“I was just being myself”: Culinary Class Wars’ Anh Sung-jae shares his experience with public fame following the completion of season 1

On Thursday, October 17, Chef Anh Sung-jae discussed his time on the Netflix cooking show Culinary Class Wars. In his interaction with Korea JoongAng Daily, Anh Sung-jae, a judge on the show, opened up about his experiences after the first season concluded earlier this month.

When asked how he felt after receiving so much attention from viewers, the chef commented:

“I was just being myself, so I don’t really understand what that is all about.”

He further stated that he felt nervous many times during the show:

“Honestly, I was nervous at times on the show, but I wasn’t nervous when there was food in front of me.”

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Anh Sun-jae appreciated Culinary Class Wars’ concept that mainly depicted chefs’ professionalism

During his interview, Anh Sun-jae commented on the show’s unique concept. He applauded Culinary Class Wars for preserving chefs' professionalism rather than turning them into comedians, as witnessed in many previous food reality shows in Korea. He went on to compare a chef's life to the life of an athlete.

“Think about an athlete, for instance. They put everything into their life to become champions, and not by making people laugh. They impress people because they are serious about what they do, and that’s why they are so cool, and people want to pursue that dream as well."

He continued:

"I think chefs are similar to athletes. We put in our all for every game, and every day is game day at restaurants."

Anh Sun-jae's main goal on the show was to inspire an emerging generation of chefs at a time when the local restaurant sector of Korea was weakening. He also mentioned that his colleagues and competitors from Culinary Class Wars reached out to convey their happiness with their fully booked eateries and restaurants. They attributed their sold-out tables to Sun-jae’s commendable representation on the show.

“I’ve been very emotional because my colleagues and contestants from the show have contacted me to say that their restaurants are fully booked, and they were thanking me for it, saying that I represented them well”

Going forward, Sun-jae added that he represented the Korean dining scene on Culinary Class Wars.

“I was on the show on behalf of Korea’s dining scene.”

Anh is concentrating on reopening his restaurant, Mosu Seoul, which has been closed since January. The Michelin-star restaurant is expected to resume operations sometime next year. Ultimately, Anh Sun-jae expressed his desire to retain work and team at Mosu despite the recent rise in fame he is currently experiencing.

“I’m very proud of myself and the work that my team has achieved with Mosu. I want to keep all that going and not lose it because of fame."

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Culinary Class Wars’ season 1 is currently available to stream on Netflix. The battle between White Spoons and Black Spoons for the prize money of 300 million KRW took place over twelve episodes.