Korean Temple Cuisine Is Coming To NYC

The International Culinary Center (ICC) is honored to announce the return of Korean Temple Food Guru and Cookbook Author, Wookwan, following her first successful cooking class in 2018 at the New York City culinary school. Wookwan will travel from Korea to introduce the techniques of temple cuisine to a global audience of ICC's current Professional Culinary and Pastry Arts students, bringing with her the first-of-its kind English-language cookbook on temple food, Wookwan's Korean Temple Food: The Road to the Taste of Enlightenment.

During this visit, Wookwan will share the techniques, beauty and benefits of temple cuisine with aspiring chefs and future leaders of the culinary industry through a 30-minute lecture and 1.5 hour hands-on cooking class. Through this class, ICC students will discover the excellence of Korea's fermentation techniques, rooted in over 1700 years of history, and understand how to apply the practice to their culinary education. After the hands-on cooking session, students will have the opportunity to enjoy the delicious cuisine through a tasting and review of the traditional dishes prepared.

Dishes prepared in the cooking class will include:

- Fermented Barley Chili Paste

- Chili Paste Pancake with Corn

- Spinach Porridge with Ginkgo Nut and Pine Nut

In addition, Wookwan will prepare four more dishes to taste:

- Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

- Pickled Cucumber

- Kelp Crisps with Sticky Rice

- Lotus Snack

Through this partnership, the International Culinary Center and Wookwan are proud to recognize the importance of ingredients and respecting where they come from, as well as promoting global cooking techniques-key principles in the teachings of both ICC and Wookwan.

About the International Culinary Center:
Founded by the late Dorothy Cann Hamilton as The French Culinary InstituteTM in 1984, the International Culinary Center (ICC) is a global leader in professional culinary, pastry and wine education in New York City with graduates from more than 90 countries. The renowned six-month Total ImmersionSM program has produced such talents as Bobby Flay, David Chang, Dan Barber, Joshua Skenes, Christina Tosi and 15,000 more under the guidance of deans including Jacques Pépin and Jacques Torres. ICC's mission is to train the next generation of culinary leaders and innovators, providing students with the credentials, confidence and connections to chart a successful career anywhere in the world.

About Wookwan, Korean Temple Food Guru and Cookbook Author:
Born in Korea, Wookwan entered the Yaksusa temple in the Gwanak Mountains under the teaching of the Venerable Jeonghwa in 1988 to become a Buddhist nun. As a certified master of Korean temple food and the Director of the Mahayeon Temple Food Cultural Center in Korea, she not only shared the techniques of temple food in her home country, but has also been invited to share the beauty of temple cuisine at workshops and festivals all over the world including New York, London, Madrid, and Hong Kong. With her mindful approach to food as a spiritual practice, Wookwan believes that all of the varied flavors of nature come together to become the taste of enlightenment. To share this with the world, Wookwan continually studies and creates recipes that emphasize the nourishment of mind, body, and soul.