Laura and Ben have come a long way together since their time growing up in Fremont, and Blackhawk has been the perfect place to watch all their lives unfold and their dreams come to true.
By Megan Scott, Resident since 2010
Images courtesy of the Kwon Family