Sample temple food during gala week

A poster for the 4th annual Fine Dining Gala Week

Since they were established as accommodations during the 2002 World Cup Games jointly hosted by Korea and Japan, temple stay programs have grown steadily in popularity.

Both Koreans and foreigners stay at temples throughout the nation to seek inner peace, healing and experience simple Korean temple cuisine.

The Hotel Lotte will showcase such temple food at a gala dinner to be held on the last day of the 4th Fine Dining Gala Week, scheduled for May 1-7.

Monk Seonjae, a master of Korean temple food, will oversee the preparation of the food and explain the concepts behind the cuisine to guests. The gala dinner on the last day of the festival week will feature the epitome of temple food.

Consisting of healthy dishes including mugwort and bean porridge, sweet potato jelly, grilled fatsia shoot and pumpkin leaf, shepherd’s purse dumplings, and shiitake mushroom noodles, the gala dinner will feature nine savory dishes and a dessert.

The seasonal food will feature rare ingredients of the season. Special beverages will also accompany each course. The gala dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Garnet Room on the 37th floor of the hotel. Reservations are available at (02) 317-7061. The gala dinner is priced at 250,000 won.

Meanwhile, a parallel exhibition that will offer a glance into the culture and history of Korean temple cuisine will be held at the Insa Art Center from May 1 to 6. The art works of Baeksan Kim Jeong-ok and his son Unam Kim Gyeong-sik will be exhibited. Baeksan Kim is the only Important Intangible Cultural Asset in Ceramics in Korea, and promotes the excellence of Joseon ceramics throughout the globe. His works are currently exhibited at many renowned museums, including the Smithsonian Museum in the United States, the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, and the Sevres National Ceramics Museum in France.

For more information, visit www.finediningkorea.com.