Jeong Kwan, a South Korean Buddhist nun in a temple located on the edge of Naejangsan National Park, was recently the recipient of Asia's 50 Best Icon Award for 2022.
Dedicating herself to temple cuisine for four decades, Jeong Kwan has never owned a restaurant or even worked in one. She only cooks for her fellow abbots and occasional visitors to the monastery. Yet her gastronomic influence is felt not only in dozens of restaurants in South Korea but also as far away as New York.
The director of Chunjinam Hermitage at Baekyangsa Temple grew up on a farm in a rural province where she developed respect for nature and seasonal produce at an early age. At 17, she left home to join a Buddhist monastery and immersed herself in the centuries-old cooking traditions of temple cuisine.
According to Korean Buddhist principles, a vegan diet is an important means of practice. Shunning any harm to sentient beings, no meat, fish or dairy products are allowed in the cuisine.
Within these principles, Jeong Kwan has developed a unique culinary style. Her cookery showcases innate creativity, technical skills and deep respect for seasonal ingredients.
Beginning her spiritual practice by pouring her heart and soul into cultivating each ingredient, she grows nearly all the produce in her own garden. Cooking -- in her modest kitchen -- is part of a sacred cycle that is completed when people eat the food and receive positive energy from Mother Nature.
Jeong Kwan also practices the zero-waste concept, striving to use every part of the ingredient and to become one with it.
Flavouring her food simply with salt, soy sauce and paste -- all made by hand at the temple, she transforms simple vegetables into delicate, impeccably crafted dishes. Her creations include roasted rice soup with pine mushrooms, apple and tomato kimchi, seasoned gourd and mung bean pancakes.
Jeong Kwan's cuisine came to the world's attention when French chef -- and fellow Buddhist -- Eric Ripert of New York's famed Le Bernardin visited Baekyangsa, the 7th-century temple she calls home.
Enchanted by Jeong Kwan's dishes and her holistic approach to cooking, he invited her to New York in 2015 to prepare a meal for select guests. A subsequent profile in The New York Times described her dishes as "the most exquisite food in the world" and dubbed her "the philosopher chef". Her fame grew exponentially when she was featured in a 2017 episode of Netflix's Emmy Award-winning Chef's Table series. Jeong Kwan also earned the respect of the most celebrated chef René Redzepi of Copenhagen's three Michelin-starred Noma. Noma is currently the world's best restaurant.
William Drew, director of content for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, says: "A cook without any formal culinary training, Jeong Kwan's exquisite vegetable recipes have inspired some of the world's most influential chefs. As a guardian of Korean temple cuisine, she is confirming her status as an international culinary icon thanks to her refined mastery of flavours, delicate artistry and spiritual approach to cooking."
Voted for by the 300-plus members of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Academy, the Icon Award honours culinary figures whose influence extends beyond their community and who have inspired others with their skills and positive contributions. Previously recognised with this accolade is Bangkok's legendary street-food chef Supinya "Jay Fai" Junsuta. Accepting the award, Jeong Kwan said: "I am extremely honoured. I hope that this award will raise awareness of temple food and further advance Korean cuisine around the world.
"I am aware of the difficulties caused by the global pandemic and hope that the situation will improve so we can meet again to share food and positive energy."
Jeong Kwan's achievement will be highlighted as a part of an online ceremony for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2022, which will be broadcast live to a global audience on March 29. To mark the occasion, 50 Best will also host physical events in Bangkok, Tokyo and Macau, giving gastronomic communities the opportunity to celebrate in person.
