The MICHELIN Star Heart Sunday event took place on February 20 and 27, 2022 in Seoul, with the participation of chefs whose restaurants are listed in the MICHELIN Guide Seoul 2022. About 270 children and their families enjoyed a special fine dining meal during the event.
With the consensus that children are the future of our society, the chefs and their teams showed their passion and love while supporting these children's precious dreams through cooking. Humankind is always on the move.
It is part of MICHELIN Group’s ethos to innovate and make life’s journey smoother, safer and more enjoyable. Jerome Vincon, CEO of MICHELIN Korea, sent a message of gratitude. “I am deeply thankful to everyone who has participated in these activities with us. We hope that our society will become more caring by helping and supporting each other even in difficult times," he said.
In response, Chairman Cho Myung-hwan of World Vision said, “Through a meal with MICHELIN Guide Korea, we could support children and their families, and provided an opportunity to meet mentors in person for students who want to become chefs.” MICHELIN Korea hopes this opportunity helped the children to know that there is still a lot of happiness in the world even through lonely times.
A ray of hope
The MICHELIN Star Heart Lunch Box program for the elderly living alone and medical staff dedicated to Covid-19 launched last year with 27 restaurants. This year, we worked with World Vision, a global humanitarian aid organization, to gift an opportunity to children dreaming of a better future. An invitation was extended to chefs of MICHELIN-listed restaurants to join the program. Almost without hesitation, we received positive responses for this worthy cause. In total, 15 restaurants decided to participate by preparing four or more dishes for the children.
World Vision helps children and their communities through the program Dreaming Children. The goal of the program is to empower them for long-term sustainable development. World Vision selected 100 students, including those who dream of one day becoming a chef, and MICHELIN Guide delivered the invitation with gifts such as stationary, snacks and a blanket.
The more we give, the more love returns
Fifteen MICHELIN-listed restaurants participated in the event: Bichena, Joo Ok, Kojima, L'Amant Secret, Mooni, Muoki, Myomi, Pierre Garnier, Seventh Door, Soigne, Soseoul Hannam, Sushi Sanghyun, Table for Four, Terreno and Zero Complex. At the end of the day, each chef agreed that the MICHELIN Guide should empower a positive influence on society through cooking.
Chef Kim Sung Woon of Table for Four said, "I couldn't take part in social contribution activities until now, but this participation satisfied me so much. In addition, my colleagues who had just entered the culinary industry seem truly happy. We were very moved when the recipients thanked us, and we saw their faces were full of joy in front of our dishes," he described. Chef Son Jong Won of L'Amant Secret recalled, "One of the guests told me that it was his first time cutting and eating steak with a knife. The way he experienced the culinary world and learned how to enjoy the fine-dining with our guidance will remain in my heart for a long time," he said. "That afternoon, I looked back on the reason why I started cooking."
There is no limit for those who dream
In addition, Chef Park Moo Hyun of Muoki (pictured) held a special mentoring session with young sisters Ga-young Jang and Da-young Jang on February 27. He gave them advice on their dream of becoming chefs. It brought him back to his teenage years when he himself first wanted to become a chef. “There was a chef in South Africa that I admired the most. So I decided to go to South Africa and work with him. There were no limits on my dreams and passion,” he said.
He also talked about the wisdom he gained from his journey: “Hands-on experience is important to become a chef, but we all should do a lot of reading in the humanities to grow a perspective on the world and cooking. Rather than setting a big goal, try to incorporate what you can do into cooking, discover treasures from daily life, and love the people around you,” he imparted. Ga-young Jang said, “It was already special to dine with my family at a fine-dining restaurant. But the most amazing part was that I met a chef who received a MICHELIN star, listened to his experience and saw how he cooks. It was just like a dream come true for me."
Written by Seonyoung Im, translated by Nayoung Kim and edited by June Lee
