2014 Korean Food Festival in NY offers cultural delights

On October 17 and 18 in Times Square, the 2014 Korean Food Festival in New York will once again offer participants unique food and cultural experiences. Hosted by the Korean Agro and Fisheries Trade Center for the second year, the festival will give people the opportunity to sample Korean food products, enjoy live music and dance performances, and participate in other fun cultural activities.

Beyond just presenting prepared foods, the Korean Food Festival focuses on the ingredients that go into making the food, such as sauces (e.g. soy and barbecue sauces, red pepper paste), and other ingredients such as ginseng, seaweed, and kimchi. Fourteen major Korean food brands – including CJ, OKF, Daesang, Sempio, Ottogi, RIMA Global and others – will present their products at the festival.

Tofu salad, with silken tofu, orange, mixed seaweed salad, and plum vinaigrette, at Gaonnuri. (photo by Christopher Bourne / Meniscus Magazine)

I had the opportunity to participate in a luncheon at Koreatown restaurant Gaonnuri, where festival representatives provided information, and where we were able to enjoy some great Korean food and learn about the ingredients that went into making it. Dishes such as tofu salad, a Korean pancake sampler with shrimp, beef, and fish, and bulgogi, featured many of the flavorful sauces and other ingredients that will be showcased at this year’s Korean Food Festival.

The festival will also feature a pop-up restaurant featuring a three-course Korean fusion meal prepared by Marriott Hotel executive chef Robert Mirabelle, which will be available to pre-registered guests.

Other activities at the festival include opportunities for people to make their own gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and rice cakes, and an eating contest. There will also be live musical performances by a Korean marching band, and percussion group “Super-Stick,” as well as dance performances by K-pop dance team “I Love Dance.”

The 2014 Korean Food Festival in New York, which is free and open to the public, will be held on October 17 and 18 in Times Square (Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets) from 10am-7pm on both days. For more information, visit the festival’s web site.

A sampler of jun (Korean pancakes) with beef, perilla leaf, shrimp, and fish, at Gaonnuri. (photo by Christopher Bourne / Meniscus Magazine)

A bansang (combination lunch) with bulgogi at Gaonnuri. (photo by Christopher Bourne / Meniscus Magazine)