(continuing from interview ①) Culinary Class Wars 2 winner Choi Kang-rok said there are no plans to reopen the restaurant he had closed for the time being.
On the morning of Jan. 16 at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a final interview was held for the Netflix variety show Culinary Class Wars: war of culinary classes season 2. The interview was attended by PD Kim Hak-min, PD Kim Eun-ji and winner Choi Kang-rok chef.
Culinary Class Wars: war of culinary classes season 2 is a cooking survival program that depicts the fiery culinary class war between underdog "Black Spoon" chefs, who try to overturn class by taste alone, and top star chefs "White Spoon" of Korea who try to defend it.
Continuing from season 1, Choi Kang-rok, who returned as a hidden White Spoon, when asked how it felt to finally win, said, "I'm glad I tried again. I had a lot of pressure. The first concern was, during Culinary Class Wars 1 it was so popular that people said there is no successor to the older brother, and I worried, what if season 2 turns out like that? And many people want to get onto that stage, so I worried what would happen if I were eliminated early. Those two were the biggest. Ultimately it went well, so I'm happy," he said.
Asked about differences from when he won MasterChef Korea 2 in 2013, Choi Kang-rok said, "At the time of MasterChef Korea 2 I probably had more ideas as a cook and the stamina to make food creatively. I was 36 then, and that felt like my peak. Thirteen years have passed since, and during that time I felt aging and my body weakening. My mind doesn't seem to work as well. Winning with the feeling of having become stagnant felt somewhat different," he admitted.
After the Culinary Class Wars 2 winner was revealed, when asked whether chef Kang Leo, who has been connected to him since MasterChef Korea 2, contacted him, he said, "He contacted me. He said, 'congratulations,'" he recounted.
Interest has especially increased in reopening the closed restaurant due to Choi Kang-rok's win. Choi had been running an omakase Japanese-style pub since 2022 but closed it as of Dec. 2024 following the Culinary Class Wars 1 broadcast. Choi Kang-rok surprised everyone by answering frankly, "After I won I immediately thought, 'Ah, I can't run a restaurant anymore.' I don't think I should do it right away. It's too scary."
He said, "When people go to a restaurant they basically have expectations. If expectations are too high, I don't think there's a way for me to meet them. Like touching something very hot and saying 'ouch,' it might be better to step back briefly and say 'ouch.'" He said he didn't know how long that period of stepping back would last. He added, "Working on site is very important, but other things I've done are also related to food. There are quite a few things to do. For now I don't plan to put down the knife."
On the whereabouts of the 300 million won prize, which he said he has not yet received, he said, "When juniors talk a lot about fine dining, I ask them, 'is your heart fine?' I think fine dining is not about having a form but about the maker's heart being fine. If so, whether you run a noodle shop or a set-meal restaurant, they can all be fine dining. My dream is, if I have the leeway someday, to grow old while running a noodle shop," and he said, "I plan to add the prize money toward that."
When asked why he specifically chose a noodle shop, Choi Kang-rok said, "I like noodles. When I think about something I can do until I'm old, noodles come to mind. I don't think I could employ many people and serve high-end food then. I want a place where, if I'm feeling a bit unwell today, I can close and rest. If it's built that way, I think noodles would be a good menu. I'd probably sell more than 50 bowls of noodles and then rest," he said. (continued in interview ③)
[photo] Netflix
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