Korean Buddhist temple food is being introduced at Taste of Paris, an annual gourmet festival in the French capital.
Held at Grand Palais Ephemere from May 12-15, the festival features demonstrations by Ven. Wongyeong, a Buddhist monastic and head of the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, and fellow monastics Hongseong and Yeogeo on cooking temple food such as kongguksu (noodles in cold soybean soup), bugak (seaweed chip) and hwajeon (flower pancake).
On May 14, Hongseong and Alexandra Didier, a chef at Le Cordon Bleu, one of the world's top three culinary schools based in France, will present French interpretations of traditional Korean temple food.
The food served to monastics at Buddhist temples in Korea lacks oshinchae, or the five forbidden vegetables -- green onion, garlic, chives, Korean wild chives and heunggeo (a type of leek) -- under the Buddhist principle of prohibiting the consumption of meat and spicy food to allow clean and refined tastes.
The event also features pop-up stores selling healthy Korean food including traditional paste, sesame and perilla oil, and do-it-yourself meal kits of kimchi and bibimbap (rice mixed with meat, vegetables and spicy red pepper paste). Visitors can try samples of the food and traditional tea.
Several ateliers are promoting Buddhist culture through activities like making Buddhist lotus lanterns and prayer beads.
The Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in France, the Paris office of the Korea Tourism Organization and the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism arranged the temple food demonstrations to mark the designation of Yeondeunghoe, the Lotus Lantern Festival that commemorates Buddha's Birthday, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
The KCC said, "Korea will share its knowledge and secrets of vegetarian recipes for healthy and tasty temple food with 1,000 years of history."
Launched in 2015, Taste of Paris is the largest food expo in France that attracts renowned chefs and an estimated 30,000 visitors. Famous restaurants including those with Michelin stars and dessert and beverage brands participate in the event.
