Cooking competition launched to promote Korean cuisine

As Korean food manufacturers have just begun taking baby steps in their ambitions to cash in on the government`s aggressive policy goal of expanding food exports, CJ Cheiljedang Corporation says it is poised to be at the forefront as a food-ingredients specialist.

The company`s latest key strategy has been embracing the whole country as its army.

"Public participation will help raise both domestic and overseas demand by helping us discover original traditional Korean dishes prepared by regular households, which will allow us to emphasize the simplicity and approachability of Korean cuisine," Kim Yeoul, a CJ Dadam spokesman, said.



Local food companies have been keen on rolling out ideas to seize business opportunities from the government`s agenda of boosting exports of local agriculture and food products to contribute to sustaining economic growth.

The country`s largest food processing company said yesterday that its specialized Korean food ingredients and spices brand - "Dadam" - has launched a cooking competition to compile a "Globalizing Korean Cuisine Menu."

Participants should submit their entry forms by the Dec. 18 deadline through the integrated home page of CJ brands - www.cjonmart.net. CJ said it will select 30 dishes for the menu book, which will be published in both Korean and English.

The main CJ Dadam products are basic soup bases and sauces, including "sundubu," "naengi doenjang jjigae," "budae jjigae," "cheonggukjang jjigae," "maeuntang," "kong biji jjigae," and "gang doenjang."

CJ said these items were chosen for their ability to make Korean food preparation process convenient and simple for overseas consumers, which would otherwise be intimidating and daunting.

The company also emphasized the potential of the featured food ingredients to become globally enjoyed items.

CJ Dadam, launched in 1997, has been positioned as a premium brand for basic Korean sauces, such as "gochujang," or red-pepper paste, and "doenjang," or fermented bean paste, and "sundubu jjigae," or bean curd soup.

It said the earmarked products for the "Globalizing Korean Cuisine Menu" competition accounts for about 5 billion won worth ($4.3 million).

Kim suggested the need for patience in establishing a robust food exports business. "We`re just in the very beginning stages of our goal of building the exports business; and we expect exports to total only about 200 million won from this year`s sales forecast of 15 billion won," he told The Korea Herald.

Pulmuone, a smaller rival of CJ, said it is also in the game with similar food ingredients.

"We`re ready to compete with pre-prepared food sauces and soup bases, with an emphasis on natural, fresh ingredients, for such dishes as the "jjigae" (soup) and "tteokbokki," (Korean rice cake)," Choi Jee-hee, a Pulmuone spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview.

(sohjung@heraldm.com

By Yoo Soh-jung