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In “Reinterpretation of Korean Cuisine,” the 49-year-old chef offered dishes like beef tartare with pear, egg yolk and tastefully placed mustard flowers. Such offerings made it clear how Trochon became a top 10 finalist out of 600 chefs in the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France in 2011, a competition that crowns the country’s master craftsmen.
Trochon also demonstrated a profound understanding of Korean culinary techniques and a desire to maintain their uniqueness.
“I respect a lot of Korean foods so I didn’t want to mix it up. I just wanted to give a twist in French style,” said Trochon who heads the kitchen at Semilla in Paris.
Take the tartare, for example. The French eat it with mustard but he didn’t want to force a flavor on Koreans that may not appeal to their palates. Thus, the mustard flowers.
“Mustard flowers remind me of mustard in French tartare. I don’t make something beautiful only. In my restaurant, we don’t have a big plate, nothing in the middle. There was a big criticism over big plates and small portions. French people are really fed up of such plating,” he said.
“Fusion is not my way,” he continued. “My way is to know a lot of different cuisines and respect them. Every cuisine is like a small world, small planet. It’s very difficult to mix.”
Trochon’s love of Asian food, and Korean in particular, began seven years ago when he met a Korean chef.
“I was first fascinated by Asian culture. For the Korean food, I have a Korean friend who’s working as a chef and he showed me traditional Korean dishes.” The friend is Kim Jung-kyu, who runs a small restaurant called Sobane in Paris.
“In France, it’s very difficult to find a good Korean restaurant. I started with this guy,” said Trochon. “I also have some Korean students. They start in Bordeaux and come to Paris to learn about food and wine pairing. I began to know little by little about Korean foods and culture this way.”
Trochon teaches students at Ecole Gregorire-Ferrandi, a leading culinary school, and he has already made 12 gastronomic pilgrimages to Korea.
Trochon uses Korean soy sauce and sesame oil at his restaurant in Paris for dishes like the tartare and a shiitake creation. Asked what makes him stick to Korean varieties, he said, “I think they’re much tastier. Korean sesame oil is very special. It’s toasty but very deep, more than the Chinese and Japanese.”
Trochon also has a bottle of homemade Korean sesame oil at his home, an item coveted by lovers of Korean cuisine.
He said that there are also similarities between Korean and French foods.
“Koreans take great care of marinating and seasoning. You start with marinating every time. It’s a tough job, like French. They are also based on countryside products.”
The biggest discrepancy, Trochon says, comes after the meal.
“Big difference for me is dessert. Sometimes it’s little bit difficult for Europeans because we like to stop after sweets,” said Trochon with laugh.
As a chef who often travels, especially in Asia, to learn about food, Trochon said he prefers Korean.
“Japanese cuisine uses nice ingredients but nothing melts like Korean. No marinating and seasoning. I like Thai food but it’s not well-balanced. It’s too strong. Vietnamese is very nice but not so many recipes.”
He also had his own take on the Korean government’s tireless efforts to globalize the nation’s food.
“Trust professional chefs and help them open their restaurants all over the world. Give them good training and then they will show the world a real Korean taste.”
As a chef with nearly 40 years of experience (he began working in kitchens at 13), Trochon had one last tip about the nature of the culinary industry.
“Food is talking about culture, geography, people and social life. Cooking is more than cooking.”
By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr]
