I admit it. The reality TV show, Masterchef, has had a major impact on me. I’ve always liked eating food but to be honest up until recently, I’ve seen cooking as a time-consuming obstacle that has to take place somewhere between the fun supermarket shop and the joyous revelry of mastication. However, watching the stylish Masterchef contestants go at it with a chopping board has proven somewhat of an inspiration; I see them standing there, julienning with a smile and feel compelled to get out my apron and cut up an onion.
I think it’s for this reason that I decided to contact Food And Culture Korea and embark on one of their Kim Chi cooking classes. Here I should probably explain that I have a fairly excitable personality and rather active imagination, so upon entering the sparkling industrial kitchen and being presented with a freshly pressed apron embossed with the conspicuous slogan ‘the taste of Korea’, I instantly found myself lost in the moment and rather cavalierly confused my identity with that of a true culinary master. I became an unseasonal fusion of Gaté, Kwong and Lawson, marinated in a heady delusion of cook-book signings and Leggos product endorsements until, that is, I had to slice a radish.
Thankfully our charming instructor, Hye-won was there to take over. And when the moment of truth arrived, in true TV chef style, she winked and handed me the one she’d prepared earlier.