'Baek Jong-won's Les Misérables' Baek Jong-won expressed his affection for the performers, including the eliminated contestants, until the end.

The ENA entertainment program 'Baek Jong-won's Les Misérables,' aired on the 22nd, featured the final three contestants: Joo Hyun-wook, Son Woo-sung, and Choi Jung-hyun. In addition to preparing their first dishes for the final three, a dinner was also held for the two chefs who sent off their apprentices first. Furthermore, challengers who were much more upgraded appeared, weaponized with earnestness.

After the semifinals, three out of six were eliminated, depicting a competition among the remaining three. The mission involved personal food stall operations under three conditions: 1. Operating my own food stall in Namwon for 3 days, 2. The challenger with the highest total net profit over 3 days wins, 3. Net profit calculation method: total sales, excluding labor expense.

Baek Jong-won expressed concern, saying, "The location for the finals is somewhat different from last time. It’s close to where business occurs. You have to check customer reception, turnover, inventory management, and profit margin. It’s going to be a huge headache."

The three finalists shared their aspirations. Joo Hyun-wook, number 16, who has 400 million won in multi-level debt for his father, said, "My father fell into multi-level marketing, and the debt increased because he borrowed money for 10 years without any revenue," adding, "I thought it would take 400 million won for my family to return to a normal family where we can dine out occasionally, like ordinary families."

Choi Jung-hyun stated, "The reason I applied here is that I hope my parents will recognize me and regret it," noting that becoming a chef was a dream since childhood. He recalled volunteers preparing meals for him when he was young, which he remembered fondly. Therefore, his dream was to become a chef. He expressed his aspiration to create a restaurant that makes customers feel good through conversation.

Son Woo-sung shared, "I am a 40-something head of household in Korea with a debt of 500 million won from a business failure," adding, "I felt truly ashamed. Being in my 40s and not being able to establish myself is very embarrassing, and it was really tough to compete with these friends. If I didn't have a daughter, I wonder if I would have given up and been frustrated."

Son Woo-sung prepared the dishes that had led him to victory: minari sundae stir-fry and new menu items including grilled chicken neck and chicken neck rice for his restaurant 'Ilchwiwoljang.' Choi Jung-hyun mentioned, "My restaurant's name is 'Jeong-hyun's Oden Odeng,'" as he prepared kidney bean fish cake soup using smile sushi, cold pork foreleg, and limited-time lunch meat rice.

As a result, Choi Jung-hyun showcased remarkably upgraded cooking skills based on the recipes for cold pork and cup rice shared by Chef Kim Min-sung. Joo Hyun-wook noted, "I didn’t contact the chef during the semifinals. I got into trouble after trying to handle Korean cuisine in the semifinals. That's when I contacted my guiding chef," explaining that he was called to Chef Lim Tae-hoon's place at 4:20 p.m. to engage in the initial frying, abandoning the semifinals menu and showing a new side.

Ultimately, Joo Hyun-wook emerged victorious, and Baek Jong-won noted, "What should we do besides being in first place? We trained close to real-world situations, and a few contestants are regrettable," expressing, "I want to show the success of many Les Misérables challengers."

[Photo] ENA entertainment program 'Baek Jong-won's Les Misérables'

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