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By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
A lack of chefs specializing in hansik, or Korean food, has sparked constant debate about establishing an integrated cooking program in efforts to globalize the cuisine. Now, the Korean government is taking action to address the issue.
Several local universities and hotels will start a chef-education program from next month. Under the project ― by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ― students were selected last month, and participants will instruct them in advanced hansik cooking as well as restaurant operation, foreign culture and languages.
The project aims to train top hansik chefs to prepare high-quality dishes for foreigners, the ministry said.
To date, some 33,000 cooks have been certified annually as specializing in Korean food, but professionally most of them have not received integral education.
The lack of professional chefs is the biggest obstacle in the way of Korean food franchises intent on making inroads in foreign countries, according to a survey by the Korea Food Research Institute last year.
In the poll, 32.3 percent of the respondents picked lack of local information and 19.4 percent selected difficulty in hiring professional cooking staff as the key hold-up. Many of those running overseas branches said they have to depend on local staff without decent education in hansik.
The newly-launched program this year will focus on field experience, recognizing that its shortage is related to the problem, the ministry said. All of the students work in the field or majored in cooking at college.
Participants in the program have been active in efforts to globalize hansik. Sookmyung Women's University founded a Korean food institute in 2000 and has been committed to the development of new Korean dishes and cooking education, and the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel's Korean restaurant Ondal has been highly successful.
The government is set to offer full support for career opportunities along with the joint project.
Information on all students will be posted on a Web portal scheduled to launch in November. It will be available to local franchises, as well as Korean embassies and related organizations abroad in need of employees.
Starting from cooking, hansik education programs will be further expanded to related fields such as the restaurant business and customer service, the ministry said.
``Ultimately, we aim to link the programs to expand food exports through cooperation with makers and exporters of food materials and products," a ministry official said.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr |
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
