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If there was one guest chef who seemed to draw the most enthusiastic diners this year, it was the affable Junghyun Park. Born and raised in South Korea, Park arrived in New York in 2012 to work at the then newly opened Jungsik before splitting off to open his own restaurants. Now he’s the chef and owner of the two Michelin-starred restaurant Atomix, and its more casual sister restaurant Atoboy, both in New York City.
Park was the fifth chef to cook with Christopher Kostow at this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood.
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While Park uses ingredients found in Korean cuisine, he doesn’t use them in traditional ways. Instead, his cooking – like the cooking of so many international chefs of his generation – is revisionist, a form of cultural cooking that folds in elements of a global culinary experience. Techniques and ingredients borrowed from other cultures find their way in as clever substitutions or approximations, or playful experimentation.
Park told me that the dishes he served at the Twelve Days of Christmas were more representative of the food he serves at Atomix. Portion sizes tended to be smaller, representative of a longer tasting menu format. And his plating had the elegant polish of modern fine dining, especially his canapés and first few courses, which were colorful gems, like a beautifully fluted gim bugak cup (a fried, vegetable crisp) with dried radish and spot prawn, or bright-orange tongues of uni in emerald masaengi broth.
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One of my favorite courses this night was Park’s winter melon terrine, which was generously heaped with caviar. I especially loved the fermented pepper habanada foam, which had a whiff of tanginess that helped thin out the richness of the other ingredients. This was a fantastic dish.
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In the collaborative spirit of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Kostow and his team presented a collection of dishes with Korean flavors and ingredients. My favorite was stuffed quail stewed with jujubes and ginseng, which was sliced and served with scallion and gingko nuts.
Kostow ended the dinner with his version of hotteok, a sweet, Korean biscuit-like pancake, which was served with barley tea.
This is the menu from Day 5 of the Twelve Days of Christmas with guest chef Junghyun Park (click here for all of the photos from this dinner):
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Canapés
Celtic and Buckwheat Tartlet
(Park)
Oyster Gaejang
(Park)
Spot Prawn
Gim bugak, dried radish.
(Park)
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1st Course
Maesaengi Uni
Pork broth.
(Park)
2nd Course
Daikon
Benne seed, pear, butter clam.
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
3rd Course
Yellowtail
Black apple, citrus.
(Park)
4th Course
Winter Melon Terrine
Caviar, fermented habanada.
(Park)
5th Course
Black Cod
Makgeolli kale.
(Park)
6th Course
Quail
Gingko, jujubes, ginseng.
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
7th Course
Lamb Saddle
Gosari, perilla.
(Park)
8th Course
Black Chestnut Ice Cream
Pyogo.
(Park)
9th Course
Hotteok
Barley Tea
(The Restaurant at Meadowood)
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Les Pentes Pouilly Fumé, Serge Dagueneau & Filles, 2018
Domaine Zind Humbrecht, Clos Windsbuhl, 2003
Mayacamus, Chardonnay, Mt. Veeder, 2017
Darling, Pinot Noir, Azaya Vineyard, 2018
Rudd Estate, Red Wine, Napa Valley, 2004
Villa Oeiras, Carcavelos
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Below are links to my posts and photos from all Twelve Days of Christmas dinners I have attended. Each chef is listed with the restaurant with which they were cooking at the time they participated in the event (some have moved on to other projects and restaurants).
