Cultural exchange on a plate

More expatriate chefs importing culinary aesthetic to warm local reception


For veteran chefs like Roland Hinni, the culinary landscape of Seoul has changed drastically over the past three decades.

He has seen the transition of Itaewon from a bar-hopping night scene into a veritable mecca of authentic ethnic eats and hip hang-outs.

He has seen a tiny clutch of expatriate chefs working in restaurants transform into a growing group of business-minded owners, helming their own establishments, putting out their own fare, generally ― though not always ― that of their terra madre.

All of this would not have been possible if customers, both local and expatriate, had not been open to new cuisine, or for some, to the nostalgic beauty of it all. Diners were more than open and that openness seems to have played a role in the opening of restaurants by expatriate chefs as well as the diversification of restaurant fare.

Now, according to Hinni, “the questions between people are about what kind of food you want.”

“The selection is big,” the Swiss native said.

That was not always the case. In 1982 when Hinni, Leon G. Jung, Guenther Steib, Bernard Jacob and Konrad Wermers established the Korean Chapter of the professional chefs association, Les Toques Blanches, dining options were not so diverse.

According to Hinni, Chinese, Japanese and Korean fare were the primary choices. The expatriate chef community, outside of hotels, was also much smaller then.

“There were very few foreign chefs in restaurants,” the 56-year old said. “They were mainly in hotels.”

According to Bulgarian restaurant Zelen co-owner-and-chef Mihal Spasov Ashminov, even in 2002, Itaewon was still seen as a bar-hopping venue, as “the place to have a crazy night.” 

Right around when Ashminov started his career in Korea, in the early 21st century, Itaewon started morphing into a polyglot gastronomic mecca, said Hinni, spearheaded by expatriate as well as Korean chefs.

Within a short span, Itaewon established itself as a veritable melting pot of cuisine, and now it is seen, according to Italian restaurant Grano and Grano The Grill executive chef Santino Sortino, among locals as the place to “go to try foreign food.”

If Koreans are coming here, then we can open elsewhere,” the 30-year old native of Bulgaria said of why Zelen, which first opened in Itaewon in 2007, opened a second outpost in Hannam-dong, just a stone’s throw away from Itaewon, in 2010.

In short, the influx of Korean diners into Itaewon gave way to the realization that the primary consumer base was not necessarily restricted to expatriates, which in turn gave way to the movement of foreign chefs to other areas.

Sortino, who established a fan base as the executive chef for a series of successful eateries in Itaewon over several years, began laying down roots in Apgujeong-dong when Grano and Grano The Grill opened in 2010. Now, both Grano and Grano The Grill are well-known celebrity hotspots.

Gastro Tong owner-chef Hinni, who built up his career in hotels throughout Korea, opened in a historic spot near Gyeongbokgung, the main Joseon palace, in Tongui-dong last year.

While Ashminov still believes that Itaewon “is always going to be where foreign and expatriate chefs open” probably because it is an established hub of international cuisine, he believes that there is a potential market outside of the area.

When Zelen first opened, the majority of customers, according to Ashminov, were foreigners. Now, there are “more Koreans than foreigners.”

Both Hinni and Sortino believe local diners’ warm responses are due, in part, to increased traveling and time spent abroad.

This has been compounded by the continued and successful efforts made by Korean chefs ― boasting skills honed by experience at high quality culinary institutions and top notch eateries both here and abroad ― in the realm of international cuisine.

It is a fascinating moment for those involved, where a cultural exchange, evidence of globalization at work, is occurring on diners’ plates.

If three decades ago the question was where one might be able to find a specific cuisine, now diners can choose which interpretation ― be it fusion, authentic or modernist, and so forth ― of a cuisine, or cuisines for that matter, they desire.

Given that, it only makes sense that expatriate chefs are broadening their turf options, the playing field is far larger, and quite possibly, even more challenging, than before.

It should come as no surprise then that, according to Les Toques Blanches Korea president Remo Berdux, “expat owner chefs are definitely on the increase.”

Les Toques Blanches Korea vice president Andreas Krampl gave his view on the potential attraction for an expatriate chef to run a restaurant in an e-mail interview, “It is the dream of every chef to have your own place one day, and be your own boss.”

According to Ashminov, it has also become easier for expatriate chefs to start their own businesses.

“Before we had to do it by ourselves,” he said. “It was really, really hard.”

Now, various organizations and a strong expatriate chef network make the process less difficult, said Ashminov

“Now, it’s just a matter of money,” he said.

Details

● Gastro Tong

25-2 Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul; (02) 730-4162; www.gastroTONG.co.kr; open from noon to 3 p.m., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily

● Grano, Grano The Grill

Hidden House Building 1F, B1, 645-1 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul; (02) 540-7330, 8330; www.grano-korea.com; open 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Grano only), 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. (last order 10:30 p.m.) daily

● Zelen, Hannam Branch

1F, 72-17 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul; (02) 749-2900; www.zelen.co.kr; open Mondays 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last order 2:30 p.m.), 6 p.m. to 11: p.m. (last order 9:30 p.m., closed Sundays)

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)