Cooking, eating and the path to nirvana.

Jeong Kwan, who made Korea's temple cuisine famous, was in a India for a special dinner

- Jahnabee Borah

On a hot afternoon in Mumbai, Jeong Kwan is at the restaurant, Noon, to host a 10-course dinner menu. The Korean Buddhist monk-from the Chunjinam Hermitage in the Baegyangsa temple in South Korea, where her primary responsibility is to look after the kitchen, feed the resident monks and those who visit the temple is no ordinary chef.

Her food piqued the curiosity of New York chef Eric Ripert, owner of the three Michelin-starred Le Bernardin in 2015. He had visited the temple as a practising Buddhist, and to learn more about Korean food. In 2017, she gained worldwide attention when Netflix featured her in the series Chefs Table.