2012
Scott Anderson (Elements; Princeton, New Jersey)
John & Karen Shields (Formerly of Townhouse; Chilhowie, Virginia)
Phillip Foss (EL Ideas; Chicago, Illinois)
Stuart Brioza & Nicole Krasinski (State Bird Provisions; San Francisco, California)
Jason Franey (Canlis Restaurant; Seattle, Washinton)
Matthias Merges (Yusho; Chicago, Illinois)
Mori Onodera (Formerly of Mori Sushi; Los Angeles, California)
James Syhabout (Commis; Oakland, California)
Nick Anderer (Maialino; New York, New York)
David Toutain (Agapé Substance; Paris, France)
Josh Habiger & Erik Anderson (The Catbird Seat; Nashville Tennessee)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2013
Andy Ricker (Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon & New York, New York)
Rodolfo Guzman (Boragó; Santiago, Chile)
Carlo Mirarchi (Blanca and Roberta’s; Brooklyn, New York)
Tim Cushman (O Ya; Boston, Massachusetts)
Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner; Raleigh, North Carolina)
David Chang (Momofuku; New York, New York)
Matthew Accarrino (SPQR; San Francisco, California)
Mark Ladner & Brooks Headley (Del Posto; New York, New York)
Rasmus Kofoed (Geranium; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Nicolaus Balla & Cortney Burns (Bar Tartine; San Francisco, California)
David Kinch (Manresa; Los Gatos, California)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2014
Matthew Orlando (Amass; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Frank Castranovo & Frank Falcinelli (Frankies 457, Prime Meats; New York, New York)
Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf; Dranouter, Belgium)
Alexandre Gauthier (La Grenouillère; La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France)
Blaine Wetzel (Willows Inn; Lummi Island, Washington)
Joshua McFadden (Ava Gene’s; Portland, Oregon)
Virgilio Martinez (Central; Lima, Peru)
Grant Achatz (Alinea; Chicago, Illinois)
Corey Lee (Benu; San Francisco, California)
Esben Holmboe Bang (Maaemo; Oslo, Norway)
Ignacio Mattos (Estela; New York, New York)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2015
Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad; New York, New York)
Nenad Mlinarevic (Focus; Vitznau, Switzerland)
Christian Puglisi (relæ; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jorge Vallejo (Quintonil; Mexico City, Mexico)
Joshua Skenes (Saison; San Francisco, California)
Matthew Wilkinson (Pope Joan; Melbourne, Australia)
Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan ([One]; Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Isaac McHale (The Clove Club; London, The United Kingdom)
Kyle Connaughton (Single Thread; Healdsburg, California)
Atsushi Tanaka (A.T. Restaurant; Paris, France)
Justin Yu (Oxheart; Houston, Texas)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2017
Mark Lundgaard Nielsen (Kong Hans Kælder; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Manish Mehrotra (Indian Accents; New Dehli, India; New York, New York; London, U.K.)
Jeremiah Stone & Fabián von Hauske Valtierra (Contra & Wildair; New York, New York)
Jeremy Fox (Rustic Canyon & Tallula’s; Santa Monica, California)
Ben Sukle (birch & Oberlin; Providence, Rhode Island)
Sean Brock (McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern, Husk, & Minero; Charleston, South Carolina)
Yoshiaki Takazawa (Takazawa; Tokyo, Japan)
Thomas Keller (The French Laundry; Yountville, California)
Eric Werner (Hartwood; Tulum, Mexico)
Jock Zonfrillo (Orana; Adelaide, Australia)
Alexandre Couillon (La Marine; Noirmoutier, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2018
Jose Enrique (Jose Enrique; San Juan, Puerto Rico)
David Pynt (Burnt Ends; Singapore)
Jessica Largey (Simone; Los Angeles, California)
James Lowe (Lyle’s; London, The United Kingdom)
Kamilla Seidler (formerly of Gustu in La Paz, Bolivia; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Byung-jin Kim (Gaon; Seoul, South Korea)
Wojciech Modest Amaro (Atelier Amaro; Warsaw, Poland)
Justin Cogley (Auberine; Carmel, California) & Trevor Moran (Nashville, Tennessee)
Michael Tusk (Cotogna and Quince; San Francisco, California)
Ana Ros (Hiša Franko; Kobarid, Slovenia)
Sota Atsumi (Maison, opening in 2019; Paris, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2019
Gabriela Camara (Contramar; Mexico City, Mexico/Cala; San Francisco, California)
John and Karen Shields (Smyth, and The Loyalist; Chicago, Illinois)
Daniel Calvert (Belon; Hong Kong)
José Avillez (Belcanto; Lisbon, Portugal)
Junghyun Park (atomix and atoboy; New York, New York)
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Photos: Yellowtail with black apple and citrus by Park; Park with Zach Yoder in the garden; Park’s winter melon with caviar, fermented chiles, and habanada; Kostow’s quail with gingko and jujube; maesaengi uni with pork broth by Park; Kostow’s hotteok with barley tea; Park shaving black truffles over chestnut ice cream; wine pairings; Park and The Restaurant at Meadowood team; Park and his team from atomix.
