Mrs Patience Berepele, a gospel counselor has emerged winner in the final of the 2024 maiden edition of the ‘Hansik’ (Korean food) contest in Abuja on Saturday.

The contest topic is :’Hansik (Korean food) based on Korean Traditional Jang (Fermented Sauces) Culture.

The contest featured Korean foods such as Tteokbokki’, Ranyeon, Yukgaejang, Galbitane, Yakgwa, and Rice cracker.

The Korean cooking contest  organised by the Korea cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN), featured 9 contestants consisting  of one team of one and eight individuals.

Berepele,  who emerged winner in the cooking contest by beating one team of one and seven individuals, went  home with a cash prize of N1million

Victor Mac-Adonai who came second went home with a cash prize of N700, 000 and Yahya Bindir who came third, took home a cash prize of N400, 000.

Berepele, who is  also a Minister of the gospel, said words were not sufficient for her to express her happiness for emerging the winner of the contest.

She  appreciated God for making it possible for her to get to the final  of the  competition  that started in  June to July.

Berepele said words were not enough to describe her feelings, because it was a tough  contest that all  contestants put in their best.

” But coming to see that I emerged winner is an exciting experience and I sincerely appreciate God for that.

” I love cooking as well as being passionate about other people’s culture and it  has helped me in this contest.

“When I test a dish , I will be curious about the ingredients  used to prepare it ,” she said.

Berepele said that she put in so much in  practicing at home  ahead of the contest.

” This  has really helped me, coupled with the fact that I  participated in the classes, but I know that everything happened by the  grace of God,” she added.

She  appreciated KCCN for giving Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the contest.

” I must commend KCCN, it is not easy bringing out  such amount of money they used to prepare us during  the cooking classes.

” They  tried in promoting Korean culture in Nigeria by ensuring that we prepared fusion of Nigeria and Korean dishes in the  second round of the competition.

” They also  ensured that everybody became abreast with other people’s culture, I am grateful to them,” Berepele said.

The winner prepared Ssambap with Bulgogi Ssamjang,  accompanied with Doenjang Jjigae with three dishes  like rolled omellet (Gyeran Mari), eggplant side dish(Gaji namil) and Bean sprout salad (Sukjulnamal).

Mr Victor Mac-Adonai, an engineering graduate, graduate who came second in the  contest, expressed  gratitude for the opportunity given to him to prove his ability.

According to him, Auguste Gusteau, who he considered to be the greatest chef in world said ‘Anyone can cook’.

He said that  cooking is not for those who are strong-hearted  and  imaginative.

“You must try things that may not even work, you must not let anyone define your limits.

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great. A cook makes food and I love food, therefore, I love to cook.

“People think cuisine is snooty, that it is exclusively meant for the elite and therefore a chef must also be snooty.

” This is the main reason why I choose to participate at the Hansik 2024 contest.

Mr Yahya Bindir, a software developer, who came third, said he  was extremely excited to have gone this far in the different rounds of the competition.

” I am grateful to my friends and family for their immense support throughout the cooking programme and contest.

” I am also grateful to KCCN for given me the opportunity to participate in the competition, and I look forward to participating in the future ones,” he said.

Mr Kim Changki, Director KCCN, said that KCCN coming up with Hansik (Korean food) programme for Nigerians was awesome.

He said that the initiative had made them to know about Korean food culture.

According to him, the initiative had brought synergy between Nigerians and Koreans in many aspects,  especially in their food culture.

He said that they were collaborating with the Association of Professional Chef in Nigeria to take this food programme to the next level.

Changki  commended the winners for their zeal and interest in learning how to prepare Korean foods, as well as their love for Korean culture.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the event was a game, ‘Guess the ingredients ( Times and Fast Paced), K-food Trivia, Spicy Noodle ‘Mukbang’ challenge, Chopstick as well as K-pop dance performance.