Reactions are heating up for chef Im Seong-keun, who is appearing on Netflix's Culinary Class Wars: Culinary Class Wars season 2 (hereinafter "Culinary Class Wars 2").
On the 24th, chef Im Seong-keun posted on his account, starting with the line, "People who haven't watched 'Han-sik Daecheop' were a bit uneasy, saying, 'Is that man perhaps a villain?'."
He went on, "Who am I? I'm Im-jjang, the master of 50,000 sauces. Just kidding, I owe a great deal to the White Spoon chefs I worked with," and added, "Especially the generous master Hou Deok-juk, who many said gives off midlife couple vibes with me. Seeing him help even more diligently on the show, I sincerely thank him again. I always respect him."
He asked, "Please continue to give a lot of support to Im Seong-keun, The Man from Nowhere," and added with a laugh, "I returned the Chinese chef's knife I borrowed (from Hou Deok-juk)."
In episodes 4–7 of Culinary Class Wars 2, released on the 23rd, the third-round black-and-white team battle took place, and chef Im Seong-keun, who was in charge of the sauces, hard carried and led the team to victory in the first match. His confident remarks and boasts—such as "If I lie a little, I know about 50,000 kinds of sauces" and "It's just (the taste) the end"—which could be perceived as swagger, made other chefs uneasy at times, but he ultimately proved his formidable skills. Chef Hou Deok-juk actively supported chef Im Seong-keun during this process.
Chef Im Seong-keun previously won as part of Olive's Han-sik Daecheop 3 Seoul team, and even then his great skill coupled with a swagger-filled character earned him much love.
Netizens reacted strongly with comments such as, "The Han-sik Daecheop audience says Im Seong-keun's swagger hasn't changed in 10 years," "He goes where he wants, like a taxi driver who arrives at the destination 30 minutes early," "I love that the man is still the same," "People who don't know him might think he's full of swagger, but that's mistaken. It's simply confidence from skill," "How could anyone dislike someone like that?", and "A typical show-off, but a master who silences you, that man vibe."
Meanwhile, after the intense 1:1 black-and-white duel ended, new rules and missions were introduced in the third-round black-and-white team battle. Above all, the unpredictable showdown delivered high immersion as chefs selected ingredients from a gigantic wheel of fate containing a variety of ingredients to create the best combinations with magical touches, and wins and losses were decided by the differing strategies and teamwork of the black and white chefs. In addition, a special judging panel featuring Napoli Mafia Kwon Seong-jun, Edward Lee, culinary eccentric Yoon Nam-no, Jang Ho-jun, Imokase No. 1 Kim Mi-ryeong, Jeong Ji-seon, Choi Hyun-seok, and Lu Ching Lai from season 1 appeared to judge the season 2 black-and-white chefs' competition. With twists and turns repeating and the black team and white team locked in a close battle, it was foreshadowed that the fates of the black chefs and white chefs would diverge, leaving viewers around the world holding their breath.<
[Photo] Screenshot of chef Im Seong-keun's Instagram
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