CJ CheilJedang has set in motion a project, dubbed “Cuisine. K,” to explore and nurture promising young chefs to accelerate the global spread of Korean food, known as K-food, the company said on May 2.
The initiative consists of five programs: giving patronage to national contingents to international cooking competitions, operating hansik (Korean cuisine) pop-up restaurants, supporting study at foreign famous cooking schools and opening hansik educational courses, research classes on food raw materials with hansik master craftsmen and famous chefs, and fine dining hands-on training.
In order to max out the outcomes of the project, CJ CheilJedang has inaugurated a department in charge under the umbrella of the Food Growth Promotion Office and augmented expertise manpower.
CJ CheilJedang said, “We have achieved K-food Globalization 1.0 initiative has worked out by cashing in on processed food products, such as the brand ‘Bibigo,’ and going further, we will carry out the K-food Globalization 2.0 Strategy so that K-food can pervade through the life of people around the world by cultivating hansik chefs with a global competitive edge.”
The project is designed to raise the global standing of hansik chefs in accordance with CJ Chairman Lee Jay-hyun’s management tent of making people around the world enjoy Korean cuisine once or twice per week. Support will be provided so they can serve as vanguards to spread Korean cuisine culture to all parts of the world.
First, CJ CheilJedang will patronize a national contingent and group teams participating in the 2023 Korea International Cooking & Bakery Competition, to be held in May.
The company plans to provide support, such as activity costs, uniforms and food raw materials they can win prizes.
The national contingent and group teams will wear chef uniforms carrying Taegeuk marks and the logo “Cuisine, K.”
Young chefs wanting to launch startups will be selected in a public contest, to be held in the first half of the year, and they will be given the chance to open pop-up restaurants.
CJ CheilJedang will provide support to finalists so they can cook and sell foods at the INNO Play, the company’s in-house venture and innovation hub.
Finalists will receive benefits, such as educational consulting and SNS marketing support in addition of the three-month operation of their space there.
CJ CheilJedang will also offer overall study costs, such as school fees, flight tickets and accommodation so that Korean young chefs can study overseas at famous European cooking schools.
The company will give support to young chefs they can develop hansik recipes beloved by people around the world, on top of the understanding of diverse cooking methods of foods around the world and food raw materials.
The company also plans to inaugurate hansik educational courses targeting foreign chefs at global famous cooking schools.
CJ CheilJedang has a long-term plan to envisage the establishment of an international hansik educational institute in which people around the world could learn hansik.
Building hank educational infrastructure with a global competitive edge are expected to help graduates serve as hank advocates when they return home.
Countries, such as France and Italia have nurtured manpower through specialized education institutions to let their own cuisine culture known.
In a related development, CJ CheilJedang struck an MOU on the Cuisine. K project with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) on May 2.
MAFRA agreed to share technology, information and infrastructure to explore and foster young chefs and provide support to the operation of programs.
Of late, MAFRA Minister Chung Hwang-keun has been joining the private sector’s efforts to accelerate the global spread of hansik. Minister Chung took time out to attend a ceremony to launch the Cuisine.
K project, ink the MOU on the development of hansik manpower and give words of encouragement to hansik rising stars.
In his speech, Minister Chung said, “The rising global spread of hansik is a golden opportunity to raise the competitiveness of the whole of the Korean agro-food sector and expand exports, and the signing of a deal on fostering young chefs is expected to contributing to accelerating the spread of hansik.”
In his welcoming speech, CJ CheilJedang President Choi Eun-seok said, “Young chefs’ roles are very significant to raise K-food atop the global cuisine culture field.”
The pump-priming of the Cuisine. K project will lay a foundation to raise hansik’s future master craftsmen, he said.
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