At Jamie Oliver’s Alma Mater, British Student Chefs Reimagine Korean Cuisine

Eleven students from Westminster Kingsway College in London competed in the final round of the Next Generation British Chefs’ Korean Cooking Competition. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

LONDON, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – In the bustling kitchen of Westminster Kingsway College in London, where celebrity chef Jamie Oliver once trained, white-capped chefs moved swiftly between steaming pots and pans, their workstations dotted with Korean staples like doenjang (soybean paste), gochujang (red pepper paste), red pepper powder, and minced garlic.

On November 11, eleven students from this prestigious culinary institution competed in the final round of the Next Generation British Chefs’ Korean Cooking Competition, organized jointly by the Korean Embassy and Capital City College Group, London’s largest public vocational education provider.

Westminster Kingsway College, with its 110-year heritage, is renowned for its culinary programs. For this competition, students developed and prepared their own original Korean-inspired recipes during a 90-minute cooking period. 

The judges’ table soon filled with creative fusion dishes: duck meat seasoned with doenjang, risotto incorporating root vegetables and gochujang, and tenderloin steak featuring both Korean pastes.

Rather than traditional Korean dishes, the competition emphasized innovative uses of Korean ingredients and fermented sauces to make Korean cuisine more accessible to British and European palates. 

Paul Jervis, dean of the School for Hospitality and Culinary Arts at Kingsway, contextualized the event as reflecting the growing popularity of K-food in Britain while contributing to the evolution of British and European cuisine. “Korean food is currently one of London’s biggest culinary trends. It would be strange not to embrace it and have our students explore it,” Jervis said. “We’re not simply trying to replicate Korean cuisine, but rather using it to enhance and transform Western cooking.” 

Matthew Clifford claimed first place in the competition with a cod dish incorporating ginger and doenjang. Oscar Sniff secured second place with a Korean-inspired take on chicken milanese using gochujang, while Joe Margeritis took third with a noodle dish featuring chicken broth and kimchi. 

Clifford, who cited inspiration from Korean YouTube content and pottery, expressed his desire to continue exploring Korean recipe development. The winning recipes will be published in a booklet and featured for a week at the college’s public restaurant later this month. 

The judging panel included the college’s chef professors Jose Soto and Jonathon Warner, alongside Kim Ji-hoon, executive chef at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Mayfair, and Park Woongchul, chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Sollip.

“It’s a significant development to see Korean cuisine featured in a major London culinary school competition,” Park noted. “This opportunity for students to explore and interpret Korean cuisine is both meaningful and important.”

Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)