“Before expressing my joy, I would like to start by offering my apologies and gratitude,” he said Tuesday on his Instagram. “Although I’m not young, I realize that I often acted and thought immaturely.”
“At the end of the ‘Infinite Cooking Hell’ mission using tofu, I thought the last three chefs — Edward Lee, Triple Star and Cooking Maniac — were formidable opponents, and to avoid feeling intimidated, I put on a front to appear more confident,” he added.
“Seeing myself on screen, I noticed myself being arrogant and having a lot of flaws, which served as a valuable opportunity for self-reflection.”
Kwon briefly added his feelings about being the show’s inaugural winner, saying, “I feel like I drew on a lifetime of luck in the final and just happened to win.”
Kwon joined “Culinary Class Wars” as a Black Spoon, a group of cooks considered the lesser-known, underdogs of the industry compared to the higher-powered White Spoon chefs, the industry’s best professionals.
The show, produced by Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, was first launched on Sept. 17 and has garnered major global and public attention ever since. It has been sitting at No.1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 (Non-English) list since its release and has also caused a 148 percent increase in reservations at restaurants run by the show’s contestants in September.
BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
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