Latest news with #Evett
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
The chefs taking notes from Australian dining for their Asian venues
While Asia is home to around half the world's population, it also contains most of the world's restaurants and eateries. According to market research data, this portion of the globe is home to more than 17 million establishments. That's around one eatery for every 280 people. In Australia, it's closer to one for every 485. For three chefs with roots in Australia's kitchens, opening a restaurant in Asia wasn't just a career move — it was a return, a risk and an opportunity to share learnings. Joseph Lidgerwood, who runs the newly two-Michelin-starred Evett in Seoul, said working in Korea has been one of his most rewarding challenges. Joseph Lidgerwood was born in Tasmania and now lives in Korea with his wife and family. ( Supplied ) "When you come to Korea, there's so many different types of food that you don't see outside, and just this amazing culture that I thought was really cool." In Seoul, Mr Lidgerwood set out to carve a unique culinary path. For the first three and a half years at Evett, he didn't use any imported ingredients. "I really didn't want this restaurant to be labelled as a fusion restaurant … So that meant starting with Korean ingredients and bringing that forward." Designing Evett's unique menu and building a team came with a special set of cultural speed bumps. "When we first opened we had a junior sous chef who was very talented, deserved a position, but he was 19. And then if you have others that are [older], it's like the respect thing, and the way that they talk, it's not possible. That was a big learning curve regarding the staffing," said Mr Lidgerwood. The interior at newly two-Michelin-starred Evett in Seoul features an open-plan kitchen for an immersive dining experience. ( Supplied ) Even after earning international acclaim, there are still moments to stop and laugh. "Even when there's a delivery, the driver will come in and … he'll be like, is there a Korean here? You don't look like the owner." A new approach to structure and seasonality Despite being Hong Kong born, Archan Chan had her own cultural learning curve. After 10 years in Australia, she returned home to head up the kitchen at Ho Lee Fook. Ms Chan explained that in a traditional Chinese kitchen, a chopper stays a chopper, a wok chef stays on the wok. But in Australia, everyone learns everything. It's something she's now applied across Ho Lee Fook to strengthen the team. Ms Chan said she was surprised by the fluidity of both Australian kitchens and produce. "In Hong Kong, carrots are all the same — orange, uniform, perfect. In Australia, they're all different sizes and colours. Even just like shopping in supermarkets there's seasonality. That's crazy." Archan Chan trained in Australia for 10 years before moving back to Hong Kong to open Ho Lee Fook. ( Supplied ) Victor Liong, whose Melbourne restaurant Lee Ho Fook (not to be confused with Ms Chan's Hong Kong restaurant) has become a staple of the city's dining scene, recently opened Quenino in Singapore. Unlike Australia, where local produce dictates the menu, Singapore is awash with imports. "You can get mussels year-round — from New Zealand, Chile, Scotland, France. There's no true seasonality and that can be a challenge when you want to cook with intent," said Mr Liong. Rather than lean on international suppliers, he made a choice to look closer to home. "We started sourcing from Malaysia and Indonesia. It's harder, and sometimes more expensive, but if we don't support local producers, they'll never get the opportunity to grow." The cultural shift wasn't limited to behind the pass. "Australians are relaxed eaters," said Mr Liong. "We share food, drink white wine with red meat … and use our hands. In Singapore where there's very high compliance … that to just go, man, you can just do whatever you want.'' Victor Liong runs Lee Ho Fook in Melbourne, and Quenino in Singapore, splitting his time between venues. ( Supplied ) On one of his first kitchen shifts at Quenino Mr Liong said he was scalded for working in shorts. "It's almost like, oh, [does] my work and skill level diminish because I have shorts on? I don't get it. But it is pretty funny." Cultural connection Despite the cultural shifts, each chef found something grounding in coming back to Asia — not just professionally, but personally. "Opening a restaurant here was about reconnecting with my heritage," said Mr Liong, who was born in Brunei to Malaysian-Chinese parents. "It's about contributing to the region that shaped me." Archan Chan trains kitchen staff across multiple sections, a strategy she picked up from kitchens in Australia. ( ABC Asia ) Ms Chan felt a similar pull. "I knew I wanted to cook Cantonese food, but with the systems and values I picked up in Australia. It felt like the right time to come home and make something my own." At Evett, Mr Lidgerwood adds that the rewards from working in Korea continue to resurface, from early days doing pop ups to settling down in his wife's home country. "It's been the most challenging place I've worked, but it's also the most rewarding. There's still so much to learn here." For Mr Liong, cooking in Asia with an Australian mindset isn't about imposing anything. "It's about building something new, rooted in where you are, but shaped by everywhere you've been."
