vol. 01
Cookbook for Orphans.
Recipes, regional philosophies, chef profiles.
in circulation
folio n°01 · the atlas
vol. 01 · 2026An atlas
of the world’s
food cultures.
Hosted by Ryan Chun. Eight kitchens, six fusion arcs, and a growing library of primary interviews — beginning with Korean Buddhist temple monks in the foothills of Mt. Jogyesan.
drag to rotate · pinch to zoom · click a hearth to read it
26.00°N 110.00°E · ×1.00
N°01flagship35.5°N · 127.0°E
Korean Buddhist Temple
The cuisine that begins before the seed
the index8 hearths
- N°01Korean Buddhist Temple35.5°N · 127.0°E
- N°02French45.8°N · 4.8°E
- N°03Italian44.5°N · 11.3°E
- N°04Mexican17.1°N · 96.7°W
- N°05Japanese35.0°N · 135.8°E
- N°06Andean13.5°S · 72.0°W
- N°07Tamil9.9°N · 78.1°E
- N°08Levantine33.9°N · 35.5°E
the fusion arcs6 arcs
- F·01Doenjang Cacio e Pepejogyesan → emilia-romagna · documented
- F·02Gochujang Mole Negrojogyesan → oaxaca · in process
- F·03Kombu-Beurre Blanclyon & the bouchons → kyoto & the kaiseki tradition · documented
- F·04Tiradito of Yellow Potatokyoto & the kaiseki tradition → cusco & the sacred valley · documented
- F·05Bouillabaisse, Phoenician Provenancelyon & the bouchons → beirut & mount lebanon · in process
- F·06Rasam Brodo Tortelliniemilia-romagna → madurai & the chettinad belt · planned
08
hearths mapped
one per tradition
06
fusion arcs
three already cooked
24
primary interviews
planned through 2027
03
volumes in press
one in circulation
folio n°02 · manifesto
Other people draw maps of where food came from. This atlas draws the map of where it is still being argued about.
01original work
Six fusion recipes built from primary research. Hosted intros at every hearth. On-camera cooking demonstrations filmed across the year.
02primary research
Ethnographic interviews — beginning with two senior monks at Songgwangsa, expanding through senior year to Lebanese grandmothers, Italian restaurateurs, Korean halmoni.
03the technology
AI coach personas trained on the corpus of each tradition. The Temple Master answers in dharma cadence; La Nonna will ask which village you mean before naming the pasta.
folio n°03 · the hearths
back to the atlasEight kitchens, eight philosophies.
N°01 · flagshipjogyesan · republic of korea
Korean Buddhist Temple
Temple Food.
Korean Buddhist temple cuisine — saseolsik or balwoogongyang in its monastic form — is the oldest continuously practiced vegetarian tradition on the peninsula. It refuses the five pungent roots (garlic, onion, leek, scallion, chive), e…
enter the hearth2 interviews · 4 dishes · temple bundle
“We do not cook for the tongue. We cook so the body may sit still long enough to know its own breath.…”
ai coach
The Temple Master.
Speaks in the cadence of a dharma talk — long pauses, concrete images, refuses to romanticize. Will correct your vocabulary before answering your recipe question.
indexed corpus
- 4 primary interviews
- 3 monastic cookbooks
- annual harvest calendars
folio n°04 · the fusion index
Six bridges, drawn in butter and ferment.
F·01
from
Korean Buddhist Temple
Jogyesan
↗
to
Italian
Emilia-Romagna
recipe · documented
Doenjang Cacio e Pepe
Three-year doenjang has more glutamate per gram than Parmigiano. Substituted at 1:4 with the cheese, it deepens the umami floor without distortin…
F·02
from
Korean Buddhist Temple
Jogyesan
↗
to
Mexican
Oaxaca
recipe · in process
Gochujang Mole Negro
Mole negro and gochujang share a structural logic — fermented chile, sweetened by dried fruit (chocolate vs. jocheong rice syrup), thickened by s…
F·03
from
French
Lyon & the Bouchons
↗
to
Japanese
Kyoto & the Kaiseki tradition
recipe · documented
Kombu-Beurre Blanc
Beurre blanc reduced over kombu dashi instead of fish stock. The amino acid stack of kombu mirrors what reduction normally generates over the cou…
F·04
from
Japanese
Kyoto & the Kaiseki tradition
↗
to
Andean
Cusco & the Sacred Valley
recipe · documented
Tiradito of Yellow Potato
Nikkei tradition treats the Andean tuber the way Edo Tokyo treated fluke — sliced thin, dressed in citrus and aji amarillo. The fusion isn't new;…
F·05
from
French
Lyon & the Bouchons
↗
to
Levantine
Beirut & Mount Lebanon
recipe · in process
Bouillabaisse, Phoenician Provenance
Marseille's bouillabaisse may descend from a Phoenician fish stew that traveled with the founding of Massalia. Restoring the original saffron-tah…
F·06
from
Italian
Emilia-Romagna
↗
to
Tamil
Madurai & the Chettinad belt
recipe · planned
Rasam Brodo Tortellini
Rasam and capon brodo are both clear, aromatic, restorative. Floating tortellini in a tamarind-tempered rasam doesn't fuse the cuisines — it reve…
cooked · off the arc
the whole menuThree of the bridges have already been walked.
folio n°05 · the special menu
all eight recipesEight plates, cooked and photographed.
The Atlas records what other kitchens decided. The menu is what Ryan cooked — his own recipes, his own directions, shot as he went.
R
Ryan Chunhost · 2026
folio n°06 · the hostRyan Chun. Food philosopher,
Ryan Chun. Food philosopher,
technologist, cook.
Ryan is the host of CulinaryCode — the cook who introduces each hearth, develops the fusion arcs in his own kitchen, conducts every interview, and writes every margin note. The atlas is his ongoing body of work; the site is its current edition.
In late June 2026 he travels to Songgwangsa to spend a week with the temple kitchen and conduct the first two primary interviews. The Korean hearth opens with their voices.
seoulnew yorkfieldkitchenpress
folio n°07 · culinarycode press
Cookbooks & publications.
vol. 02
The Fusion Atlas.
Six original recipes with process documentation.
in development · autumn 2026
vol. 03
Temple Food, a Primer.
From the Songgwangsa interviews.
in development · spring 2027
folio n°08 · field notes
follow on instagramThe live journal.
Geotagged dispatches from the field, surfacing at the matching hearth on the atlas.
2026.06.27
Songgwangsa · 35.0°N 127.3°E
The doenjang jar that has outlived three cooks
2026.07.02
Bukhansan · 37.6°N 127.0°E
Foraging chwinamul on the last good morning of spring
2026.07.18
Brooklyn kitchen · 40.7°N 73.9°W
Fusion test n°02 — gochujang mole, batch 04
2026.08.05
Lyon, Croix-Rousse · 45.7°N 4.8°E
The bouchon hour, observed correctly
the dispatch
A letter from the field, whenever a hearth opens.
Interview excerpts, recipe drafts before they are finished, and the occasional argument about what counts as authentic. No more than once a month.
no tracking · unsubscribe in one click