Friday is a big day for our company, O'ngo Food Communications. We will be on MBC, "Behind Story" will be on air on Friday(21th) 6:50~7:40pm and we'll be on KBS at 7:30pm for a story on tteokbokki AZA! I hope you can check it out. Cheers, Dan

Shin Kim from the fabulous site Shinshine has translated the Chosun Weekly article on the "Food Musketeers" in Korea: Zen Kimchi , Fatmanseoul , and Me . It was originally written by Shim Hye-gi. In the article, you can actually see what Fatmanseoul looks like. [PEOPLE] Foreign Powerbloggers as Korean Food Missionaries Gobchang , Pork Skin , Skate…Wonderful! There is a fever for the ‘globalization of Korean food.’  Not only government organizations such as The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) and the Korea Tourism Organization, but also major companies in the food industry are taking action for the globalization of Korean food.  The first lady Yoon-ok Kim appeared on the American news channel CNN and gave cooking demonstration of Korean food last October.  The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) plans to accelerate the effort on the globalization of Korean food through the International Food Industry Exhibition in Seoul fro...

Maangchi of the very popular website: www.maangchi.com mentioned my daktoritang video on her website as one of the videos she's interested in for the K orean food video contest run by the Korean government. Here's what Maangchi had to say: 7. Spicy chicken and soybean sprouts and spinach side dish A popular blogger Daniel Gray is making dakbokkeumtang (spicy chicken with vegetables), spinach, and soy bean sprouts side dishes in this video. Fast, simple, and delicious looking recipes! If you haven't seen the video yet, here it is again:

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20100322/27003404/1 Shin Minji, a journalist from the Dong-a Ilbo came to the first Korean Taste Tour that we had over the weekend. Even though it was cloudy and dusty, 22 people came out and Jennifer Flinn regaled the crowd with her infinite knowledge and humor. Simon and Martina from Eatyourkimchi was in attendance and so was Anne from Korea4expats . We are planning the next one on April 3rd. Details will be coming soon. Dan 20일 오전 11시 서울 종로구 인사동 골목에 외국인 20여 명이 모였다. 음식전문 컨설팅회사인 온고푸드커뮤니케이션이 주최한 한식 투어에 참가한 이들이다. 한식투어는 한식을 체험하면서 동시에 전통 문화 등을 탐방하는 새로운 형식의 체험형 관광 프로그램이다. 꼬불꼬불한 인사동 골목길에 위치한 한옥 으로 지은 전통 음식점에 들어선 이들은 문 밖에서부터 풍기는 고소한 냄새에 기대감을 감추지 못했다. 잘 닦은 놋그릇에 정갈하게 차려진 음식이 하나둘 나왔다. 유네스코에서 일하며 한국 문화 를 공부하고 있는 제니퍼 플린 씨( 29 ) 가 이날 한국 음식과 문화를 소개하는 사회자로 나섰다. 취나물, 야생초를 양파를 갈아 넣은 양념장에 버무린 샐러드가 나왔다. “한국 음식의 특징은 제철에 나는 재료를 가지고 만드는 것입니다. 구하기도 쉽지만 몸에도 좋고 자연을 거스르지 않으며 더불어 살아가는 방법이기 때문이죠.” 한식 이야기는 한국의 전통 문화에 대한 설명으로 자연스레 이어졌다. 양반다리가 어색한 한식 투어 참가자들이 다리를 이리저리 뒤...

