KoreaToday Culture Nourishes Food Globalization
Emerging Korean-American Cook Advises Long-Term Policies to Promote Korean Food
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
It looks like Korean food is gradually gaining recognition and influence in Tinseltown. More and more celebrities are becoming fans of the cuisine.
Gerard Butler became a co-owner of a Korean barbecue restaurant in Los Angeles last year. In an interview with a local newspaper there, the Scottish star of the movie ``300'' said the actual operator of the restaurant cooked him a Korean barbecue at a party back in 2000 when he first arrived in Hollywood, and he ``never forgot it.''
More recently, Gwyneth Peltrow drew some attention last month by posting a video clip of herself cooking her own style bibimbap at Goop, her lifestyle Web site.
To Corey Lee, an emerging U.S. star chef of French cooking, Korean food means much more.
``When I first started cooking, I wanted to learn everything I could about European and Western cuisine because it was new to me. And in recent years, I've come to realize how important my Korean upbringing has been to understanding a broader range of flavors and techniques,'' Lee, a 31-year-old Korean American, told The Korea times.
An immigrant who moved to New York from Seoul at 7, Lee actually grew up with Korean food, as his mother cooked Korean for almost every meal for his family for many years. ``Also, my grandmother is a great Korean cook. She visited us in the United States and made many Korean dishes that made an impression on me,'' Lee reminisced.
Lee, who is now working on the opening of his own restaurant in San Francisco, has been building a promising career in the U.S. dining scene through his cooking experience for 14 years.
From 2001 to earlier this year, he worked at the French Laundry, which was recognized as the only three-star restaurant in the prestigious Michelin Guide for California after he became the head chef. In 2006, he was awarded the Rising Star Chef award from the James Beard Foundation.
The attraction of Korean cuisine, or ``hansik,'' comes from its various ingredients, which can give cooks of various fields an opportunity of creating exceptional cuisine, according to Lee.
``As a chef, my incorporation of Korean food is more about the use of the ingredients or broad flavor combinations in a personalized way, more than replicating a Korean dish or doing a modified version of an existing one,'' he said.
To him, Korean food is not something to be defined as one or two representative dishes because the existence of ``banchan,'' or side dishes, is such a huge part of the food experience. ``It is difficult to identify a single dish without considering the various condiments and side dishes that are served with it,'' Lee said.
Like many others who praise hansik, he agrees Korean food has sufficient charm to develop a deeper fan base abroad in spite of some possible turn-offs to first-timers including garlic and fermented flavors, but its potential should not be defined to the limited territory of ``natural and fit for well-being'' concept in order to be appreciated worldwide.
``Korean food covers a huge spectrum of flavors and ingredients. I think there is something to satisfy everyone's preference. But what are they trying to achieve by such a catchphrase?'' Lee said. ``Promoting fitness and well?being are good things and worth doing. But if their intention is to promote a world class cuisine, it needs to be more than just healthy.''
Great cuisine offers dining at different levels, and it is important for hansik to show range and variety to rival those cuisines on the world stage, in his opinion.
``French cuisine can be haute cuisine, bistro, or home cooking. Chinese can be royal cuisine or take-outs. Japanese can be kaiseki or ramen. All of them are important,'' the chef said.
In spite of a couple of recent success stories, most Korean restaurants in the United States still remain ``subpar when compared to what Korean food can and should be,'' and this mainly is attributable to that fact they are private businesses that need to be financially sustainable.
``But I think there is a market for a higher, more refined and elegant form of Korean dining that offers great service, decor, and the best quality of ingredients,'' he added.
Lee agrees support from home turf is pivotal for hansik promotion, and any movement abroad will never gain momentum or traction without it. ``World recognition needs to start in Korea, with the Korean people,'' as he put it.
Still, there is one thing that should come first before fanning any fancy policies ― to deepen the country's cultural diversity. In that regard, Lee said he is skeptical on the approach of focusing on a couple of key items to promote in foreign countries.
``When I think about the dining destinations of the world, they are recognized because they offer a dining culture that is varied. When I go to Japan, I don't eat sushi every night. When I'm in Paris, I don't eat at a three-star Michelin for every meal. In Spain, I enjoy both avant-garde and traditional dishes,'' Lee said.
``Korean food is not just about one thing. There are traditional, new, high?end and low?end foods. I don't think it's about picking one and then promoting it. Again, the important thing is to promote a culture that fosters a varied cuisine.''
In that regard, government policies to promote hansik need to be ``careful'' and ``sensitive,'' according to him, and the right kind of leaders, professionals, and marketing agencies that really understand not only Korean food but cuisine and dining from an integral viewpoint including culture, arts and business should lead the campaign.
``I would focus on supporting chefs and restaurateurs in Korea, educating Koreans about food and cuisine, bringing foreign chefs into Korea to expose the people to new and foreign ideas and concepts. This will lead to natural evolution and synergy,'' Lee said.
``Pass policies that allow Koreans to experience foreign food and wine more affordably. Help them promote restaurant business in Korea, both foreign and domestic. All these things that I'm suggesting are a longer road. But this does not happen overnight, or even in a couple years. There is no quick solution. It needs to be fostered, not imposed.''