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5 Reasons to Visit® sat down with Executive Chef Jerome Deconinck of Boccalino and Garden Terrace at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea. Sun-drenched marble walls, gleaming metal accents and cognac leather banquettes perfectly match the contemporary renditions of classic southern Italian dishes you’ll at Boccalino, each prepared with passion and showmanship in the open kitchen.
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea
The Garden Terrace is an outdoor city dining experience featuring chilled champagne, craft cocktails and bar bites—all served alongside views of Seoul’s cityscape.
Where did you grow up, and where have you traveled to that has helped inspire and shape your cooking philosophy?
I grew up in Annecy, France, in a region that has strong culinary roots and great markets. From there I have worked across Asia since 1999, my second growth as you could call it, always learning new culture and product, market to market, discovering new food, flavors and technics.
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea
Tell our readers an interesting fact or two about yourself that reflects your cooking style?
I think the biggest influence in my cooking come from my grandfather and father, both exceptional cook in their own right, they use to make the Sunday family meal, where a selection of great dishes would bring smiles on everyone’s face, laughter, great time... Unforgettable memories. This is my aim, not only create a tasty and pretty dish, but create a memorable moment for my guests.
Tell us about your absolute favorite food and why readers should try it if they haven’t already.
This is going to make a few people cringe, but a nice lamb brain, poached to perfection with a buttery crushed fingerling potato puree and flakes of sea salt. The buttery texture, delicate flesh of the fingerling and the creamy brain makes it for a perfect combination and yet the simplicity of the dish is just surprising.
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea
What are three ingredients that you simply couldn’t live without?
Butter, salt and bread, and the holy trinity.
We love the art behind plating. What do you love about designing the perfect dish?
What I love is that the perfect dish doesn’t exist and never will, the possibilities are endless, and like an artist; the moment, the mood and the product dictate the outcome on the canvas. Ultimately, we are in the business of giving emotion, and the perfect dish need to be made for someone, it can’t be perfect for everyone.
Tell us about one of the most creative dishes you’ve cooked up?
It would have to be pan-seared veal sweet bread, coffee jus and oil, and roasted endive. The combination of the sweet and bitterness was very well balanced, and topped with a salted and sweet tuile with coffee bean.
What is one of your greatest accomplishments or awards you've earned?
My greatest accomplishment is to see one of my former young commis growing up and leading his kitchen, then receiving a mail thanking me for the time that I dedicated to him and how I had a part in making him who he is today.
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea
What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in top restaurants across the globe?
Sustainability, locally sourced, and healthier are surely the focus for the foreseeable future. Along with a more immersive experience that captures the diner in the universe of the restaurant.
What’s your favorite cocktail or beverage of choice?
Champagne is always my first choice.
What do you love about being the Executive Chef of Boccalino and Garden Terrace at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Seoul, South Korea?
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul has 9 restaurants and bars, as well as banquets. The diversity of F&B offerings in the hotel allow me to stimulate the creativity again and again, but that said, it is about stimulating our talent and mentor them the same way that I have been mentored. Ultimately, I am here to enable them to be exceptional and give the best experience to our guests.
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