Korean Temple Food Visit

Le Cordon Bleu London were recently visited by Korean Buddhist nun and chef, Venerable Beop Song. The visit was organised in partnership with the Korean Cutural Centre UK.

A renowned chef and cookbook author, Beop Song has been delivering demonstrations of Korean Temple Food to students as part of the Diploma in Plant-Based Culinary Arts via live stream from South Korea for the last few years. As Temple Food is entirely plant-based, this provides students another perspective on this type of cuisine. This special visit marked the first time she was able to make an in person visit to the institute in London.

On the first day of her two-day visit, Beop Song spent time in the kitchen with the Plant-Based diploma students. This gave her the opportunity to see how the students work with plant-based ingredients to create dishes using a combination of traditional and modern culinary skills. Following the practical class, Beop Song held an exclusive cooking demonstration for the students in the evening.

The following day, Beop Song held another demonstration in front of an enthusiastic audience of guests keen to learn more about Temple Food. First, she gave an introduction to the practice, explaining the focus on health, ecology, seasonality and zero waste. Then Beop Song prepared three dishes on the theme of Summer Kimchi and Seasonal Delicacies – cucumber kimchi, steamed aubergine coated with soybean flour and lettuce pancakes. Following the demonstration Beop Song spent time answering questions from the audience. Guests also received a beautiful gift bag which included a selection of recipes to try at home.

Le Cordon Bleu London are very grateful to Venerable Beop Song, the Korean Cultural Centre UK and Korean Temple Food for their time and generosity. If you’re interested in learning more about plant-based cuisine, take a look at our Diploma in Plant-Based Culinary Arts or visit our programmes page to discover all the courses available.