Gospel Counsellor Wins Inaugural Korean Cooking Competition In Nigeria

By Bukar BOLORI

A gospel counselor,  Mrs Patience Berepele, has emerged winner of  the first edition of ‘Hansik'(Korean food) competition held in Abuja, carting home the N1 million cash prize.

 The contest titled “Hansik (Korean food) based on Korean Traditional Jang (Fermented Sauces) Culture, featured Korean foods such as Tteokbokki’, Ranyeon, Yukgaejang, Galbitane, Yakgwa, and Rice cracker and had it grand finale in Abuja at the weekend It was organised by the Korea cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN) and had nine finalists with Berepele, emerging as winner.

Victor Mac-Adonai came second, winning N700,000 cash and Yahya Bindir who came third, took home a cash prize of N400,000.

Berepele, who is  also a minister of the gospel, after winning said words were not sufficient for her to express her happiness on coming top.

She  gave thanks to the Almighty God for making it possible for her to get to the final  of the  competition  that started in June to July and subsequently becoming the winner.

 She said: ”But coming to see that I emerged winner is an exciting experience and I sincerely appreciate God for that.

” I love cooking as well as being passionate about other people’s culture and it  has helped me in this contest.

“When I test a dish, I will be curious about the ingredients  used to prepare it.”

Berepele while stating that she put in so much in  practicing at home ahead of the contest, said: ”This  has really helped me, coupled with the fact that I  participated in the classes, but I know that everything happened by the  grace of God.”

The winner appreciated KCCN for giving Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the contest, stating that: ”I must commend KCCN, it is not easy bringing out  such amount of money they used to prepare us during  the cooking classes.

” They  tried in promoting Korean culture in Nigeria by ensuring that we prepared fusion of Nigeria and Korean dishes in the  second round of the competition.

” They also ensured that everybody became abreast with other people’s culture, I am grateful to them.”

Her winning entry was: Ssambap with Bulgogi Ssamjang,  accompanied with Doenjang Jjigae with three dishes  like rolled omellet (Gyeran Mari), eggplant side dish(Gaji namil) and Bean sprout salad (Sukjulnamal).

 For Victor Mac-Adonai, an engineering graduate who came second in the  contest, the competition offered him an opportunity to prove his ability.

He said he took inspiration from Auguste Gusteau, who he considered to be the greatest chef in world whose words were: ‘Anyone can cook’.

He noted that for Auguste Gusteau cooking is not for those who are strong-hearted  and  imaginative.

He said: “You must try things that may not even work, you must not let anyone define your limits.

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great. A cook makes food and I love food, therefore, I love to cook.

“People think cuisine is snooty, that it is exclusively meant for the elite and therefore a chef must also be snooty.”

This is the main reason why I choose to participate at the Hansik 2024 contest.

Mr Yahya Bindir, a software developer, who came third, said he  was extremely excited to have gone this far in the different rounds of the competition.

Bindir said: ”I am grateful to my friends and family for their immense support throughout the cooking programme and contest.

”I am also grateful to KCCN for given me the opportunity to participate in the competition, and I look forward to participating in the future ones.”

Director KCCN, Mr Kim Changki commenting on the competition said that KCCN coming up with Hansik (Korean food) programme for Nigerians was awesome, adding that the initiative had made them to know about Korean food culture.

He noted that the initiative had brought synergy between Nigerians and Koreans in many aspects, especially in their food culture.

He disclosed that there is ongoing collaboration with the Association of Professional Chef in Nigeria to take this food programme to the next level. 

Changki  commended the winners for their zeal and interest in learning how to prepare Korean foods, as well as their love for Korean culture.