Korean culinary chops and a global palette
Yang Ji-hoon
But Yang’s food is not the only reason he is the talk of the town. His recent appearance on the last two episodes of the hit MBC TV program “Infinite Challenge,” aired Nov. 21 and 28, has introduced him to the masses.
“I asked the producers four times to reconsider putting me on the show,” said Yang. “I wasn’t sure that I could take on the job. I really have to thank the producer, Kim Tae-ho, for his editing to make me have such a good image for the public.”
On Infinite Challenge, regulars have to go through a series of difficult tasks that change each week. This time, the stars had to put on aprons and make Korean cuisine suitable for New Yorkers as part of the government’s “Korean Cuisine to the World 2009” project. Yang took on the role of coach, turning talentless “talents” into world-class chefs.
“Reality is very different from the way I taught them,” the chef said. “The head chef or chef-owner is the king of the kitchen. Because of the strict hierarchy, if you’re a beginner, you can’t even look him or her in the eye.”
On the show, Yang guided his apprentices gently through the whole process - one of the reasons for his budding popularity. Even if the project was for Korean cuisine, Yang’s experience catering to the palettes of foreigners made him perfect for the job.
“It’ll be impossible for foreigners to enjoy the spiciness of Korean cuisine the way Koreans eat it,” he said. “However, it’s still crucial to keep the tradition of the food, draw a clear line between different food cultures and not make fusion dishes out of them.”
During his college years at Kyung Hee University as a culinary science and arts major, Yang focused on Korean and Japanese food. When he felt that Western dishes were more suitable for him, he went to Le Cordon Bleu, a French culinary school, in Paris. After that, he journeyed on to the United States and to Dubai to work for some of the world’s top chefs.
“Many people think that my cuisine is strictly French because of my background at Le Cordon Bleu,” said Yang. “But I want to call it contemporary food because I was influenced by so many different environments.”
His experience as one of the top chefs at the restaurant Pierre Gagnaire in Dubai is particularity noteworthy. It is one of the very few restaurants to receive three stars in the Michelin Guide. (Yang noted that not a single restaurant or chef has received a Michelin star in Korea.) Yang took that experience and put it into opening Luka 511.
“Though being the owner has its perks, it has many limits, too,” said Yang. “I like to experiment and invent new dishes, but worrying about finances and running the restaurant as a whole takes most of my time.”
As Luka 511 is undergoing renovations at the moment, Yang says he has more time to further his research. Asked how Korean cuisine can reach out to the world, Yang said it needs to begin from within.
“Chefs in Korea don’t get the respect that they deserve,” he said. “Customers tend to only look at the prices and not think about the hard work and effort that went into putting the dish together.”
He continued, “If Korea wants a star chef or a star restaurant, people need to learn how to appreciate food more; to do that is to allow chefs to make some profits through drinks like wine along with food.
“When profits are not made, chefs resort to using lower-quality ingredients and service which eventually leads to the vicious cycle of shutting down restaurants with talented chefs.”
By Hannah Kim [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)