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¡°I will globalize Korean food by making kimchi dishes that fit the tastes of Westerners,¡± said Andre Cointreau, the 56-year-old head of the world famous French cooking school ¡°Le Cordon Bleu.¡± The top class school is the place where Audrey Hepburn studied cooking in her movie ¡°Sabrina.¡±
In September 2002, Cointreau opened ¡°Le Cordon Bleu -- Sookmyung Academy¡± with the ambition of teaching Le Cordon Bleu¡¯s techniques and know-how to Korean students so that Korean food might become widely known overseas. In this visit to Korea, he introduced the ¡°Kimchi Project¡± as part of the ¡°Globalization of Korean Food.¡±
¡°Le Cordon Bleu¡¯s French Techniques Meet Korea¡¯s Kimchi¡± is the subject of the ¡°Kimchi Project.¡± The Agricultural & Fishery Marketing Corporation (AFMC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be linked to the project that will develop fusion dishes made with kimchi. The cooking school plans to promote them through Le Cordon Bleu¡¯s 25 chains in 15 different nations, after publishing kimchi dish cookery books in English and French.
To do this, Cointreau signed a contract with the corporation Thursday to develop kimchi dishes and produce cooking books. Cointreau says ¡°Kimchi is welcomed globally because of its nutritional value. But the taste is a little bit strong for Westerners. Therefore, the point is to soften its taste by applying French cooking techniques so that kimchi could be made suitable to Western tastes.¡±
He also warned against the prejudice that French food is unconditionally the best in the world. ¡°Every nation has its best dish and best food," he said. "Korean food could be included in the world¡¯s ¡°Best 5¡± before too long.
The important thing is learning techniques and basic talent to transform the taste and ingredients in a way that allows people in other countries to accept them without feelings of disapproval. That is what our school does.¡±
He plans to establish an MBA course with Sookmyung Women¡¯s University that would combine cooking with management.
(Jang Jun-seong, peace@chosun.com )
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