Korean Temple Cooking: Lessons on Life and Buddhism, with Recipes, the Life and Work of Jeongkwan Snim

By Hoo Nam Seelmann

As featured in Netflix documentary series The Philosopher's Kitchen.

Korean Temple Cooking is a love letter to the poetry of simple, nourishing food. The book chronicles temple life, Buddhism, and living and cooking seasonally and with a spiritual tie to the land through interviews with and recipes from Jeongkwan Snim, dubbed "the Philosopher Chef" by the New York Times.

Jeongkwan Snim was the subject of the opening episode of Netflix's Chef's Table Season 3.

Follow Snim through the seasons at a Korean Buddhist temple and learn to preserve, cook, and savour all that nature has to offer. Recipes are arranged by season, with special extra sections on rice, noodles, tofu, kimchi, seasonings, and more. Essays and interviews give a rare peek into temple life, the history of Buddhism in Korea, its teachings and branches, and even a look at the architecture of the temple and attire worn there.

An expansive and breathtaking chronicle, Korean Temple Cooking is the coffee table book you'll want to cook out of all year round.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1964786185
• ISBN13: 9781964786186
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 2.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.0" x 9.6"