A Rare Temple Dining Experience: Venerable Jeong Kwan Hosts Exclusive Dinner at CORD
This autumn, London will host the deeply spiritual and rare art of Korean temple cuisine, with world-renowned chef and Buddhist nun Venerable Jeong Kwan for a one-night-only dinner at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu on Friday 31 October.
Located in a Grade II listed Lutyens-designed building on Fleet Street, CORD by Le Cordon Bleu is the institute’s flagship fine dining restaurant. Since opening, CORD has become a destination for London’s culinary community, and in 2025 was awarded the prestigious AA 3-Rosette Award in recognition of its excellence. Its philosophy of using local, seasonal ingredients not only defines its modern menus but also resonates closely with the ethos of temple cuisine.
Celebrated globally for her appearance on Netflix’s Chef’s Table and her collaborations with top chefs including Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, Jeong Kwan will present a multi-course dinner rooted in centuries-old monastic tradition. This exclusive pop-up event marks a major moment in London’s plant-based dining scene – and an unprecedented opportunity to engage with a culinary philosophy that is as mindful as it is masterful.
“If you become one with the ingredients and respect the natural elements, that is enough.” * says Venerable Jeong Kwan. Her cuisine – simple yet transcendent – reflects the rhythms of nature and a reverence for all living things. With no garlic, onions, or animal products, temple food fosters clarity of mind and balance in body.
Guests will enjoy a thoughtfully curated menu showcasing temple-style preparation techniques, seasonal vegetables, and fermented ingredients – all prepared with Jeong Kwan’s signature mindfulness and intention. The menu includes:
Starters
Mains
Dessert
Juk (Rice Porridge made
Steamed Rice with Millet
Temple Style Chips
with Black Sesame Seeds)
Seasonal Vegetables Soup
(Potato, Lotus Root, Seaweed)
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
Jochung Glazed Shiitake Mushroom
Candied Figs
Temple Style Water Kimchi
Pan-fried Mung beans
Fermented Tea prepared by
Seasoned Vegetable Salad
Venerable Jeong Kwan
Dried Courgette Slices
Dried Persimmon Salad,
Jochung Glazed Root Vegetable
Temple Style Fermented Kimchi
Each guest will receive a special goody bag, featuring a pot of Jeong Kwan’s home-made Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and a keepsake postcard from the evening. Tickets are on sale now for £88pp: https://www.cordrestaurant.co.uk/news-and-events/an-exclusive-evening-of-korean-temple-cuisine-with-venerable-jeong-kwan
This event is part of Korean Temple Food Week, a cultural collaboration between Le Cordon Bleu London, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, and the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK).
The dinner also reflects Le Cordon Bleu London’s long-standing engagement with temple cuisine, strengthened through cultural exchanges and culinary education initiatives with the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism. CORD by Le Cordon Bleu embodies this ethos: its menus highlight local, seasonal produce prepared with precision and respect for nature, echoing the philosophy at the heart of temple food.
