This September, Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) held a K-FOOD Export Fair in Paris, France and drew attention by consulting on Korean agricultural products exports worth USD 12.4 million. aT especially captured the visitors’ attention with the participation of Chef Eric Trochon, a master chef in Paris, France who presented high-quality dishes using Korean ingredients in a cooking demonstration event held at a local restaurant in Paris. Through Chef Eric Trochon, we heard about the competitiveness of Korean Agricultural Products.

Q. Could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?
I am a head chef at a restaurant in Paris, France, and a globetrotter who travels around the world. My love for cooking and traveling since I was a child has led me to work extensively in Asia and thus I know Korea very well.

Q. You hosted a pre-cooking event at the K-FOOD Fair in Paris, what kind of dishes did you present?
The dishes presented at this year’s K-FOOD Fair are French cuisine that used Korean ingredients. For example, one of the main dishes is lobster raviole with kimchi seafood sauce and it was one of the most popular dishes there. Another dish is roast beef tenderloin marinated in Korean pear juice and served with a sauce like Korean Bulgogi sauce. For this sauce, I used Gochujang (red pepper paste) as a seasoning and modified it by adding apples and butter. These dishes were very well received on the event spot.

Q. I would like to hear if Korean Agricultural Products goes well with overseas local foods.
Korean ingredients go well with local French food and French culture. When I try to make fusion food in a fancy, classy way, Korean ingredients are perfect for French food.

Q. What do you think is the competitiveness of Korean Agricultural Products?
Korean cuisines are special because they use traditional ingredients. Korea’s food culture is the exact opposite of Korea’s “Hurry-Hurry” culture because Koreans spend a lot of time getting ingredients that are both healthy and tasteful. Fermentation is the core of Korean cuisine and flavor as well. For example, Korea is one of the few countries that wait years to get the perfect Ganjang (soy sauce)

Q. How would you like to introduce Korean food globally in the future?
I think Korean cuisines are based a lot on seasonings and ingredients, so the ingredients should be introduced little by little followed by the beef seasoning method as I said before. In my opinion, the beef marinade sauce is very interesting. I will slowly make effort to get people familiar with Korean food ingredients. As people become familiar with the taste, we’ll be able to use more Korean recipes.