By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Chef is a term simply used to refer to a person who cooks professionally in a kitchen. But the executive chef at the COEX InterContinental Hotel seems to add more characteristics to the traditional definition of his job.
``Presenting yourself is very important. Today, it is essential,'' Paul Schenk said during an interview with The Korea Times. ``If you want to have a successful restaurant or successful business for food and beverages, one of the key components obviously is marketing. A big part of it is marketing the chef and marketing the personality behind the person who cooks.''
He agreed that creativity in cooking is important along with quality meals in the restaurant business. But after reaching a certain level, it is more about selling the food differently, he said.
``With food, these days, it's really difficult to make anything new and different. (A good restaurant) can be creative and innovative, but at the end of the day, it's still food, working with same ingredients and working a little bit differently but selling them very differently,'' the 33-year-old Australian said.
In this regard, the young chef enjoys marketing himself as a chef, and his restaurants, through various activities.
He stars in a television show as a panelist introducing Korean foods as seen by a foreign chef, and also conducts a cooking class for children.
He also challenges himself to produce interesting ideas such as ``Dine Like a King and Queen,'' a 12-course banquet with wine to offer guests a distinguishing dining experience.
His outgoing personality enables him to engage in various activities rooted in his passion toward cooking. And this strong passion is what has led him to become an executive chef at a fairly young age of 31.
His career and ambition all began when he started working at a small restaurant at the age of 14, where he realized what he wanted to do with his future.
``I love cooking. It's that simple. When I was young, I loved cooking at home. My mom was a bad cook,'' he said with smile. ``I took a huge risk by leaving school and just did what I wanted to do.''
Now, the former teenager who washed pots and pans in the kitchen of a small restaurant, orchestrates 40 chefs and 132 kitchen hands and coordinates with elder staff members at one of the Seoul's top hotels.
Previously, he served as executive sous chef at Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai and Grand Hyatt Muscat Oman. And when he worked in the Middle East, he believed he could broaden his knowledge on various cuisines, which he can now facilitate to offer better foods and services.
But it seems that his exploration into new cuisine never tires in Seoul as he believes that there are so many uncovered cuisines and restaurants in Seoul. He enjoys eating out which is how he keeps on discovering lesser known cuisine.
``What I do is just get off at a subway station and just walk _ don't actually go to some place someone recommends. I just walk until I find something different and interesting,'' he says.
He is now busy preparing for upcoming food promotions and festivals.
COEX InterContinental is currently holding a dumpling festival, inviting Chinese dumpling experts, continuing through Oct. 28. In November, the hotel will feature authentic New Zealand cuisine with renowned New Zealand chefs.