One of the great joys of living, working and travelling around India is seeing how Indian professionals acquire new skills not so much from formal education but from seeing others do things (either in the real world or on social media). Whilst this leaves us questioning the value of much of what passes for higher education in India (see our blog ), it also leaves us admiring the abilities of industrious and enterprising Indian pros. Triya Gulati’s article underscores these positive character traits of Indian pros. She writes:
“When Korean guest houses started sprouting in India around two decades ago for Hyundai and Samsung employees, a battalion of ajummas—middle-aged Korean women—was flown in to run the kitchens. Their foot soldiers were Nepalese and North-Eastern helpers, chopping, cleaning, learning. Now, with Korean food catching on in a big way in India, those same workers are calling the shots in top restaurants.”
To understand how this miracle in upward mobility came about we would recommend that you read Ms Gulati’s article in full. Here is a particularly interesting extract:
“Korean restaurants in Delhi-NCR—Hahn’s Kitchen, Seoul Kitchen, Miso, Haru, Midam—have become training grounds for the next-gen of chefs. The veterans, primarily from Nepal, pass down their expertise to understudies from Nepal and North-Eastern states like Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. With demand rising, these apprentices train for a year or more before being deployed to new and emerging Korean dining hotspots. It’s a sought-after field. Korean cuisine carries an air of exclusivity, is not easily mastered, and its specialised nature comes with a paycheck to match.
“In any other cuisine, someone with my experience would earn Rs 40,000–Rs 45,000. With Korean food, I make nearly a lakh,” said Shankar, who will complete 20 years in the business.
And in the restaurant world, appearances matter—the plate of food should match who is cooking and serving it.
“It’s not offensive. It’s just obvious. A layman can easily mistake people from the North-East or Nepal for Koreans. They don’t know the difference,” Shankar said with a half-smile.”
Leaving aside how people from Nepal and how Indians from the North East have turned their appearance into a source of advantage in the job market, there is another interesting aspect to this story, namely, the amount of time, training and skill required to become a Korean food chef. This is not a job that AI will take away:
““There are no courses or workshops to teach Korean food,” Kamal said. “Even if there’s a sushi-making workshop, we can’t afford it. These classes are for hotel chefs. For us, the learning happens in the kitchen—hands-on.”…
Before they can take charge of a bibimbap or bulgogi, trainee chefs have to perfect their knife work. Every fresher is first put on chopping duties.
“Six months minimum one has to spend to master the chopping,” Shankar said.
Korean cuisine often demands uniform, thin slicing to ensure even marination and quick cooking. Unlike in Chinese dishes, where ingredient sizes vary, or in Indian cooking, which frequently employs coarse dicing to release robust flavours, Korean food is all about delicate precision. This is especially crucial for dishes like kimchi and bibimbap, where consistency is key…
Seafood is the biggest test of knife skills. Filleting a fish, treating prawns, cleaning squid—each task requires patience and finesse.
“Cleaning and cooking abalone is equally hectic,” Kamal said.
Next, the chefs are moved to the grill, which is an art that takes years to master. The cook on the meat can make or break a dish as well as the diner’s experience…
“The chefs should know the right amount of cook needed on a particular portion of meat. For instance, we serve 900 grams of chicken in a particular dish, and it’s not easy to cook. But, with regular experience, chefs pick up,” Shankar said. “There is no crash course. You have to keep trying.”
Training chefs in Korean cuisine is no easy task especially since it’s so different from Indian food, according to Lakshay, who manages operations at both outlets of Seoul Restaurant in Delhi—popular for dishes like chimac (fried chicken), dak galbi (gochujang-based stir fry), and tteokbokki (rice cakes).
“Chefs need to understand the different fermentation processes,” he said.
Korean cooking uses a variety of fermented ingredients, from kimchi and doenjang (soybean paste) to gochujang (chilli paste) and chongkukjang (fermented soybeans). The fermentation process depends on the ingredients and the desired flavour.”
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