Cuisine.K advances Korean cuisine through innovation, networking and training
CJ Foods’ Cuisine.K is advancing its mission to establish a global footprint by enhancing its curriculum, further solidifying its role as a premier training platform for K-cuisine chefs.
On January 13, the company hosted its “2025 Cuisine.K DOTS Day” networking event. The name “DOTS” is an acronym for “Dreams,” “Opportunity,” “Together” and “Start,” symbolizing Cuisine.K’s commitment to nurturing and supporting the aspirations of young chefs.
The event was attended by up-and-coming chefs, mentor chefs and industry insiders who have been involved in the project since its launch in 2023. Also in attendance was Sun-ho Lee, Head of Food Growth Transformation at CJ Foods. The event included a free networking session, followed by a reflection on the progress and accomplishments to date, along with a discussion on future directions.
Cuisine.K is CJ Foods’ social contribution initiative aimed at advancing and globalizing Korean cuisine. The project seeks to enhance awareness of K-food by fostering young Korean chefs and promoting Korean dining culture through various programs including pop-up restaurants, the fine dining course “K-Stage,” food ingredient research classes with Korean food experts and cooking competitions.
Since the launch of the Cuisine.K project in May 2023, CJ Foods has supported over 200 young Korean chefs over the past year and a half. This initiative has expanded the Korean food landscape and played a key role in discovering and developing new talent, with successes like a Cuisine.K-trained chef becoming an executive chef-owner.
In addition, Cuisine.K has continued to provide support even after the completion of each course, by facilitating external activities and networking opportunities through the operation of its alumni network.
While CJ Foods focused on laying the foundation for and raising awareness of its Cuisine.K Project until last year, this year’s plans will shift towards expanding and introducing these programs in the global market and establishing a more systematic process for nurturing chefs.
As part of this strategic change, Cuisine.K plans to expand its domestic programs internationally. The “K-Stage” program will be expanded to offer overseas chefs a comprehensive experience of Korea’s food culture. Moreover, a K-food cooking class will be introduced, where young Korean chefs will conduct in-person demonstrations around the world. In collaboration with global culinary schools, the program will also support K-food cooking competitions using its global flagship K-food brand, bibigo.
Beyond program expansion, Cuisine.K plans to actively support Korean food research and development through the operation of the “Cuisine.K Salon,” a forum of young chefs. The project will also extend its support to not only young chefs but also sommeliers and service professionals, aiming to further develop the Korean food industry ecosystem.
“Through our comprehensive program to expand the reach of Korean cuisine, we quickly established ourselves as a leading brand in nurturing young Korean chefs since our launch,” said Park So-yeon, team leader of Hansik245 at CJ Foods. “This year, we aim to discover and nurture the next generation of young Korean chefs with more systematic programs that extend beyond Korea and target international audiences.
