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| Chefs prepare food in this undated photo. Courtesy of Jeju Food & Wine Festival organizing committee |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Some 30 Korean and international chefs will arrive on the southern resort island of Jeju next week for the Jeju Food & Wine Festival (JFWF).
During the 10-day event, they will team up with local gourmet restaurants and culinary school students to create new recipes with local ingredients.
This year's JFWF will feature artificial intelligence-based technology to attract attention from tourists to the island's food and wine.
Michelin star chefs Kim Hee-eun and Yoon Dae-hyun will be recreated in AI-based high-fidelity Metahuman to present their recipes in front of visitors. While the virtual characters present their food, the two real chefs will cook in the kitchen.
Another Michelin star chef Joseph Lidgerwood and other renowned chefs will also join the festival.
Chung Moon-sun, president of the JFWF organizing committee, called for support from tourists to make the JFWF become a flagship gourmet food and wine festival in East Asia.
"Many international tourist destinations have their own food festivals and these events play a role to revitalize the local economy," he said. "Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has 30 years of history, while Hawaii Food & Wine Festival celebrates its 14th anniversary this year. Now is the time to have Korea's flagship gourmet food festival on Jeju."
Launched in 2016, the JFWF has become a platform where renowned chefs and eateries on Jeju meet regularly to create new recipes with locally produced ingredients.
In the Taste of Jeju session which will be held on May 13, chefs of 12 gourmet restaurants on Jeju will demonstrate their foods made with seafood and meats from the island. Tourists will experience wines from all over the world, craft beer and Jeju's homegrown spirits.
During the Master Chef Class, Michelin star chefs will share their recipes made with local ingredients.
This year's festival will kick off on May 11 and continue until May 20.
