New year, new food? Whether it be in the kitchen or the hallways, many have already noticed Giuliano, the new vegetarian chef, around the school. Hailing from the Mediterranean island of Sicily, Mario Giuliano has ample experience with Italian cuisine. His expertise, however, is not only pertinent to Mediterranean food. Compelled by his experiences with his British college friends and a desire to explore other countries, Giuliano traveled to London, where he stayed for nine years, then to Seoul, South Korea, where he has been since last November. Despite popular belief that he was assigned to the middle pasta section, Giuliano has yet to make a wider range of food for the student body.
“Right now, I am taking care of the vegetarian meal that we serve to the faculty,” Mario Giuliano said. “Because I am a vegetarian myself, cooking vegetarian meals is very natural to me. Although we do not have that many vegetarian teachers at the moment, there is always a possibility for more, and that is why I am here as a specialized chef.”
With increasing accounts of his appetizing vegetarian options, the number of faculty members choosing vegetarian meals may very well be on the rise. Although this is his first time working in a cafeteria environment, and he has yet to be fully accustomed to preparing large portions of food, Giuliano’s cooking has resonated well with the SIS faculty. Giuliano combines European cooking methods with his creativity to make truly unique dishes.
“I like to make lasagna by mixing vegetarian meat and creating the sauce using tofu,” Giuliano said. “A thin layer of Parmesan Reggiano is added at the end, and these layers are put into the oven, resulting in a hearty vegetarian meal. I also enjoy making traditional vegetarian dishes like a whole eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese.”
Prior to being a cafeteria worker, Mario Giuliano worked as a decorated chef in both London and Sicily. After spending the bulk of his culinary career in London, Giuliano was prompted by his Korean wife to start a new life in South Korea. Apart from being a decorated chef, Giuliano has his sights on being a personal trainer, going as far as obtaining an official personal trainer license in the United Kingdom.
“After my Korean gets a little better, I want to consider being a personal trainer,” Mario Giuliano said. “In my free time, I like to exercise and really work my body, so becoming a personal trainer at a nearby gym aligns with my hobbies.”
Many students have expressed their desire to try Giuliano’s vegetarian dishes, and some students even regularly converse about the possibility of including more vegetarian options in the cafeteria for the high school body.
“When I heard that our JJ cafeteria service hired a new Italian chef, I could not help but look forward to all the new changes to the menu,” Joowon Hong (11), rookie food critic, said. “After I discovered that the Italian chef was only making vegetarian food options for the faculty members, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.”
Mario Giuliano’s culinary journey at SIS is just beginning, and his innovative vegetarian cuisine is already positively impacting the food culture of the school. With his exceptional background in Italian food and passion for nutritious, plant-based food, Giuliano is eager to expand his choices and add more variety to the cafeteria. As the buzz keeps growing, it‘s clear that Giuliano’s creative approach to cooking is one to watch—students and faculty alike are eager to know what comes next.
