Rodrigo Pereira, aged 17, won a competition promoted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
The future of the Algarve’s gastronomy is in good hands. Following the announcement of Baltasar Santana’s silver medal at an international gastronomy competition in Tunisia, yet another student has put the region in the spotlight.
Rodrigo Pereira, a 17-year-old third-year student at the Algarve Hotel and Tourism School, participated in a competition organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to increase the visibility of Korean gastronomic culture in Portugal.
The event, which took place at the Porto Hotel and Tourism School on November 20 and 21, saw twelve aspiring chefs – one from each of the 12 Turismo de Portugal school network establishments – create a traditional Korean dish on which they had to imprint a mark of innovation or creativity.
Rodrigo Pereira, the young student from the Algarve, recreated one of Korea’s most popular dishes: Jeyuk bokkeum. This dish consists of spicy and sweet fried pork, and it relies on the strong flavour imparted by the famous fermented sauces Gochujang (red pepper paste) and Ganjang (soy sauce).
At just 17 years old, Rodrigo Pereira had much older and more experienced opponents. The victory was unexpected: “I was a little surprised. I tried my best, but the truth is that until now, I hadn’t had any contact with Korean food. It was a great experience; I learned about a different culture and met new people. I realised that their cuisine is full of flavour and involves a lot of techniques. This sparked my interest in Asian cuisine, which I would like to study more”, says the student.
