The “Viaggio in Corea tra le Stelle” project developed by the Korean Cultural Institute kicks off and, starting July 6th, will engage the restaurants of starred chefs Lele Usai of Il Tino, Fiumicino – Rome, Nicola Fossaceca of Al Metrò, San Salvo Marina – Chieti, and Piergiorgio Siviero of Lazzaro 1915, Pontelongo – Padua. As the name of the project translates, these award-winning chefs will be offering patrons a journey to Korea through stellar cuisine.
Each chef, for the summer season, will include on the menu a dish dedicated to the trip to Korea, made in November 2022, to participate in the TV program “Welcome to Korea for the First Time” aired on the Korean channel MBC every1.
The three chefs, led by Fabrizio Ferrari – a Michelin-starred chef in love with South Korea who moved to Seoul – flew to the Korean capital to explore places, temples, street food, traditions, and typical dishes amidst adventures and funny skits all to enjoy.
Their adventure as protagonists of the TV program, was very successful in Korea, so much so that it became the cue to bring Korean cuisine to their menus in Italy as well, a way to unite Italian and Korean cuisine even more.
“During their tour of Korea, the chefs enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and customs of our country. In addition to promoting our culture, we want to create a harmony between two different cultures, and thanks to these great chefs, we have created the “Journey to Korea among the Stars” project to bring the Italian public closer to our culinary tradition,” specifies Chun Ye Jin, Director of the Korean Cultural Institute.
TheFlavors of Korea on the Menus of Award-Winning Chefs
At Lele Usai’s Il Tino restaurant, you can taste “Journey to Seoul “a dish made with dry-aged fish, fermented vegetables, and kimchi. “Korean cuisine is very appealing to me because it is rooted in history, as I was also able to see during my trip. In the dish I came up with, Korean ingredients are associated with the dry aging technique of fish and of course also with fermentations, which are very much used in Korea,” specifies chef Lele Usai of Il Tino.
He took inspiration from his days in Pohang, a seaside resort in southern Korea, Nicola Fossaceca for the creation of “Octopus in Pohang,” octopus glazed with gochujang, asparagus, and seaweed béarnaise sauce: “The gochujang, the fermented chili paste that I use as a base sauce I tried at the Mangwon market while tasting tteokbokki, rice dumplings in a spicy sauce.”
Chef Piergiorgio Siviero will include “Tiramisut” as a dessert on the menu. The creations infuses a sweet potato mousse, green bean sablé and roasted wheat, lotus root and barbana infusion, and pyogo mushroom caramel. “The dish is mostly inspired by the potato breakfasts I had in Korea, and I also tasted an injeolmi tiramisu, with soybean flour,” says the chef of Lazzaro 1915.