Korean cuisine: Worthy of a wider audience
Novartis Korea President Peter Jager, right, cooks with chef Kang Sung-hoon.
“I cannot say I am a very good cook,” he said modestly, “but I do enjoy getting involved in setting the menu, doing the research in our vast collection of cookbooks, and preparing the ingredients. I also like to see what kind of wine fits best with what kind of food.” Based on his natural culinary expertise, Jager suggested several types of wine that would fit with the gujeolpan he was learning to make.
“I could imagine you could have a nice dry white wine with it, but you could also use a more fruity red wine - not too full-bodied but nice and light ones like pinot noir or beaujolais.” Honestly, though, for gujeolpan and all other Korean food, “the best companion is soju or bokbunja [raspberry wine], which I find quite nice.”
As an advocate of Korean cuisine, Jager shared his thoughts on the lack of attention it has received across the world.
“What I personally love about Korean food is its variety, the high quality of fresh ingredients such as vegetables, beef, pork, chicken and seafood, and the way it is prepared and served with great care, graciousness and pride,” he said. “But it hasn’t been marketed very well globally like, for example, Korea’s top industrial products.
“Korea should take a more proactive part in international food fairs and expos, and restaurant chains should also explore the global market and should probably be given some stimulus to do so,” he said.
By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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