Chefs Table Recap: Jeong Kwan
A gorgeous look at the life of a nun in South Korea who cooks temple cuisine
by Greg Morabito Feb 18, 2017, 4:25pm EST
The most breathtaking episode of Chef’s Table to date focuses on cooking as a form of communication. Jeong Kwan is a 60-year-old Zen Buddhist nun who prepares vegan meals for her community (and the occasional visitor) at Baekyangsa Temple, which is located 169 miles south of Seoul. Chef Eric Ripert and writer Jeff Gordinier can attest to the fact that her food is delicious, but it also has a greater purpose beyond being a satisfying form of nourishment. Here are some takeaways from this stunning installment of David Gelb’s Netflix documentary series, Chef’s Table:
• The episode starts with some dreamy footage of the forest and the Baekyangsa Temple, while Jeong Kwan explains how she approaches food and cooking: “With food we can share and communicate our emotions. It’s that mindset of sharing that is really what you’re eating. There is no difference between cooking and pursuing Buddha’s way.”
• Eric Ripert, sitting in the dining room of Le Bernardin in New York City, says that he met Kwan while traveling through Korea. A devout Buddhist, the chef was curious about visiting a temple and trying the cuisine. Ripert remarks: “She’s extremely compassionate. She’s very advanced in Buddhism, and she happens to be a great cook... Jeong Kwan is very spontaneous in her cooking. At the same time she keeps a certain tradition, but she breaks a lot of rules and that makes her very exceptional as a chef, as a cook.”
• Ripert later invited Kwan to New York, to cook lunch for a group of journalists. Jeff Gordinier describes the meal: “You would look at these plates, and they could easily have passed for plates served at Noma, at Benu in San Francisco, at Blanca in Brooklyn. Without a link, you could’ve served them at those restaurants, and people would’ve marveled at how beautiful and delicious these dishes were... This was as good as any meal you could get from any chef on the planet.“
http://www.eater.com/2017/2/18/14653382/jeong-kwan-buddhist-nun-chefs-table
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