Last year, 7618 people entered the lottery for a seat at this sui generis home restaurant for six. Here’s what happens when you jag one. In a warm, homey room bathed in soft light from the forest outside, chef Jung Eun Chae fastidiously places noodles into handmade bowls, before pouring a light chicken broth over them.

Seop-sanjeok, a small minced chicken patty studded with candied walnut, sits primly next to a pancake of king oyster mushrooms and shrimp. Jeongol – a beef, mushroom, tofu and kimchi stew – is fiery and complex. Sauces and ferments are all made right there, coaxed to life through years of careful fermentation and blending.

Nothing about this food is theatrical or steeped in luxury, but there’s care in every bite, in the ingredients Chae has grown and meticulously crafted, and the result is startlingly profound.

Best for: The home-cooked meal of a lifetime.

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