Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarships Scheme

Imbibing Korean culinary culture for versatile application

This scheme is divided in two parts. The Vocational Skills Enhancement Award acknowledges outstanding students of the VTC Hotel and Tourism Institute (HTI), Chinese Culinary Institute (CCI) and International Culinary Institute (ICI) with financial sponsorship to take part in skills training; industrial attachment; regional and international events and competitions, in order to boost their career knowledge, skills and employability. The Outstanding Performance Scholarship and Best Progress Award are offered to Youth College students in recognition of those with outstanding performances in whole-person development and remarkable improvements in their studies.

Diploma in Chinese Cuisine students Wong Ka Shing and Rebecca Ling were sponsored by Drs Richard Charles and Esther Yewpick Lee Charitable Foundation on an exchange programme at Seoul Hoseo Technical College in South Korea to learn how to cook Korean imperial cuisine.  

“Imperial cuisine is underscored by the concepts of yin and yang and the five metaphysical elements, with a focus on healthy eating emphasising the balanced pairing of food in its five natural flavours and colours. The imperial tofu hotpot, which is cooked with various seasonal ingredients depending on different seasons, left me deeply impressed.” Ka Shing hopes to apply the knowledge learnt to let diners eat more healthily. “In Cantonese cuisine, vegetables are usually cooked in top-grade Chinese soup or chicken soup stock. But will it be better if the less greasy ginseng soup is used instead?” 

The five-element diet has inspired my culinary creations

Rebecca applies Korean food pairing to Chinese cuisine, infusing new elements into traditional dishes. “Korean imperial cuisine puts a heavy emphasis on the five natural colours of food, including red, yellow, green, black and white, to highlight its aesthetic appeal. Upon returning from the trip, I created a Korean-style beef roll recipe, pairing kimchi, asparagus and fried egg with beef, to make the dish look more attractive. It was eventually available on the menu of Chinese Culinary Institute’s training restaurant.”