Why Korean Englishman’s Josh and Ollie are perfect gastronomy fest ambassadors
Known for their viral ramen videos and visiting Buckingham Palace with Blackpink, the British duo are bringing their brand of food diplomacy to Macau
It is a sign of our modern, interconnected times that the Macao Government Tourism Office has named British YouTubers Joshua Carrott and Oliver Kendal – usually known simply as Josh and Ollie – as keynote speakers for this year’s International Cities of Gastronomy Fest. The duo, better known for their YouTube channel Korean Englishman, rose to prominence by offering a fresh lens on the Korean Wave. While most online audiences rode the Hallyu wave via K-pop and dramas, Carrott and Kendal were among the first to focus on sharing Korean culture through its most universal language: food.
“Food is just one of the easiest ways to introduce culture to someone,” Kendal explained in a 2019 interview with the Korea Times. “If you eat the same food, even if you can’t speak the same language, you’re speaking the language of food. Put a plate of great food in their hands, and they immediately grasp a small but essential part of that culture.”
Fans trace much of Korean Englishman’s fame to a 2014 viral video in which Carrott and Kendal filmed friends – along with Carrott’s father – trying Buldak spicy ramen on camera. Reflecting on the appeal of such food challenges, Carrott told musician Eric Nam on a podcast, “There are so many good Korean foods we could give them to try. We’re so good at giving food to people we know – why don’t we do it for people we don’t know?”
This philosophy underpins their content. Their videos frequently feature British schoolchildren, London cab drivers and celebrities like David Beckham, John Cena and Arnold Schwarzenegger sampling Korean classics such as samgyeopsal, hanwoo beef sets and tteokbokki. More ambitious projects have seen them feed Korean food to British soldiers, then flip the concept by challenging British boys to survive a Korean boot camp. The duo’s mission to bridge cultures reached a milestone in 2023, when they attended a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, met King Charles and were seated next to Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé of Blackpink.
While their work is rooted in the UK and South Korea, it has also taken them further afield. This year’s International Cities of Gastronomy Fest, in fact, marks their second engagement with Macau. In October 2023, the duo released a five-part series visiting the city, sampling its culinary highlights. They dined at Chef Tam’s Seasons, explored local variations of the egg tart, and traced the dishes that established Macanese food as arguably the world’s first fusion cuisine.
For the Korean Englishman duo, then, a return to Macau feels less like a simple visit and more like a continuation of their life’s work. In October 2023, they came to sample the city’s fusion fare and share it with their audience. This year, they return as keynote speakers – a fitting evolution for two men who have built a career on bridging cultures through food.
And in Macau, a place where Portuguese and Chinese influences have simmered together for centuries, they find a city that does exactly what they do: it introduces one culture to another, one dish at a time.