'편스토랑'을 대표하는 국민 셰프 Lee Yeon-bok이 후배 셰프들과의 자존심 대결에서 53년 내공의 힘을 증명했다.
On the 26th episode of KBS 2TV Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant (hereafter Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant), Chef Lee Yeon-bok summoned strong supporting chefs to join a project to revive Korea's regional ingredients.
That day Chef Lee Yeon-bok said, "The dish we will make today totals 460 servings," announcing the start of large-scale cooking. He then asked the chefs with him, "How many servings have you made in a day?" In response, J Hotel executive chef Wang Eop-ryuk said "450 servings," Blue Ribbon owner chef Wang Byung-ho said "200 jjambbong," and owner of a massive Chinese restaurant Chef Koo Kwang-shin said "1,000 servings," drawing surprise. Chef Koo Kwang-shin is known as the owner of a Chinese restaurant of about 800 pyeong.
Chef Lee Yeon-bok said, "I make 350 to 400 servings. For us it's not occasional but every day. It's sold out every day," showing relaxed confidence. He added with a laugh, "If you add everyone up here, 2,000 servings a day are easy."
Before the main cooking, the four began a warm-up knife-cutting contest. The youngest has 30 years of experience, and the most senior Chef Lee Yeon-bok has a full 53 years, so a pride battle among masters with a combined experience of about 150 years unfolded. Instead of a cutting board they looked at the ceiling while cutting, and the rule was that the person who finished slicing all the onions and put down the knife first would win.
At the start the loud sounds of knife work rang out, but the oldest, Chef Lee Yeon-bok, seemed to struggle early as he arranged the onions. He soon sought a reversal with an advanced technique of stacking onions in a row and slicing two at once. In terms of speed it seemed 32-year veteran Chef Wang Eop-ryuk put his knife down first and took first place. Lee Yeon-bok and Chef Wang Byung-ho followed in a tie for second.
But the result judgment brought a twist. Wang Eop-ryuk's onions were found to have uncut parts and were judged to be cheating, dropping him from the first-place position. The onions of tied second-place Chef Wang Byung-ho also had uneven thickness. In contrast, Chef Lee Yeon-bok's onions were the most even and perfect.
In the end, by judgment Chef Lee Yeon-bok, who had seemed to fall behind early, took the final first place, proving the prowess of a 53-year artisan. It was a memorable scene that even made the junior chefs nod in agreement.
Meanwhile, the home-cooked restaurant Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant, where celebrities known for their cooking show off their skills, airs on KBS 2TV every Friday at 8:30 p.m.<
[Photo] KBS 2TV Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant broadcast screen capture
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