"The health crisis and the environmental crisis are both in consolidation with what we eat."
At 9:30 a.m. on the 22nd on the 3rd floor of Tasty Pulmuone at Pulmuone headquarters in Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Yoon Myeong-rang, Deputy Minister for global marketing at Pulmuone, said the reason sustainable eating is needed is that "what we eat has become very important not only for personal health but also for the planet's future," adding this. Tasty Pulmuone is a hands-on cooking school where consumers cook and taste while learning sustainable eating.
Deputy Minister Yoon cited recent changes in food culture as the background for the spread of sustainable eating. Yoon said, "The line between health food and regular food is collapsing, and food is changing from a simple concept of filling a meal to a means of managing health," adding, "It has become a time when consumers naturally accept a culture of practicing plant-centered eating, flexible vegetarianism, and whole-grain diets."
Tasty Pulmuone opened on Earth Day (Apr. 22) last month. The space is about 82 pyeong (270.58㎡). Here, four courses are offered: ▲ meals rich in vegetables ▲ coarse whole grains packed with nutrition ▲ protein dishes that are low in saturated fat and mild ▲ flexible vegetarian methods. It focuses on changing everyday eating habits by putting the values of health and the environment into consolidation with eating.
The regular class is held twice a month with eight people per session. Tasty Pulmuone aims for practice-oriented education using ingredients and recipes that anyone can easily obtain, rather than operations centered on using or promoting its own products like other brand cooking classes.
The class that day proceeded in the order of sustainable eating theory, a chef's demonstration and cooking practice, and tasting. Dietitian Choi Eun-ha, who taught the theory class, introduced the 211 eating method. The 211 eating method composes a single meal with vegetables (fruit), protein, and whole grains in a 2-to-1-to-1 ratio, reducing excessive carbohydrate intake and helping nutritional balance.
The key is to follow the 211 eating method but eat vegetables first, then protein, then whole grains. That way, you can increase satiety and reduce overeating while also managing blood sugar. Dietitian Choi said, "In the past, eating abundantly was important, but now it is more important to eat healthily while practicing nutritional balance," adding, "This choice will change not only my health but also the planet's future environment."
After the theory class, a demonstration by Chef Daniel Choi (legal name Choi Seong-eun) followed. Chef Choi previously worked as a hotel chef in New Zealand and served as head of the South Korea national culinary team and an international judge for the World Association of Chefs' Societies.
The hands-on menu that day reflected the "meals rich in vegetables" and "flexible vegetarianism" courses: baby napa cabbage salad and tofu steak with young radish pesto. Before full-scale practice, participants watched Chef Choi's demonstration and learned cooking steps, how to use ingredients, and plating methods. They then moved to their stations to start cooking, grilling baby napa cabbage in a frying pan with olive oil and squeezing moisture from previously frozen tofu. After finishing the dishes, they plated them and tasted them according to the 211 eating method.
Pulmuone plans to expand Tasty Pulmuone's educational targets to vulnerable groups such as seniors living alone and to foreigners and food professionals.
Chef Choi said, "Through industry-academia cooperation with Woosong University, we have developed recipes and verified entries for sustainable eating cooking competitions, and we have currently researched and developed about 200 menus," adding, "We are continuously refining menus by reflecting seasonal ingredients."