지난 20일 강남구 삼성동의 한 쿠킹 스튜디오에서 W호텔의 키아란 히키(가운데) 총주방장 등 외국인들이 닭볶음탕을 만들고 있다. 맛을 보던 간호사 지니 리(왼쪽에서 두 번째)는“한식이 쉽고 간단해서 놀랐다”고 말했다. / 이진한 기자 magnum91@chosun.com The Chosun Ilbo is Korea's largest and most popular newspaper and reporter, Shin Jeong-seon 신정선, did a story on the tour. She mentioned many of the participants and the president of O'ngo Food Communications, Jia Choi. Overall, I think the first tour was a success and we are preparing for the next one on March 13th. I will be posting information about it soon.  Here's a video of the class filmed by the photographer, Lee Jin-han (이진한). And here is the story in Korean. Thank you for all those that participated! 韓食 참 쉽네요" 국내 거주 외국인 16명 즐거운 '한식 투어' 재래시장 둘러보고 닭볶음탕 등 직접 요리… "상세한 설명 큰 도움앞으로 직접 해먹어야죠" 지난 20일 오전 10시 지하철 3호선 대치역 3번 출구에 금발의 부부가 나타났다. 잠시 후 등장한 중년 남성은 가죽 재킷 아래에 흰 요리복을 입었다. 뒤이어 뿔테 안경을 낀 여성이 영어로 인사를 건네며 합류했다. 10시30분이 되자 일행은 16명으로 늘었다. 이들은 모두 한국에 거주하는 외국인들. 한국에 살면서도 제대로 몰랐던 한식에 대한 궁금증을 풀어줄...

1. Wrote 691 Blog Posts on Seouleats.com 2. Appeared on 48 episodes of the Steve Hatherly Show for TBS eFM. 3. Was the dining editor for Eloquence Magazine for 5 months. 4. Became the dining editor for Groove Magazine. 5. Appeared in an episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. 6. Helped organize and market the 7th Annual Tteok Festival in Seoul for Dr. Yoon Sook-ja. 7. Met Chef Rachel Yang when she came to the Tteok Festival 8. Met Robyn Lee from Serious Eats when she came to do a story for the Tteok Festival. 9. Met the 9-year old guitar sensation Sungha-jung. 10. Appeared in Gourmet's Diary of Foodie episode: Korea: Ancient world, modern food. 11. Traveled for 3 weeks in America. I started in Seattle and then went to Philadelphia; Winter Haven, Florida; Utah, and then San Francisco, California. 12. I met Jonathon Kauffman from the Seattle Weekly. 13. I met Chef Anna Kim at the Kimchikhan Documentary filming. 14. Was a featured speaker at the G'OAL Adoptee...

  Yakup Baraym, 35, from Turkey prepares a kebab at Sultan Kebab in Jongno, Seoul yesterday. Sultan Kebab came in second in foodie Daniel Gray`s "Top 5 kebabs" list. [Matthew Lamers/The Korea Herald The Korea Herald published my story on the best kebab in Korea. You can see it online here or pick up a copy of today's Korea Herald to read it. Dan Seoul Eats If you happen to run into Rami Mohammed from Yemen, don't mix up kebabs and shwarma. Mohammed didn't call the chicken or lamb dish cooked on a rotating spit and wrapped in tortilla with pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and a sauce "kebab." He called this dish shwarma. "Kebab is usually made with ground meat, while shawarma is made with whole meats such as chicken," he said. Also, a kebab - which he called doner kebab - is not supposed to be served on a thin tortilla. Rather, it should be served on a hearty bread he called ekmek arasi. While I respect his scruples, this did not stop me ...

