Cool People I Kihak Lim The chef-owner of two of Seoul’s French cuisine must-visits, L’Espoir du Hibou and La Cave du Coch<strong>on</strong>, and winner of the Blue Ribb<strong>on</strong> Survey’s 2015 Chef of the Year Award, recently sat down with <str<strong>on</strong>g>Wine</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Wednesday</strong> for a rare interview. 29 <str<strong>on</strong>g>Wine</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>February</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
Cool People I How did you become interested in French food? My grandfather was the first pers<strong>on</strong> to introduce Korean food in Japan, so I felt a desire early <strong>on</strong> to introduce a previously unfamiliar food to Koreans. It wasn’t that I was initially so interested in French cuisine, but while in the United States, I learned how complex French food was. There was a weak recogniti<strong>on</strong> of French food in Korea and so I thought, ‘Great! This is it!’ Ever since, I’ve been working toward improving the awareness of French food here. In c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong> of the relatively low-level of appreciati<strong>on</strong> of French food here, let al<strong>on</strong>e charcuterie, why open La Cave du Coch<strong>on</strong>? Up<strong>on</strong> realizing that I needed more charcuterie while at L’Espoir du Hibou, I started to study how to make it. I recognized how diverse this type of food was and became interested in expanding my repertoire of dishes. I did feel, however, that it wasn’t easy to fully explore charcuterie at L’Espoir. Thus, with La Cave du Coch<strong>on</strong>, I am making a broader array of foods that fit into the category of charcuterie. How has the general public resp<strong>on</strong>ded to charcuterie? Although many Koreans are unfamiliar with charcuterie, many do know c<strong>on</strong>fit, a type of charcuterie. Some charcuterie varieties which can be enjoyed as a main dish are also becoming more popular. As time goes by, however, I think 30 <str<strong>on</strong>g>Wine</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>February</strong> <strong>2016</strong> this will change and the general public will become more comfortable trying and enjoying the various types of charcuterie. What should the general public know about charcuterie? I d<strong>on</strong>’t think it’s necessary for people to become charcuterie afici<strong>on</strong>ados. It’s <strong>on</strong>e of those foods that people should try and decide if they like it or not. For example, in Korea we have h<strong>on</strong>geo (fermented skate). It is obviously liked by some, and not by others. That’s fine. I think it’s better for people to develop an appreciati<strong>on</strong> for charcuterie. Over time, they will begin to recognize that charcuterie is d<strong>on</strong>e this way in this regi<strong>on</strong> and that way in that regi<strong>on</strong>. As for me, I’m just happy and inspired to see more people willing to try to enjoy this kind of food. In the case of our customers, some d<strong>on</strong>’t prefer meats which are served cold. Furthermore, there are some kinds of charcuterie which are cooked first and then pressed into a form, while other varieties are raw and pressed into shape. From the perspective of the average pers<strong>on</strong>, they both seem to be the same, that is, cold pressed meats, but in fact, they are different. I like that people can develop their own pers<strong>on</strong>al tastes in terms of which type of charcuterie they like. It’s my hope that instead of simply saying, ‘I like charcuterie’ or ‘I d<strong>on</strong>’t like charcuterie’, that people will explore the different kinds of charcuterie and find types they like. Of course, it will take time for this to happen, but of course I enjoy watching this process of familiarizati<strong>on</strong> take place. I see some of my customers from L’Espoir come here to try a broader variety of charcuterie, while first-time customers come because it’s trendy, buy a lot at <strong>on</strong>e time, find that they d<strong>on</strong>’t like it and then never return. I guess in this light, it’s best to develop an appreciati<strong>on</strong> of charcuterie gradually. WoW
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