Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi will host a two-week celebration of “spiritual” Korean gastronomy featuring extraordinary dishes created by Chef Jeong Kwan, a Buddhist nun, influential vegan chef (winner of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants‘ prestigious Icon Award Asia 2022) and a star of the award-winning Netflix series Chef’s Table.
Now in its third year, this special Korean culinary event runs for two weeks, serving à la carte dishes and a 5-course set menu in Metropole Hanoi’s Le Club Bar from October 15-31, 2022.
Korean Gastronomy Week will begin with an exclusive, invite-only kick-off event on Saturday, October 15 from 11am-2pm. The opening day will be limited to 100 persons and will feature a private lunch at Thang Long Hall, the largest of Metropole Hanoi’s reception rooms, along with a showcase of premium Shine Muscat grapes at La Veranda.
The dishes on Chef Jeong Kwan’s special à la carte menu are inspired by the world of Korean temple cuisine using premium Korean ingredients. These include Black Sesame Jook with Tomato Jangajji (Black sesame porridge, confit & pickled tomatoes); Tofu stuffed Paprika & Shiitake Mushroom Umami Jorim (tofu stuffed & gently steamed in paprika, shiitake mushroom braised in Korean traditional rice syrup); Farmer’s Jang Ddeok & Persimmon Muchim (Korean traditional pancake with Gochujang, chili paste, and Doenjang, soybean paste, and sun-dried persimmon tossed in tangy and sweet dressing); Namul Bibimbap & Root Vegetables and Morel Mushroom Tangsui (Bibimbap with millet rice and three kinds of mountain herbs, and Pakpakjang, Jeong Kwan’s special sauce, and sweet & sour root vegetables and morel mushrooms); and Shine Muscat confit in Refined Tomato Syrup with Seaweed Bugak & Potato Bugak (Shine muscat confit, sweet tomato dip, Korean traditional crisps made with seaweed and potatoes).
“When I think of making food, I empty myself first. Understand the nature of the ingredient, I share my mind with its nature,” Chef Jeong Kwan says.
Jeong Kwan has never worked in a restaurant, let alone had any official culinary training. Her profound food philosophy works in the service of the body, the mind and the planet. She is an advocate of the under-the-radar wonders of Korean temple cuisine, a holistic dining process that continues as the food is cooked and then consumed. When Eric Ripert, the French gastronomy expert, visited Baekyangsa, the seventh-century temple in Naejangsan National Park that Chef Jeong Kwan calls home, he named her the “Philosopher Chef,” hailing Chef Jeong Kwan’s cuisine as “the most exquisite food in the world.”
Korean Gastronomy Week 2022 is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Korea Forest Service, and aT-Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, with organization by Nemo Partners.