Seoul Eats is in the story along with Zenkimchi Here is the link for the story. Dan “해외 유명 셰프·언론도 ‘코리안 푸드’ 하면 우릴 찾죠!” 글로벌 한식 ‘길라잡이’ 외국인 푸드 블로거 3인…정부 주도 한식 세계화는 열린 마음으로 해야 류 지 원 뉴스위크 한국판 기자 미 국인 조 맥퍼슨(35)은 대학 시절 들었던 한국사 강의가 인연이 돼 먼 이국땅을 찾게 됐다. 처음에는 어학원 강사로 일하며 1년가량 머무를 계획이었지만 활기차고 역동적인 한국 사회의 분위기에 매료됐다. 평소 호기심이 많은 그의 성격에도 잘 맞는 듯했다. 특히 한국 음식은 그에게 경이의 대상이었다. “서양인들에게 한식은 아직 알려지지 않은 미개척지”라고 그가 말했다. 맥퍼슨은 전국을 돌면서 한국의 맛 탐험에 나섰다. 그런 과정을 거쳐 그가 뽑은 ‘죽기 전에 꼭 먹어봐야 할 한국 음식 100가지’ 목록에는 한국인들도 선뜻 먹기를 주저하는 음식들이 즐비하다. 자라탕, 산낙지, 닭발, 홍어 등이 눈길을 끈다. 애초 미국에 있는 가족과 연락을 주고받으려는 심산으로 만들었던 그의 개인 블로그에는 맛 탐험 일기들이 하나둘씩 실렸다. “어 느 날 관심을 갖고 찾아보니 음식 관련 블로그가 지천인데 영문으로 된 한식 블로그는 거의 없었어요. 그래서 ‘제대로 해보자’는 생각이 들었죠.” 그게 2005년이었다. 그의 블로그 zenkimchi.com은 현재 대표적인 한식 관련 영문 블로그로 성장했다. 하루 평균 600~1000명의 방문자가 그의 블로그를 찾는다. 대니얼 그레이(30)는 다섯 살 때 미국 가정에 입양된 한국계 미국인이다. 어린 시절 한국에서의 기억은 희미해졌지만 유독 그의 머릿속에 또렷하게 남은 기억이 있다. “한 국인 친어머니께서 자주 해주시던 오이냉채 맛을 잊을 수 없어요. 입양되기 전에 고아원을 찾은 한 미국인 부부와 함께 먹기도 했었죠.” 미국에서 자라면서 한국 음식이나 문화를 접할 기회는 ...

You can catch my weekly articles in the newspaper on Wednesday.

http://www.orkutheroes.com/worlds-best-destinations-and-its-14-best-food-blogs/#comment-24591176 SeoulEats   Seoul , South Korea: Koreans are well known for their hard work, hospitality and good rich food, one of the fastest growing economy and high life standards made Seoul simply wonderful. Like Seoul;  Seouleats.com  is wonderful too.  I must say that its one of the food blog I stayed for more than an hour just navigating pages by pages and saying in my heart WOW!  Amazing!. Seouleats.com was started by Daniel Gray  a foodie. Daniel’s way of approaching and discovering best foods in and around Seoul made seouleats.com a well recognized online spot for foodies.  Now maintained by a dedicated team of authors, this blog is really awesome. Chili Burger at chili king,  Sushi at Omakasi , Kongguksu at Myeongdong Gyoja, dukbokki or locate Vegetarian restaurants in Seoul like Sanche and Sanchon Mountain village etc.  SeoulEats.com has everythi...

I appear each week on the Steve Hatherly Show on TBS eFM radio. My spot is on Friday at 2:30 and what do we talk about? Food of course. Steve is a good friend and a great DJ, but our opinions greatly differ on the topic of food. He constantly goes on about O-gyeopsal: pork belly with 5 layers of fat. I like the finer types of food.  Anyway, today we will be talking about the Amazing Korean Table cooking classes and what I learned that day from such great chefs such as Bok-Ryeo Han, Corey Lee, Massimo Bottura, and Pierre Gagnaire.   Here is a link to the site where you can listen to the stream through your radio. Please leave a comment on the TBS eFM forum page (Here is a link to Steve's page on the site.) Thanks, Dan

I totally forgot about this interview about Korean food that I gave back in August. It's about my thoughts on Korean food and about being adopted. Dan

Seoul Eats, Zenkimchi, and Fatmanseoul featured in Jeremy Kressman's story on Gadlings.com Korean Foodstuff's Fair in Singapore. Zenkimchi makes a foamy cappuccino in a microwave without a steam wand. Pretty Autumn pictures from my nemesis. Molten Lava Persimmon Cake from Gyopowife. Do you know Madam Kim? Funny Korean Halloween T-shirt. I look Korean, but I have the ears of an English speaker so I overheard this while on the subway. The person was talking on his phone. "So this old woman right next me has her elbow right in my crouch. No, she's not elbowing me, I think she's copping a feel." Have a great day! Dan

