Since 2014, the Bailliage of Korea has been sponsoring young sommeliers to attend the International Jeunes Sommeliers Competition. In recent years, these young, talented professionals have been giving our members great joy by helping us select wines and staging events.

Minjun Kim represented Korea at the 2022 International Final and made us all very proud by being Runner-up. He is a Sommelier at the Michelin 2-star restaurant ‘Jungsik’. Recently he organized a five course dinner especially for Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs (OMGD) members. No one was surprised that the event sold out in a matter of hours, much like a K-Pop concert, with one seat going to Constance Tan of the Bailliage of Shenzhen in China, clearly a well-connected member!

The menu consisted of Jungsik’s signature dishes and included decade-old favourites such as gimbap and dolharuebang which continue to be best-sellers to this day. The wines, which Minjun selected, paired exquisitely with each dish.

While the event theme was Korean food with wine pairing, Jungsik’s cuisine was not typical Korean cuisine. Nevertheless, we were able to ascertain that food and wine pairing had less to do with nationality and more to do with matching the dominant and subtle flavours of a dish with a unique and unpredictable wine for the joy of sensory discovery.

RECEPTION

Champagne ‘Semper Fidelis’ Solera de Meunier NV
Famille Delouvin
Amuse bouche
Banchan and caviar
kaluga, sweet shrimp

MENU

Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2021
Adelaide Hills, Australia
Abalone
beurre blanc, smoked kimchi

Gevrey Chambertin ‘Les Marchais’ 2015
Pierre Naigeon - Burgundy, France
Truffle gimbap
gimbugak (crispy seaweed)

Marchesi de Gresy ‘Gaiun Martinenga’ Barbaresco 2017
Piemonte DOCG, Italy
Hanwoo++
Korean beef tenderloin

Doharuebang
peanut caramel

While photographs help, it is difficult for readers to guess the taste profile of each dish just by looking at Jungsik’s minimalistic menu. For example, my favourite “Kaluga caviar with sweet shrimp” dish was caviar and sweet shrimp on a bed of yuzu jelly made with kelp and soy sauce.

Special thanks went to Chef Hong Hui Seonwoo for a fantastic meal. I highly recommend a visit to Jungsik and saying hello to Minjun!

Sincerely

Soon Chul Kim
Chargé de Presse