Test your Design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Korean born, American-based celebrity chef who is behind the famous Benu restaurant in San Francisco and is a goodwill ambassador for the city of Seoul?
He was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1977 and moved to the US in 1983 with his family. The food his mother cooked became the most important and tangible link to his native culture — since he was an immigrant.
At an early age, he realized that food occupied an important role in society, and he became acutely interested in the different kinds of cuisine he encountered.
At 17, at the random suggestion of a friend, he applied for work at the Bromberg brothers’ popular restaurant, Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York’s SoHo area. He was hired for the dining room, but immediately became fascinated by the unique world of the professional kitchen, an environment he found to challenge and gratify both the mind and body on many different levels. He quickly started working in the kitchen and soon realized that cooking would be his profession.
Since that time, he went on to work for some of the most-acclaimed restaurants and chefs in the world. In 1997, he moved to London working at Pied a Terre, Savoy Grill, Pierre Koffman’s La Tante Claire, and Marco Pierre White’s Oakroom.
He later on went to work with many other venerable chefs including Christian Delouvrier a Lespinasse, Daniel Boulud, Montreal-based chef Normand Laprise, and Parisian three-star Michelin chefs Guy Savoy and Alain Senderens.
In 2001, he started what would be his eight-year working relationship with Thomas Keller at the restaurant French Laundry in both California and New York City, half of the time as chef.
During his tenure, the restaurant was recognized as the Best Restaurant in North America by Restaurant Magazine and received the highest rating from both the San Francisco Chronicle and Mobil Guide. In 2006, the French Laundry was the only restaurant recognized with three stars in the launch of the Guide Michelin in California, a rating it has maintained since.
In the same year, he was the recipient of the Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation. He also co-authored Under Pressure in 2008, a book that documented many of the techniques and recipes he developed during his time at French Laundry.
He left the French Laundry in the summer of 2009 to begin the long process of preparing for the opening of Benu in San Francisco. He collaborated with several designers and manufacturers to custom design every detail of the restaurant, including working with KwanJuYo, an iconic porcelain maker from his native Korea, to customize a 36-piece line of porcelain for Benu.
During that time, he was officially recognized as a goodwill ambassador of Seoul in South Korea. The restaurant opened in August of 2010, and has quickly become one of San Francisco’s dining destinations.
Last week’s question:
Who was the German architect and art educator who founded the Bauhaus School of Design, which became a dominant force in architecture and the applied arts in the 20th century?
Answer: Walter Gropius
Winner: Shiela Clemente of Balibago Angeles, City.
* * *
Text your answer to 0915-6486414 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1951.Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