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Aussie chef Joseph Lidgerwood wins second Michelin star Seoul restaurant
Tasmanian chef Joseph Lidgerwood has scored a second Michelin Star with his restaurant Evett in South Korea. But he's not putting his success down to his cooking class at Hobart College. "I think I was the only person out of 20 of us in the class that failed," Mr Lidgerwood told ABC Hobart. "I got 'not competent' on my grade 11 home economics class … I still remember that. It still haunts me to this day." Mr Lidgerwood opened a Korean fine dining restaurant in Seoul's Gangnam district in 2018. The Hobart-trained chef serves Korean food, cooked over a wood fire, using seasonal ingredients including golbaengi (moon snails) and haesam (sea cucumber), foraged on South Korea's east coast. "Most of the time, what we source, especially like a really unique ingredient, we'll probably just try to highlight it in a couple of different [ways]," Mr Lidgerwood said. "So, we do a pickling of it, a roasting of it." His restaurant was awarded a Michelin star for its high-quality cooking 12 months after opening and a second star this year. Mr Lidgerwood said the accolade was "pretty mind-blowing" and meant "more people at the restaurant, for sure". "I kind of worked my whole career at either one, two or three Michelin [star restaurants]," he said. "So, for me, personally, it's a great achievement, but also for the team who's put in so much work, it means a lot." While Mr Lidgerwood failed cooking at high school, Hobart College was also where he discovered his love for it and the joy of being physically engaged in cooking. "But I always found that every time I would do my home economics class or my cooking class, I found it a lot of fun. "And I loved that kind of actually active movement as opposed to sitting down. So, it was more, not like I wanted to cook, it's just I knew I wasn't going to be able to do anything else." Mr Lidgerwood trained at some of Hobart's leading restaurants before leaving the state in 2007, wanting to "to push" himself and "see what was out there". He ran pop-up restaurants in 20 countries, including, the US, UK, Nepal and South Africa, before landing in Seoul in 2018. "Korea surprised me in the best way. I was fascinated by the depth of traditional food culture, especially fermentation," he said. "Before coming to Korea, I thought it would be just barbecue, kimchi and [South Korean boy band] BTS, but actually living here and learning the culture through the food gave me such an appreciation." Mr Lidgerwood lives in South Korea with his wife, Ginny Kim, who is Korean, and he has been learning the language. The process of opening a restaurant as an Australian in South Korea was, however, challenging. "And then there was the language barrier. Now it's easier as I've applied myself and got to a level that I can communicate without barriers, but at the start it was rough, which made even small things more complicated." At the restaurant in Seoul, Mr Lidgerwood leads a team of about 30. He communicates mostly in Korean, and last year was part of Netflix's Korean reality cooking competition show Culinary Class Wars. "I've always enjoyed cooking. I've always loved the energy of a kitchen. I've loved the camaraderie of kitchens. And I love cooking food," Mr Lidgerwood said. "I don't see it as like a clock-watching kind of job. It's something where you're always moving; you're always trying to improve yourself, improve the food and deliver a great experience. For me, it's been life's passion." While Mr Lidgerwood hasn't ruled out a future food venture in Tasmania, he said life in Seoul was good. Mr Lidgerwood said he always contemplated doing something in Tasmania. "Most of my favourite food in Korea is very simple food like soups or the pancakes. So, I'd love to do something more probably simple [there]," he said. "As a chef, I love my life here. It's an incredibly safe city to live in. That [may] sound weird to say, but after you live in London and SF [San Francisco], I really appreciate not having my stuff stolen or having to cross the road late at night. "Additionally, everything is open late. I can finish at midnight, get some food, and have a sauna."
South China Morning Post
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Korean ingredients' variety, flavour celebrated in dishes from top chefs and rising stars
In the kitchen of the historic Korea House in Seoul, chef Cho Hee-sook – the 'godmother of Korean cooking' – is deftly massaging three batches of blanched spinach, and seasoning each emerald bundle with doenjang (soybean paste), ganjang (soy sauce) and gochujang (chilli bean paste), the holy trinity of Korean fermented sauces. Advertisement 'Some people just assume the Korean dining table is very meat heavy because Korean barbecue is so popular,' she says, without breaking her rhythm as she works the different sauces into the spinach. 'But, actually, much of the Korean territory is mountainous, and we get a lot of different vegetables.' The season of spring greens, known as bom-namul, is highly anticipated in Korea; it is a time where a glorious bounty of herbaceous, sweet, nutty and bitter plants with complex flavours, aromas and textures arrives from the mountains and fields across the country. We joined chef Joseph Lidgerwood of two-Michelin-star Evett for a tour through Gyeongdong Market in the South Korean capital's Dongdaemun district, a warren of stalls overflowing with medicinal herbs and roots, fresh vegetables and dried seafood. Chef Joseph Lidgerwood and food consultant Summer Lee taking guests on a tour in Gyeongdong Market, Seoul. Photo: Charmaine Mok Compared to destinations such as Namdaemun Market or Gwangjang Market, there is nary a tourist in sight – just a steady flow of homemakers and, we're told, chefs and restaurant industry professionals out to monitor which seasonal ingredients are at their prime. Advertisement Accompanying Lidgerwood is food writer, restaurateur and consultant Summer Lee, who is an indispensable source of information for the various seasonal ingredients on display.