You'll find an article written by me. Dan

Yeah, I know I should have come up with a better name. You can see it here. Thank you Serious Eats and Photograzing! Dan

Well, that's pretty surprising. Cool. Here's the excerpt. Sampling the quirky delights of Korean food and drink is one of the joys of visiting Seoul. The Wonderful World of Korean Food, published by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), is a free booklet that provides a superbly illustrated introduction to the country’s food, snacks and drinks. Download it from www.visitkorea.or.kr . Explore more quirky delights at www.seouleats.com , an extensive expat blog with ‘interesting food titbits, restaurant reviews and random tomfoolery’.

Zenkimchi, Fatman Seoul, and Seoul Eats in Korean Times. By Ines Min Contributing Writer In the past five years, a new Internet phenomenon has begun to boil in Seoul: the foreigner food blogging culture. United by a common desire to explore the international and domestic cuisines found in South Korea, expat foodies now have an outlet for their passion through a community of English-language blogs ― something that was unheard of before 2004. The ``grandfather of food blogs" was FatMan Seoul, according to Joe McPherson of ZenKimchi.com. It was Seoul's first food blog in English, started by a mystery man whose identity was never discovered. Though shut down in early 2005 with the author's departure from the country, its legacy lives on through inspired bloggers ― one of which still carries on the name, with no affiliation. After the Web site closed, McPherson noticed that there was a lack of Korean food blogs written in English, and began his own. He converted his personal ...

Samgyeopsal (삼겹살):grilled pork belly. So while I was in Seattle, I was asked by Jonathon Kauffman about samgyeopsal. Now I didn't know that I would be quoted. Thanks Jon! Here's the article and hit the link for the rest. Dan Beyond Bulgogi: Korean Pig Is What’s Worth Eating Leave the beef to barbecue neophytes. By Jonathan Kauffman K oreans believe that if you dream of a pig, you'll get rich in the morning," Dan Gray of the blog Seoul Eats recently told me. Unfortunately, this isn't specific enough to help me interpret my dream journal. Must it be a live pig, or is roast pork sufficiently auspicious? Will grilled pork belly do, or can it be braised pig knuckle? If so, my lottery winnings must be in the mail. Most of the best-known Korean dishes in America contain beef: bulgogi, kalbi (short ribs), japchae, bibimbap, even many kinds of kimbap (Korean sushi) and soondubu (soft-tofu stews). But anyone who thinks kalbi is the ne plus ultra of Korean cuisine should...

Wow! Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie has posted parts of the episodes I helped put together on itunes. If you watch the p'yogo mushroom episode, you might see me. I'm really impressed with Gourmet's production values and I think they did an excellent job. They just did an excellent job. You'll see Michael Benzinger in the Kimchi episode and Terry Rah in the Royal Court Cuisine one. Go to this link to download the episode. Dan

If you read the article, she says, "This month marks the beginning of the third season of Gourmet's PBS show Diary of a Foodie... I'm especially proud of the stories filmed in Korea, because the food is so unexpectedly new, and so extraordinarily beautiful." Wow. I'm so proud because I helped Gourmet with that production. My friends Terry, Irene, Mr. Moon from the Agro-Trade Center, Dr. Sook Ja-yoon, Hoya, Soo-hyun, me, and many others helped production with their story in Korea. It'll be great to see it on the air. We filmed 7 segments for Gourmet in Korea and 1 more for Anthony Bourdain's show. Korea is going to get a ton of media exposure this year. My goal is to meet Ruth one of these days because she is my foodie hero. She is amazing at what she does and her personality just shines. She is awesome. Ruth, if you are reading this, please come to Korea or set aside a lunch break and I'll meet you in New York. Dan