Korean chef brings taste of Spain to Seoulites
Kim Mun-jungBy Kim Hyo-jinTrue to its name, Tapas Gourmet, one of the few Spanish restaurants in Seoul, has captivated the palates of local gourmets.A restaurant with the ambiance of a traditional Korean home, in an old part of Seoul, Seochon, actually serves the most genuine taste of Spain, its guests and food critics say.“I tell people not to call me a chef,” Kim Mun-jung, the 39-year-old who runs Tapas Gourmet told The Korea Times in a recent interview. That might be funny to hear from someone who cooks at the kitchen of a top-ranked restaurant in Seoul and has published two books about cooking. She says, though, that she is merely a fan of Spanish food.Kim’s genuine fondness for the cuisine, however, doesn’t come out of thin air. She spent about 12 years in Spain, immersing herself in cooking while she was there.The first Korean to graduate from Hofmann Culinary School, she opened a one-table restaurant in Barcelona in 2007, called Casa Gourmet. The restaurant, run with a guesthouse, became famous through word of mouth while receiving accolades from guests
Mar 9, 2016