Culinary Monster on Culinary Class Wars Season 2 Finale, Opening His Restaurant in New York

Culinary Monster is back in New York. To be fair, the chef — whose real name is Hasung Lee — has been in the city since filming for Culinary Class Wars Season 2 wrapped last May. But unlike the last time he was here, Lee is now launching his own venture in The Big Apple and planning to stay for a while. 

"I moved a lot," the 37-year-old chef who placed second in Netflix's reality competition series told TV Guide over Zoom. He recalled moving from Korea to Palm Springs in 2008 at the age of 19. "I couldn't speak any English at all, I definitely had a hard time having communication with others," Lee shared. "I'm not super extroverted, but I like mingling with people so it's not really difficult for me to hang out with friends — and that's how I learned English for the first time." He began working in kitchens, which brought him from Southern California, to New York, to Denmark, to New York again, and most recently to Napa Valley. There, he was sous chef at Thomas Keller's acclaimed The French Laundry. Now that Lee's returned to New York, he doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon. "I hope I can settle down now," he laughed. "I'm too old." And there's something major keeping him in this city for the time being: Oyatte, his new restaurant set to open this spring. 

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Previously an unfamiliar name to most outside of the culinary world, Lee has been thrust into the global spotlight because of his performance in Culinary Class Wars Season 2. The Korean show pits "Black Spoons," lesser known or more amateur chefs, against White Spoons, seasoned restauranteurs usually with decades of experience. To the shock of many contestants given his résumé of working at The French Laundry and being head chef at two Michelin-starred Atomix, Lee entered the show as a Black Spoon. He competed with the moniker "Culinary Monster," and his real name was only revealed when he became the only Black Spoon to become a finalist. 

In the finale, Lee faced off against White Spoon Chef Choi Kang-rok. They were tasked with creating a dish for themselves, and Lee reimagined sundaeguk, or blood sausage soup. It's something he grew up eating with his father after their frequent trips to the bathhouse, and Lee elevated the hearty stew with his fine dining touch. But both judges — Ahn Sung-jae and Baek Jong-won — ultimately voted for Choi's dish, and crowned him the winner of Culinary Class Wars Season 2.

In an interview with TV Guide, Lee shared his experience in the finale, the dishes he most enjoyed making in Culinary Class Wars, and the challenges and hopes of opening his first restaurant. 

You said in a Netflix interview that Chef Kim Tae-sung, or "Hidden Genius" from Season 1, encouraged you to go on the show. When he suggested that, was it an easy decision for you to apply right away or did you think about it for a while? 
Hasung Lee: First time I said no, 100% no, because I want to be a chef and not the celebrity star. Me being [on] TV is not the proper way to express myself. But after some meetings with the production team, I decided to join the show.

What changed your mind? 
Lee: Back then, I had a hard time with my restaurant project, nothing was confirmed. So I had to prove myself.

Did you know from the beginning you would be a Black Spoon? Did you consider being a White Spoon?
Lee: No, not at all, because I haven't proved anything myself. I didn't even have my restaurant, I was just fortunate to experience greatest restaurants in the world. I was defining myself Black Spoon for sure.

I do want to ask about the finale. After the vote, we didn't see the judges talk about why they selected Chef Choi Kang-rok's dish. Did they give you feedback about their vote in person?
Lee: I didn't really hear why they chose Choi. I don't know why, because at the time it's too far from me to judges, I couldn't hear what they [were] saying. Also, I couldn't even see what Chef Choi made. So I figured out two days ago when I saw the show — "oh, he made this one for finale." 

Oh, wow. And what was your reaction to his dish?
Lee: It looked delicious. He used a lot of different vegetables, which I like. The broth looked clean and umami-forward, really deep in flavor. And the tofu he made it with the sesame flavor, looks so nutty. He deserves it. He knows how to cook. He has — we call it son-mat in Korean - he has a sense of [how] to build up taste.

