By Stanley Onyekwere
The Korean Cultural Centre, Nigeria (KCCN) in collaboration with the Association of Professional Chefs, Nigeria, has successfully empowered no fewer than 16 members of the Association with Korean cuisine cooking skills.
The trainees, who were selected and divided into two batches, during the cooking programme, in Abuja, organised by the KCCN for the selected professional Chefs, as part of Korean cultural initiatives aimed at fostering friendly relations between Nigeria and Korea.
Speaking at the end of the Korean Cooking classes, on Tuesday, Manager of cultural event, at the KCCN, Hayopung Yu, said the participants were exposed to a menu, mainly spicy fresh chicken and corn cheese, that are Korean traditional dishes, which they normally eat with rice.
She noted that the participants were so interested in learning new cooking skills during the Korean cooking class, even though most of them didn’t know much about the Korean dishes as it is their first time to experience the Korean culture.
“I’m really happy that invited the Association of Professional Chefs, Nigeria. It is a good new relationship between them and the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC), as part of the collaboration to promote cultural integration.
“Last week, we trained people, and this week trained another 8 people- that is 16 in total. And other members of the Association will get opportunities to get trained on new Korean dishes.
“We want to introduce our Korean dishes to the Nigeria people, and we hope to develop better cuisines through collaboration Nigeria Chefs. The Korean dishes are really delicate, so I think that Nigeria Chefs can experience the Korean culture through this initiative”, she stressed.
While noting that the Korean people don’t know Nigeria dishes in details, she opined that there are some similarities when it comes to spicy food, as the Koreans like spicy food and Nigerians love the pepper and spicy food.
Also speaking, Chef Instructor for the Korean cooking class, Sharon Pwavi Babale, said the trainees were able to explore Korean method of cooking and ingredients.
She said primarily they did two Korean dishes – Corn cheese and Spicy breed Chicken, adding that the cooking class was very easy, because they are professionals, so they were able to follow instructions and work with time.
According to her, it is hoped that the trained professional Chefs can take any of the Korean dishes into their menu, as it is healthy and safe especially for elderly and sick people, who are trying to eat healthier options.
One of the trainees, Chef Fatima Haruna, said it is a really huge experience for them, because they were able to learn so much about the Korean dishes.
Chef Fatima, who is the state Coordinator, Abuja Chapter of the Association, said “to us before, Korean dishes is full of sugar, but today I have got to know that Korean dishes are one of the healthy eating lifestyle, with a lot of vegetables and chillies, which is yummy and mouth-watering.
“It is also cheap when compared to our food, as with little amount of ingredients and recipes you get something very interesting and tasteful. In fact, everything about the Korean cooking is delicious , I will like to have it more.”
Similarly, another trainee, Chef Godwin Udo Sam, Chef Godwin Sam, said cooking Korean food was an interesting thing to add to their profession, which is something they have not come across before.
He adds: “So, it is a plus to us, and very benefiting to all the participating members. We look forward to see more of this relationship with the Korean people.
“As Chefs in our various hotels, we will incorporate their dishes with our own menu, to also sell the Korean dish to the world, and people will accept it, because it is healthy, as it is basically vegetable cuisine, which has a lot of advantages in terms of health.”
