Millennium Hilton's new chef embarks on journey to find his roots
Anders Groenholm /Courtesy of Millennium Seoul Hilton
By Kim Se-jeong
Being a hotel chef, especially for an international hotel chain, is one of the most traveled jobs. But, many take the job for a chance to live in many parts of the world and gain meaningful career experiences.
The exterior view of the hotel
For Anders Groenholm, the new executive chef at Millennium Seoul Hilton, one of the oldest hotels in Korea, his motivation for taking the job was personal: to find his roots.
For two years until 2017, he had been happily working as the executive chef at the Hilton Dubai Jumeriah Resort, a five-star property with 752 rooms.
“But, I’ve always wanted to come back to Korea to find my roots,” Groenholm said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. When an offer was made to him, it didn’t take him long to make up his mind.
The chef was born in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, abandoned at the age of four and adopted to a Danish family at five. He still remembers his full name in Korean.
He said he had a childhood with his lovely adoptive family who took care of him as if he were a biological family member. And while he always appreciated everything they did for him, his desire to find his roots never stopped.
He had other reasons to be excited about moving to Korea.
Taking the post in Korea would mean more time with his wife’s family and letting his son experience his Korean heritage.
Almost five weeks in Korea, he already took the mission of finding his parents actively.
Accompanied by his wife, he has already visited Daejeon and the bus station outside Daejeon Station where he was abandoned. He has also visited the police office where he, as an orphan, spent a night before being transferred to an orphanage to Seoul.
He took a DNA sample to find a match.
“I hope someone will call me one day and say they found people with the same DNA,” he said.
He is certain his move to Seoul is a plus for his career as well.
As a child in Denmark, he only knew Kimchi and Bulgogi as an adopted child in Denmark. His 10-month experience as a chef at Banyantree Club & Spa Seoul in 2010 was too short to learn things. His wife who he married that same year has been of great help in understanding Korean cuisine but with her, but with her, he was always working outside Korea.
To him, the job at the Millennium Hilton will be the perfect opportunity to learn more about Korean cuisine and to share with colleagues the culinary mastery he has accumulated over two decades of extensive overseas experience.
He had been trained in continental European cuisine in which he feels the most confident with. His stints in Dubai, Jordan, Turkey, China, Vietnam and Australia immersed him in a wide range of cuisines.
While hotel guests are sure to experience his diverse experience and know-how through the new menus, Groenholm said they can also expect superb service under his leadership.
“You’ll see the chefs on the stage. It’s usually the waitresses (and waiters) who talk to guests, but you’ll see more chefs coming out of the kitchen and talking to guests. It will be a personal touch that the guest will feel and that will make the difference.”
At the hotel’s buffet restaurant Cafe 395, a soon-to-be launched afternoon tea package will showcase his definition of personal touch. Unlike the usual rows of desserts that guests pick up from the buffet table, the new afternoon tea package will feature chefs entertaining guests by cooking in front of them.
With these changes, the chef is hoping to capture the hotel guests’ long-term loyalty and capture new guests who are young and aware of trends in the food and beverage market. Also many hotel restaurants, including those in the Millennium Hilton, in recent years are seeing dwindling guest numbers due to the rising competition.
The chef is the father of a 22-month-old son and enjoys cooking at home.
“Usually, I cook and my wife does the dishes.”
He currently doesn’t cook for the family as they are temporarily staying in the hotel. Thus, he can’t be any more excited to be moving out next month. “I can’t wait to cook at home for my family.”