SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Italian chef Fabrizio Ferrari, widely known in South Korea by his affectionate nickname "Fabri," opened this year's Italian Cuisine Week in Seoul on Wednesday with a cooking demonstration that blended Italy's signature cheeses with Korea's most familiar flavors.
At High Street Italia in Gangnam, Ferrari prepared a pan of kimchi fried rice and finished it with a cooled, paper-thin cheese crisp set over the dish like a hat. The crisp, made from melted and re-hardened Italian cheese, added a nutty aroma and a crackling texture as he introduced the first program of the week-long event.
Ferrari called cheese one of Italy's greatest culinary treasures and said it cannot be separated from the country's food identity. He opened his remarks by drawing a parallel between cheese and jang, the fermented sauces at the foundation of Korean cuisine. "For Italian food, cheese is what jang is for Korean cuisine," he said. "Without jang, there is no real Korean food. It is the same for us. The flavor and umami in Italian dishes come from cheese."
In Korean cooking, jang is the element that shapes the taste of soups, stews, and everyday dishes, and many chefs treat it as the essence of Korean food. Ferrari told the audience he sees the same role played by cheese in Italy.
He spoke about cheese as a fermented food, noting that its depth comes from the same slow processes that define Korea's jang tradition. Holding up cheeses like provolone and caciocavallo, he pointed out their visual similarities to meju blocks and said the fermentation link explains why Korean diners often find Italian cheeses familiar rather than foreign.
Ferrari's demonstration featured well-known cheeses such as Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, but also lesser-known regional varieties. He reminded the audience that Italy produces dozens of traditional cheeses that differ according to altitude, grass, soil, and climate. "There are regions where animals eat different herbs and plants, so the taste of the milk changes and the cheese changes with it," he said.
The chef also introduced the audience to Asiago from northern Italy, as well as provolone, which he described as a firmer, more elastic cousin of mozzarella. Using four types of cheese, he prepared a rich quattro formaggi pasta, then turned to his Korean-Italian fusion dish, placing the cheese crisp on top of the fried rice to bring together heat, salt, and sweetness with the aroma of aged dairy.
During the Q&A session, Ferrari told AJP about pairing Italian cheese with Korean traditional drinks. He said fermented alcohols with a slight tang or sweetness worked well. "Makgeolli is a good example," he said.
Ferrari is well known in Korea beyond his kitchen. Born into a family of restaurateurs, he earned a Michelin star in 2005 for his seafood restaurant Al Porticciolo 84 in Italy and held it for 15 years. His exposure to Korean cuisine began in 2010 while working with Korean culinary students in Italy. He learned how to make kimchi and other fermented foods and later developed his own Korean-Italian fusion dishes. He moved to South Korea in 2019, taught at Woosong University in Daejeon and became a familiar figure on television. His YouTube channel, Italy Fabri, has drawn a large Korean following.
Before Ferrari took the stage, Italian Trade Commissioner Ferdinando Gueli opened the event by presenting this year's promotional focus on authentic Italian cheese. He urged Korean consumers to check origin labels and look for the EU's certification marks. "Korea is one of our most important markets in Asia in terms of per capita exports," he said. "Korean people are among the best lovers of made in Italy in the world."
Italian Ambassador Emilia Gatto also greeted guests. Speaking in Korean, she thanked the audience for attending. She said food represents the cultural and artistic ties between South Korea and Italy and praised the popularity of Korean cuisine in Italy. The ambassador said she hoped the week's programs would help deepen the exchange between the two food cultures.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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