[INTERVIEW] Michelin-starred Australian chef takes creative approach to Korean cuisine

Evett showcases Korea's local ingredients in innovative ways. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

By Lee Gyu-lee

Surrounded by water on three sides with plenty of mountainous terrains, Korea is a land full of ingredients, offering four distinctive seasons of greens and seafood.

Chef Joseph Lidgerwood of Evett / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

So to Koreans, sea pineapple caught by "haenyeo" (female free divers), wild "dureup" (shoots of angelica trees) gathered by foragers and years-old "jang" (a traditional fermented food paste) are just other ingredients available in the country.

But for Australian chef Joseph Lidgerwood, owner of the Seoul-based Michelin-star restaurant Evett, these ingredients, and others, attracted him to the country's cuisine.

"I've worked in the U.K. and the U.S., in really good restaurants. (But) all the ingredients felt the same … But when I came to Korea, the ingredients were so different, so amazing. There's so much life," the chef said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the restaurant.

"I wanted to work out what I wanted to do with my career as a chef, and one of the things I wanted to challenge myself with is to try and use different ingredients. So I thought that Korea was one of the best and most undiscovered places."

Lidgerwood offers innovative cuisine at Evett, incorporating Korea's local ingredients in new, unique ways, such as leaf-shaped acorn crisp with soy-based creme fraiche hanging on a branch. Opened in 2018, the fine dining restaurant has been maintaining one Michelin star since 2019.

Evett earned one Michelin star a year after it opened. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

The Tasmanian-born chef has experience in various culinary scenes, from Europe to the U.S., including working at The French Laundry, a California-based three-Michelin star restaurant. Then in 2016, he took a year off to travel to different countries to open pop-up restaurants.

That's when he came across Korea and saw his culinary journey laid out before him after falling in love with the country.

"When I was working in the U.K., especially London, they have such a great culinary scene. So on the weekends, I could get really good Vietnamese, Japanese or Szechuan food. There were really good representations of those restaurants outside of the country," he said.

"But all representations of Korea was just like barbecue and 'gimbap' ― rice and vegetables wrapped in dried seaweed ― and I think that's such a low representation of what Korean food is ... But when I came here, it's completely different."

Chef Joseph Lidgerwood strives to offer unique dining experiences with local ingredients. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Impressed by the wide variety of ingredients and their different processing techniques, the chef travels across the country for hands-on experiences with fresh local ingredients. He still takes trips every couple of weeks to source them, like accompanying foragers to collect wild dureup or edible plants such as spicebush in the forest.

From his creative and boundary-pushing dishes, the Australian chef is transforming the way people experience and appreciate Korean cuisine ― and in the process, uncovering a world of possibilities.

Below is an excerpt from the interview with Lidgerwood. It has been edited for clarity and readability.

Q. What's so unique about Korean ingredients?

A. When I first came to Korea, I was traveling through and learning about 'meongge' (sea pineapple) or pen shell or 'doenjang' (fermented soybean paste), and all these kinds of familiar ingredients to Korean people. And I was just amazed about the level of flavor and the level of integrity in the ingredients, especially within making jang. It takes so many years; it takes life and love into those products and it might be so common for Korean people, but for people outside of Korea, it's really special.

A staffer at Evett is prepping in the kitchen. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Q. You still travel around Korea to source local ingredients. Why is it important to do that?

A. Especially with food and cuisine, you need to find out where it comes from. You need to have that connection with the person who's growing it and with the source of where it's growing to really appreciate the ingredient. Because I think, even when it's maybe simple carrots or the forage ingredients, if you go to meet the person, you see the love that goes into making or harvesting that ingredient. It gives you a deeper sense of appreciation for it … (Because if not,) you're not going to see the love and the amount of process that goes into it.

Growing up in Australia, I had quite a good connection to nature, I would say. I grew up on a farm, so I understand the whole growing process. But in Korea, it's completely different. So, say for sea pineapple, I never knew that there are 'haenyeos' diving down to get them. And for the 'hwangtae' (dried pollock), the way that they hang them over the sticks to dry them in Inje of Gangwon Province, it's so fascinating and so completely different from what we have in Australia or the U.K. And it's really cool. Especially for me as a chef, I want to keep learning and discovering, and it's so interesting to learn those things.

A leaf-shaped acorn crisp and soy-based creme fraiche at Evett / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Q. Where do you get inspiration for your dishes at Evett?

A. I get inspiration from meeting people. So when we go down and travel to meet, say, the forager, his stories about the ingredients or the way that he uses them really inspire us to showcase them. Because he will talk about (his experience associated with) the ingredient, like when he was a kid, he would be picking acacia flowers on the way to school, or he'd have this little lunchbox. We would have these little small stories that we can build together to make a dish that has "Korea" in it and not just Korean ingredients, which is really important to us.

So it's not just about the ingredient. It's the stories that make up people's association with that dish. So whether it's, like I said, acacia flowers, a dosirak (lunchbox) or rice cake, all those little stories and the way that we can impact the dish really help us create new dishes.

Q. When you come up with new dishes, is your primary intention to make something of Korea into something new?

A. When we first opened, we drew four circles of what makes a dish possible at Evett. So the first one is Korean, the next one is flavor, the third one is technique and the fourth one is creative and innovative. And all of them have to link up. So (with everything) we have to have a heart. The dish has to be Korean at its base and has to be tasty, first of all.

Chef Joseph Lidgerwood prepares a dessert at Evett. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

I think most people have a connotation that fine dining is quite boring and stiff like it's not going to be very interesting. So what we're trying to do is, first and foremost, serve really nice food, but also make people fall in love with Korean ingredients. So the way that we do that is by trying to present it in different ways … So finding new ways that people can engage is definitely high on the list.

Q. What kind of feedback do you receive from the guests?

A. (The ratio of Koreans and foreigners) kind of fluctuates. I think from the Koreans, when I first opened, my main concern was that I'd never cooked with Korean ingredients before. So it's kind of daunting coming in and cooking stuff that is (already) cooked so well here. They've been really appreciative of us just using Korean ingredients. And the response from Korean guests has been really, really positive … I think they're really appreciative that we're showcasing Korean ingredients which is cool. And then the foreigners that come in and join us, they're normally blown away. Because here at the restaurant we don't serve caviar or truffles or anything like that because we believe that the Korean ingredients are super special. So being able to put that at the forefront and not mix it too much with foreign ingredients, I think they're very appreciative as well.

The interior of Evett / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Q. You've come a long way, from earning a Michelin star to surviving COVID-19. What is your ultimate goal as a chef?

A. I think it's just to keep the passion going and the love for what I'm doing. That's the ultimate goal. I think happiness comes and goes … I think just being passionate and feeling connected to what I'm doing is kind of what I always aim and strive for. I've kind of ticked off a lot of the stuff that I was hoping to do, like get a Michelin star, open a restaurant and have a lovely team. So the ultimate goals would be to stay passionate about what I'm doing and continue cooking.