Actor Ryu Su-young seeks the hand taste of Korean cuisine.
The MBC special documentary "Chef's DNA" will air Monday the 16th at 8:20 a.m.
"Chef's DNA" portrays the journey of actor Ryu Su-young, who is sincere about cooking, and Adjin Heers, a Belgian chef who was adopted and came to Korea to develop Korean menu items, as they complete a "hand-taste table" in Jeongeup, North Jeolla. In these times, when nationality-unknown "pseudo-Korean food" is spreading amid a global Korean food craze, it is a global Korean food project prepared to convey the proper taste and value of authentic Korean cuisine.
▶ The story of chef Adjin Heers, who found his roots through Korean food
Adjin Heers, who was adopted to Belgium at age six, realized she was Korean when she recalled a familiar taste from misutgaru given by a Korean friend around age 20. After that, Adjin visited Korea for more than 10 years, seeking out Korean culinary artisans to learn from, and eventually shifted from costume designer to Korean cuisine chef. She went on to publish books about Korean food, run a pop-up restaurant in Ghent, Belgium, and promote Korean cuisine as a well-known Korean chef. Although she welcomes the recent Korean food craze in Europe, the reality of Korean food being consumed in ways far from its essence led her back to Korea.
▶ Ryu Su-young, sincere about cooking, a reliable companion on the hand-taste journey
Actor Ryu Su-young joins the journey as Adjin chef's reliable companion and assistant chef. In midwinter, as he digs up shepherd's purse in the fields and moves between markets and kitchens researching ingredients, his sincerity about cooking naturally becomes apparent. He participates deeply in overall menu development and plays a solid supporting role by staying close to Chef Adjin, drawing attention.
▶ A three-day record in Jeongeup in search of true hand taste
The stage for "Chef's DNA" is Jeongeup, North Jeolla. Bound by their love for cooking, Ryu Su-young and Chef Adjin quickly grow close through the common language of "Korean food" despite clumsy communication. The two visit the "Hand-taste House" run by a mother and daughter who have kept the same place for more than 40 years, and taste Jeongeup's signature table of 17 side dishes, including oatmeal tteokgalbi and aged kimchi samhap using Jeongeup's traditional beverage ssanghwa-cha. Deeply impressed by the time and care contained in each dish, they take this place as their base camp and challenge themselves to develop a "hand-taste table" that will captivate the world.
▶ From Jeongeup to Belgium, the expansion of hand taste linked by food
On the last day of the schedule, Chef Adjin and Su-young invite Jeongeup guests and present the "Jeongeup hand-taste table." Using Jeongeup's three famed flavors—beef, mountain vegetables, and ssanghwa-cha—as well as local specialties such as oats, shiitake mushrooms, and winter shepherd's purse, seven newly developed Korean menu items are placed on one table. The "hand-taste table" completed in Jeongeup later appears on Belgian tables as well, demonstrating the power of hand taste that transcends culture and language.
"Chef's DNA" is not a simple cooking program. Following the chef's hand taste contained in one meal and the stories embedded in it, it plans to deliver a comfortable yet deep aftertaste on a Lunar New Year holiday morning. The global Korean menu development story of Adjin Heers, who reconciled with the painful past of "adoption" and found new happiness through Korean cooking, and actor Ryu Su-young, is drawing attention.
[Photo] Courtesy of MBC.
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