Michelin chefs cook up Korean ingredients

Michelin star chefs cooked up fusion dishes using Korean sauces such as doenjang (fermented soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce) and gochujang (hot pepper paste) on Wednesday at the opening of the charity event “Taste of Star Chefs.”

South Korean chef Edward Kwon, the host of the event, has invited six celebrity chefs to his restaurants in Seoul. The chefs will create special menus using Korean ingredients at LabXXIV in Cheongdam-dong from Nov. 17 to Dec. 16, and The Mixed One in Hannam-dong from Nov. 17 to 21.

Participating chefs include Peter Rudolph, executive chef of Madera, the signature restaurant at the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in California; Luigi Gerosa, culinary director of The Mira Hong Kong; Richard Ekkebus, culinary director at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong; Tam Kwok Fung, executive Chinese chef at City of Dreams in Macau; Shinichiro Takagi, owner and executive chef of Zeniya in Japan; and Xavier Salomon, executive chef at The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, U.S. 

“I used Korean soy sauce in the puree of onions. I have tasted it before; I use quite a lot of Korean ingredients at the restaurant. It is still French food but you will be able to recognize a familiar taste. It is the kind of comfort level that I wanted to bring to the dish,” said Ekkebus.

Kwon expects the event will be an opportunity to globalize Korean food.

“I have always thought that the biggest obstacle for hansik (Korean food) globalization was that chefs all over the world are ignorant about our ingredients. I am hoping that the chefs will return to their countries after this event and continue to use and introduce our ingredients,” said Kwon.

An eight-course dinner will be served at The Mixed One for 98,000 won, and seven-course dinner accompanied by wine at LabXXIV for 180,000 won.

Kwon plans to host the charity event every year. All profits from the event will be donated to the Korean Committee for UNICEF.

For information on The Mixed One, contact (02) 749-1423~4. For LabXXIV, contact (02) 511-4523.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)