Apicius wants to congratulate Seongwon Shin on completing the WACS fast track Chef de Partie.

We spoke to Seongwon about his experience studying at Apicius International School of Hospitality and his plans for the future.

Can you tell us about your experience in Florence studying Culinary arts?

 Every experience was always something new and special to me. When I studied Italian cuisine in Korea, there were not many Italian ingredients, so I either had to use different ingredients or buy very expensive Italian ingredients. Being in Florence meant I could use many high quality and seasonal ingredients and learning about each one was very interesting to me.

What was your favorite dish to cook while at FUA?

 There are so many dishes. These days, one of my favorite dishes is "Cinghiale dolce-forte.” We cooked this dish during our pasta workshop session with Chef Massimo. “Cinghiale dolce-forte” is a traditional Tuscan dish made of wild boar stew with chocolate, nuts, and candied fruit. When I tasted it for the first time, it was very nice. The chocolate flavor combined with wild boar created a flavorful dish. 

Can you tell us about your personal growth during the program?

My cooking technique has improved much more than before. I learned that one of the most important things in a kitchen is organization. Without organization, a kitchen can never run smoothly. At first, we helped the chefs organize the kitchen, but we were later able to organize it all by ourselves. That’s when I knew I had grown a lot.

How did Experiential Learning shape your experience at FUA? Did you enjoy being in contact with the Italian community?

I think Experiential Learning was good for us. My classmates and I learned how to move in a kitchen by working at Ganzo. Sometimes during service, we ran into some issues and even though we were students, we were working in a real restaurant, so we had to resolve them. Those types of situations are the same that can happen in any other restaurant so that made us develop and grow even more. By working with real Italian chefs, I learned a lot about authentic Italian cuisine, the history of each dish and the Italian mindset behind it. 

What was your favorite course? What did it consist of and why was it your favorite?

My favorite course was Italian Pasta Workshop Experiential Learning, because whenever somebody mentions Italian cuisine, pasta is usually the first thing that comes to mind. It also means that pasta is one of the most important dishes in Italian cuisine and also I just really love pasta.