Great American Culinary Camp Seoul, September 23, 2014

Once again, the Great American Culinary Camp 2014, co-hosted by ATO Seoul and Korean Alumni Association of the Culinary Institute of America (KACIA) on September 23 in Millennium Hilton Seoul, successfully promoted the value, quality and diversity of American agricultural products to key decision makers of the Korean food service industry. A project team of four talented young chefs under KACIA, with very impressive backgrounds from New York City’s culinary industry, presented an insightful presentation about American restaurant industry trends. Together, these chefs created 16 inspiring recipe ideas that incorporated various American agricultural products donated by 8 MAP-supported cooperator organizations (USMEF, USDEC, CWC, CMC, RAC, Sunkist, ABC, USHBC) and 3 suppliers (Simplot, Nature F&B, Daekyung Ham). In addition, the sponsor organizations had a tabletop showcase together at the event and gained face-to-face contacts with the 150 attendees. The guidebook (PDF version) and UCC cooking videos of five recipes served at the event are available from ATO Seoul website. For more information about the Korean food service industry, please refer to the Korea HRI Food Service Sector Report 2014, also available from ATO Seoul website.

Korean Retail Food Buyers Delegation to Texas

A group of five retail food buyers from Korea traveled to Dallas, Texas under the sponsorship of Texas Department of Agriculture, August 11-15. The delegation had about 70 one-on-one business meetings with Texas suppliers during the trip. Additionally, the delegation visited various local retail stores and a pecan shelling plant and gained better understanding about the quality and value of products that Texas has to offer. Products that generated the most interest to the buyers included nacho chips, retail packed fruit tea beverages and non-dairy frozen desserts. As a result of the trip, the Korean buyers were likely to develop business partnerships with some of the Texas suppliers in the coming months.

Outreach Trip to the Horse Industry in Gyeongbuk Province, August 19-21, 2014

FAS Seoul (Kevin Smith, Agricultural Minister-Counselor and Kevin Sage-EL, ATO Director) made an outreach trip to the horse industry in Gyeongbuk province, August 19-21. Gyeongbuk province has laid out a strong plan to develop the horse industry for both racing and recreational riding. In particular, the province has designated the American quarter horses as the genetic foundation to breed horses for recreational riding. The province imported 50 quarter horses last year and is in the process of purchasing additional 60 quarter horses this year from the United States. Upon completion of phase one of their purchase plan by the end of 2015, the province will have a sizable genetic pool of over 200 American quarter horses. The province is also in the process to establish itself as a branch of the American Quarter Horse Association and the American Therapeutic Horse Riding Association for better international recognition. The outreach trip confirmed that Gyeongbuk province should offer excellent opportunities for American horses, both thoroughbred horses for racing and quarter horses for recreational riding, in the coming years. It was notable that the province and cities under it (Youngcheon, Sangju and Gumi) were working closely together to establish a network of breeding farms, training centers, academic institutes and public riding facilities. Furthermore, the thoroughbred race track in the city of Yeongcheon and the 80 km long recreational horse riding trail by Nackdong river, are both scheduled to be completed in a few years, and likely to firmly position Gyeongbuk province as a leading province for the horse industry in Korea upon completion.