[H2W@NL] The power of delicious food that makes you forget unnecessary things—An interview with LABS Kitchen
When you look up NAVER LABS online, there’s a slight chance you might’ve come across reviews on what people refer to as “Bundang’s best restaurant.” This famed restaurant that they are talking about is “LABS Kitchen,” NAVER LABS’ cafeteria. Let’s find out what our fellow employees have to say after trying the food there for themselves.
"It’s a breath of fresh air on a happy day, a long day, an exhausting day, or even on an uneventful day”
"Healthy food that, year after year, makes you feel like your lifespan is increasing by a year”
“I started as an intern... I became resolute on getting employed because I couldn’t forget the taste of LABS Kitchen.”
"LABS Kitchen is more than a restaurant—it’s the mecca of NAVER LABS’ culture!”
"It should be all too familiar to me by now, but I become filled with gratitude all over again at lunchtime."
The secret to the taste and health that remain unchanged every day lies in the true heart of the crew of NAVER LABS’ LABS Kitchen.
Ji-yong Kim (Main Chef) │ Hello, I'm Ji-yong Kim, the main chef at NAVER LABS. I'm in charge of producing the best taste at LABS Kitchen. I also work on finding seasonal ingredients and developing recipes tailored to each of them. I am also responsible for hygiene and safety.
Of course, what matters most is the taste. But for any food to taste good, you must use good ingredients. There is a certain level of taste that can never be delivered unless you insist on using high-quality ingredients. We avoid using artificial seasoning, trying to maximize the natural flavor unique to each ingredient and to offer low-sodium foods. As the weather is getting hotter these days, we are paying more attention to hygiene in the kitchen.
Seung-nam Yang (Sous Chef) │ Hello, I'm Seung-nam Yang, the sous chef in charge of cooking menu dishes. I mainly oversee stew, soup and stir-fried foods. I believe that LABS Kitchen plays a role in helping our colleagues work more pleasantly—with our healthy and delicious foods.
"I believe that what we do gives us and our patrons pleasure,
and serves as another driving force behind better performance created by us all.
Hye-jin Choi (Nutitionist) │ Hello, I'm Hye-jin Choi. I am in charge of organizing the menus, selecting the right ingredients, and the overall operation and management of LABS Kitchen.
Food has to be delicious above all else. So, as the chefs said, we make every effort to get fresh ingredients and create every sauce with a healthier recipe. One of my priorities is inspection, and we have to see them, taste them, and screen them out for ourselves to use the right ingredients. We also have to go outside and get seasonal ingredients.
I believe that every meal should offer the most pleasant time. In addition to the pleasure of eating, the joy of seeing neat and presentable plating is also essential. Our efforts include offering our patrons the joy of selecting their meals, be it trendy meals or dishes they saw on TV over the weekend.
Ji-yong Kim│ I had fun at the cooking class held occasionally at LABS Kitchen. It was first planned in 2018, and many people enjoyed making pizza or Christmas cake. It was really satisfying to hear that they enjoyed some quality time with their family eating the foods that they made.
I used to work at the cafeteria of some fintech companies, a seafood restaurant, a Thai/Singaporean restaurant, and RSL Stanthorpe in Australia. I joined NAVER LABS because I wanted to make a unique cafeteria. I wanted to design a cooking space together from the very beginning, and I saw it as an opportunity to cook dishes that I always aspired to make. The advantages arising from direct management are also great. Because I can take up challenges and try to prepare the quantity and quality of menu dishes that are hard to try elsewhere. In other cafeterias, people call each other by their titles, such as “nutritionist,” “chef,” and “side-dish chef,” but here, we communicate by calling each other by their names. It makes us more intimate.
Hye-jin Choi│ Organizing menus, cooking, boiling rice, checking the ripening of kimchi, taking care of hygiene... The job of each and everyone leads to a common goal of providing the best meal for his or her coworkers. I try my best each and every day. We continuously exchange our views on what was good about today's meal and discuss the menu items that will be served tomorrow. I believe that this strength comes from our system that doesn’t divide up the staff by rank.
Seung-nam Yang│ There was a time when Ji-yong was absent from work for an extended period of time due to family circumstances. In those days, every one of us in the Kitchen Team was united as one to fill the void left by Ji-yong. I believe it was possible because we understood each other's parts well as we rotated staff, not just doing our usual duties.
"When you eat something really good, you get to focus on the taste. At that very moment, you forget about everything else. That is the kind of food that I want to cook. Food that makes you forget unnecessary things."
Ji-yong Kim│Of course, there are a lot of unforgettable memories in our place of cooking. I can never forget the day I made spicy stir-fried chicken with steamed sweet pumpkin. The memory of buying mini pumpkins by myself and carrying them with Hye-jin, breaking out in sweat... It was a menu item of both love and hate as I ended up with blisters on my palms, removing the pumpkin lids and scraping away the pulp one by one, but the end result was terrific, and I was really thankful. I also had a hard time preparing the cheese-roll pork cutlet. I had to prepare the meat for pork cutlets by pounding every piece with a meat mallet.
These days, I put a lot of effort into breakfast and snacks, too. At first, breakfast was delivered by an outside provider, but then I wanted to make breakfast with my own hands, maybe because of my pride as a chef. So was Hye-jin. Therefore, at first, I started with bread, and later added rice dishes for those who avoid eating flour in the morning, and then I began to add soup or porridge dishes to the menu that soothe the stomach. As we were doing this, things continued to escalate. But since it was well-received by my colleagues, I started to indulge myself more and more. Praise made us forget all the hard work :)
Hye-jin Choi│That's right. I wanted to make breakfast a little healthier for the start of the day. So I baked bread myself at the kitchen, extracted juice, and carefully picked out fruits.
However, I think lunch has a different meaning for office workers. I’ve read research data on office workers before, and they answered in the survey that lunchtime was a break, a time to gain vitality and to avoid emotional labor. It occurred to me that lunchtime may be the time for them to feel comforted every day during their repeated life of work. It is such a precious time. It soothes the fatigue gained during the morning hours at work, and it also gives them new energy for the afternoon. That is why I try to pay more attention to my coworkers. LABS Kitchen wants to serve foods like home-made meals cooked by our moms.
“Moms know what kind of food we like and which we don’t eat. We want to be like that, too.”
Seung-nam Yang│For those who don't eat meat, we sometimes serve seafood for them. On the other hand, some people don’t eat shellfish because they are allergic. For those who find it difficult to eat too spicy foods, we cook separate mild dishes, or for those who have medical checkups scheduled for the next day, we prepare porridge so that they can still have a meal. We try to remember each person’s preference and condition as much as possible to offer tailor-made meals. Our goal is always to create a space that provides healthy and enjoyable meals for everyone.
Ji-yong Kim│That is why I am very interested in vegan dishes these days. I’ve been looking into relevant data, and many of those dishes could be served at LABS Kitchen as well. I would like to keep all colleagues healthy. There is a saying that I cherish in my heart every time, “Foods are a reflection of oneself.” I always work hard to make sure that I don't feel ashamed of the food that ever passes through my hands.
Hye-jin Choi│We will not settle here, and we will strive towards better taste, better ingredients, and for more pleasant time. I hope to hear all colleagues say that they would like to stay with the company till their last breath because of LABS Kitchen. :)