NYC’s Jungsik Becomes First Korean Restaurant to Receive Two Michelin Stars

Author: Young Rae Kim
Posted: October 2nd, 2013
Filed Under: BLOG

A fine dining restaurant in New York City has become the first Korean eatery to receive a two-star rating from the prestigious Michelin Guide.
Jungsik offers a pricey $155 menu which includes dishes such as the Butter poached Maine lobster with raspberry coulis, Korean spicy mustard and sauce beurre blanc and is located in the hip TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan.

The restaurant, whose flagship is based in Seoul, was the only two-star addition to the list of New York restaurants, while the Gordon Ramsay at The London was stripped of its two stars.
A two-star restaurant is defined by the Michelin guide as an “excellent cuisine, worth a detour,” and the coveted three-star ranking is described as an “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey,” while the one star may be lesser it is still highly valued as a “very good restaurant in its category.”
Just to be included in the exclusive Michelin guide would be an accomplishment for many restaurants.
Chef Jung Sik Yim, whom the restaurant is named after, has worked in several countries, including Spain, where he served at a three-star restaurant. Yim’s culinary skills were praised by Michael Ellis, the international director of the Michelin guide.
“He’s a brilliant young chef ,” Ellis told AFP. “It’s a very personal cuisine, which combines his Korean origins with high-level European techniques for a superb cuisine d’auteur.”
Benu, a new American restaurant in San Francisco headed by Korean American chef Corey Lee, has maintained a two star rating for the last two years. The 2013 Michelin ratings for San Francisco are expected for release Oct. 22.