OB showcases premium beer as fine-dining partner

Bartender Jo Yeong-jun demonstrates the "Perfect Serve" for Stella Artois at Some Chavit in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Oriental Brewery

Major Korean beer company Oriental Brewery (OB) on Tuesday demonstrated how a premium beer can complement fine dining experiences, challenging the belief high-end cuisines only pair well with alcohols like wine or spirits.

The company hosted a food tasting event at Some Chavit on the Han River in Seoul, featuring Stella Artois, a popular Belgian beer brand imported by OB. To highlight the beer’s pairing potential, OB adopted a show-style concept inspired by Netflix’s hit cooking competition series “Culinary Class Wars," which concluded its second season last month amid strong viewership.

The event consisted of two parts. First, bartender Jo Yeong-jun demonstrated Stella Artois’ “Perfect Serve” using the brand’s beer tap. Jo won Stella Artois’ Perfect Serve international competition in London last year. The program is promoted globally by the brand and follows a prescribed series of steps designed to deliver the beer at its optimal taste.

Jo performed the Perfect Serve ritual in five steps. After the preparation stage, in which the chalice is kept chilled, the sacrifice step removes warm foam from the tap’s faucet before pouring. The beer is then poured at a 45-degree angle, followed by foaming, which skims the final excess foam from the rim of the chalice. The ritual concludes with serve, presenting the beer to the drinker.

“All official Stella Artois chalices have a red star print. Pour it until the star is shown inside the foam and you can enjoy the most beautiful glass of Stella Artois,” Jo said.

The demonstration was followed by a cooking show by chefs Lee Jun and Lee Chan-yang from the Netflix program. Once teacher and student, the pair each prepared a course dish designed to pair with Stella Artois.

Stella Artois is served with a gourmet dish during a press conference at Some Chavit in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Oriental Brewery

The on-site cooking demonstration was staged as an extended competition inspired by the show, where the two had faced off.

“The pair’s appearance in the Stella Artois event began with a question: What if they were given Stella Artois as a shared ingredient to use in their competition in 'Culinary Class Wars?' What kinds of dishes would they be able to create then? That curiosity prompted us to implement the Netflix show’s theme into promoting Stella Artois,” an OB official said.

Lee Jun is the owner-chef of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Soigné, while Lee Chan-yang is the head chef of Original Numbers, both located in Seoul’s Gangnam District.

"Stella Artois, a representative Belgian beer known for its refined character that pairs well even with fine dining, finds this collaboration with 'Culinary Class Wars' especially meaningful, as it allows more consumers to experience how Stella Artois elevates the value of dining," OB Chief Marketing Officer Alexander Lambrecht said.

OB launched a collaboration between the 600-year-old beer brand and the second season of the Netflix show last December, coinciding with the program’s premiere and the release of new campaign advertisements.