Chef Emphasizes Creativity in Cooking
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Bok Jong-dae, the sous chef at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in southern Seoul, has recently won the first prize in a cooking competition with his team.
He said that the most important thing in producing different tastes and flavors with the same ingredients is creativity, which can maximize the unique characteristics of each ingredient given.
``Simply, we tried to be faithful to the basics. Good taste comes first before any other features such as presentation and table settings,'' he said.
Bok's team participated in the 8th MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge 2007 Korea held by Meat & Livestock Australia Korea on July 25 and 26.
A total of 12 teams from famous hotels entered the competition including the COEX InterContinental Hotel, Grand Hilton Hotel Seoul, Grand InterContinental Seoul Hotel, JW Marriott Seoul, Seoul Plaza Hotel, Millennium Seoul Hilton, The Westin Chosun Hotel and The Ritz-Carlton Seoul.
The rules were simple. Each team should make a four-course meal within 24 hours using the same ingredients.
All the ingredients were given in the ``Black Box'' on the first day of the competition. Unlike other culinary challenges that use ingredients prepared in advance, the Black Box Culinary Challenge aims to test participants' genuine capabilities as a chef.
After the introduction of ingredients, they were given one hour to design their meal before cooking it in a designated kitchen.
``One of the most difficult parts was that you have be able to come up with an idea how to use all the ingredients,'' Bok recalled.
Each team, consisting of three young chefs under the age of 32 and one team manager such as Bok, had to complete the dish by the following day.
It seems that Bok's lengthy experience in orchestrating teams helped his chefs win the top prize.
The 45-year-old chef developed his career from an early age, and has worked at the Hyatt Regency Jeju and Grand InterContinental Seoul creating meals in their Grand Cafe Kitchen, Main Kitchen and Banquet Kitchen restaurants.
Bok found the competition a refreshing challenge for him, allowing him to prepare new menus and come up with better ideas.
``Cuisine culture has been fast changing and we have to catch up with new trends to satisfy guests. By keeping to the basics in cooking, I believe we can be more creative,'' he said.
The first prizewinner in the competition gets to competed in the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge in Dubai in 2008 where about 20 chefs from hotels worldwide will battle it out to create tasteful dishes.