In a richly illustrated memoir, a celebrated Korean nun shows what food means in Buddhism and how everyone, with the right set of mind, can change their attitude towards food and spiritual wholeness.

Jeongkwan Snim has been living as a Buddhist nun in the remote temple of Cheonjinam near Baekyangsa, in the far South of Korea. She grew up practicing the Seon Buddhist tradition of reading. In her temple she also cooks for both the residents and visitors following the vegan principles of using only seasonal vegetables from her garden.

She understands her ingredients like no other and is an expert in the secrets of fermentation. For her, it is nature and time that work together to create soy sauce, doenjang, gochu- jang, kimchi and vinegar. Her deep respect for the ingredients, her devotion and patience make up a unique culinary art.

When NYT staff writer for The New York Times' food section Jeff Gordinier called her "the Philosopher Chef" in his feature article it caught the attention of Netflix. The producers of "Chef's Table" called Jeonkwan Snim and devoted an entire episode to her. She became a star following the episode's premierein 2017 at Berlin's international film festival.

Since then, Jeongkwan Snim has been busy following invitations to present the spirituality of cooking in all major cities around the world. But she never wanted to write a book of recipes. When approached by Hoo Nam Seelman, however, she agreed, for the first time, to tell the story of her culinary life and share her knowledge about the beauty and the meaning of food in Buddhism.

Hoo Nam Seelmann was born in South Korea, studied philosophy and arts in Germany, and writes for leading media and journal. She lives near Basel, Switzerland.

Véronique Hoegger is a free-lance photographer and lives in Zurich, Switzerland.