But it's not really important to be compared with other dishes. It's [whether] my own dishes were great, or, am I confident with my dish? That's more important.

You felt like you were competing with yourself.
Lee: Exactly, exactly.

For the finale, is there anything you would have done differently? Did you feel confident with the dish?
Lee: If I look back, I could have done so much better. It's all about details and finesse. I'm not really proud of myself with that finale dish.

Oh no. What details would you have done differently? 
Lee: I wanted to show that I'm using entire pig. So I use the blood, intestines, the meat, and the bone and everything. I mean a lot of details. But Chef Ahn said it, there's no such perfect dish. No such perfection. You just strive for it.

In the show we hear you talking about Chef Ahn and Judge Baek's preferences. When you found out you were going on the Culinary Class Wars, how did you prepare for it?
Lee: It's not about how I prepared for the show. It's more about how I need to show my cuisine — I don't want to change my style of cuisine because of the show. It's more important for me to do my own thing. They both saw that I'm doing my own thing, I think.

If you had to put it into words, how would you describe your style of cuisine? 
Lee: That I don't know yet. I have to find out. Because I've been working under greatest chefs, I've never really done my own cooking in my own kitchen. So I need to find out.

So you opening a restaurant is part of that journey now.
Lee: Of course, it's a beginning.

Since you said you didn't feel 100% happy with the finale plate, what is the proudest dish that you put up in the competition? 
Lee: If I change the question a little bit, it's not about the dish I was proud of. What if I say, I enjoyed the most. It's the carrot mission [in the "Infinite Cooking Hell"]. Also, with asparagus [in the "Last Box" match]. The asparagus dish, that's really close to what I want to do for my cuisine, the style of cooking. For the carrot [mission], it's not only about a 30-minute limit. I wanted to also show different cooking techniques, so I did steamed, soup, salad, deep-fried, and desserts. It was really enjoyable.

I was blown away by your creativity and wanted to live inside your brain. So you would say those are the ones you enjoyed the most, and not what you feel proudest of?
Lee: I've never [felt] proud of my dishes. I enjoyed a lot, but I wasn't proud at all.

Does that apply to how you are as a chef outside the competition? 
Lee: Sometimes I say, "oh, it's good." But if I think more and question myself, there is always another answer coming up.

Going back to when you first wanted to become a chef, how did that start?
Lee: I started cooking for fun. And then as I'm doing it more, I enjoyed it more. And now it's very serious for me in my life. Doing my own restaurant right now is completely different than [when] I used to work for restaurants. I'm still learning and this time I have to be the owner/chef together — previously I was just a chef. So it's two different roles. Now, my chef's side, I always think I want to provide the best, greatest experience of food and service to our guests. But my owner side, I have to think about food cost as well. I have to pay the rent, I have to pay my team, everything is a balance. And also as a chef, I'm happy with this dish. But if [a] guest doesn't like and they don't want to have this dish, then I can't really sell it. And then if the restaurant is empty, they don't come anymore, I can't really do what I want to do.

Did you always know that you wanted to open your restaurant in New York?
Lee: It didn't have to be New York, but I've been living in New York for 13, 14 years. So I know the market. I know a lot of vendors here, I know the system, how it works.

What are your biggest hopes for your customers?
Lee: Oyatte will be a fine dining restaurant. The price range for fine dining is more expensive than a casual restaurant, so I want to have guests fulfill their [expectations] and [be] satisfied with their experience. And then when they walk out, think, oh, the meal at Oyatte was great, that's it.

Can you share the meaning behind the name Oyatte?
Lee: Oyatte, it means plum blossom. It's my last name in Chinese letter. So plum blossom, it used to be the national flower for Joseon Dynasty, before Republic of Korea, for 500 years. It doesn't mean that I want to do Korean cuisine. It's the heritage of myself as a chef, because I moved a lot, learned different cuisine. So as a chef, I want to find out my own cuisine. And I want to be bloomed like a plum blossom one day as a chef.

Culinary Class Wars Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.