‘Twist after twist’

The final winner of the Netflix cooking survival program ‘Black and White Chef: Culinary Class War’(Black and White Chef) that gained syndrome-level popularity is Chef Kwon Sung-jun, the ‘Black Spoon’, who has experienced a series of twists and turns, taking home the prize money of 300 million won.

Until he rose to the position of the final solo chef, he was called ‘Napoli Tastefia’ and could not even reveal his own name. However, after going through the losers‘ bracket, he confidently defeated Korean-American chef Edward Lee, who was a strong candidate for the championship.

‘Napoli Tastefia’ is still more familiar and famous, but now he is on the verge of making a name for himself as ‘Kwon Sung-jun’.

Currently, he is receiving offers to appear on various entertainment programs.

He is receiving just as much attention as the popularity of ‘Black and White Chef’, as he beat out the likes of Baek Soo-jo and Myeong-jang.

He will appear on the tvN entertainment program ‘You Quiz on the Block’.

He will appear with Edward Lee, who competed fiercely in cooking with his name on the line in the final round, and talk about his cooking life. They met with hosts Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho at a location in Seoul on the 9th and talked.

It has been reported that the number of reservations for ‘Via Toledo Pasta Bar’, an Italian restaurant run by Chef Kwon, has also skyrocketed after the broadcast.

According to the results released by the restaurant reservation application ‘Catch Table’ on the 9th, restaurant searches increased 74 times compared to the previous week, and the reservation increase rate also increased by more than 148%.

The attention focused on him also went to the dishes he presented on the program.

‘Chestnut Tiramisu’, which won first place with rave reviews from the judges in a contest featuring ingredients sold at convenience stores, will be available at CU convenience stores starting on the 12th, and additional products are also planned for release one after another.

Ahead of the convenience store sales, various YouTube channels were already buzzing with content following his cooking methods.

The attention focused on him even extended to his winning speech, sparking heated debate online.

In the last episode, Chef Kwon faced criticism for not respecting his competitor Edward Lee by saying, “I’ll chew you up”.

After that, he wrote on his SNS, “I became more intimidated because I thought he was a difficult opponent to beat. “I tried to act arrogantly in order to avoid showing that kind of appearance,” he said. “I reflect on my arrogant and inadequate appearance. I also express my gratitude and apology to Chef Edward.”


Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com