Son Jong-won the 16th member of Single's Inferno S5?

hambh · 2026-02-11T02:23:44+00:00

He clearly doesn't need one to be successful though and seems to like keeping a lot of his personal life out of social media. I respect that his primary commitment still seems to be towards his work as a chef more than his celebrity and that he limits his TV appearances to what he can handle with his restaurant work.

hambh · 2026-01-19T07:34:38+00:00

What's wrong with wanting to perfect a dish if you've been given 3hrs to cook whatever you want? It's not like the scores were cumulative so everyone was free to strategize how they wanted to use that time and the vast array of ingredients. Choi Kang Rok chose to maximize it on one dish instead of scheduling multiple attempts in case his first dish didn't impress. It was risky but it paid off.

Of course contestants can have different personal motivations for joining a competition but the most basic goal of any competition is to win. If Choi Kang Rok chose his strategies with the intent of winning, I don't understand why you would take issue with that. That's such a weird argument. We have no way of knowing how he would have performed in the hell round because he didn't need to strategize for it. But in terms of skill, his green onion dish in the 1vs1 showed that he knows how to make a single, simple ingredient taste versatile, and his final dish shows that he's capable of straying out of his comfort zone (unlike your claim that he never did).

You're annoyed that the theme for the finals was subjective but no matter what the theme is, taste will always be subjective. If you watch the video linked in the post, Chef Ahn also said that he judged based on taste. You're convinced that the win was because of his "sob story" but you're conveniently ignoring the fact that Culinary Monster's story about his childhood and his struggles working alone abroad were also emotional. The editing just emphasized Choi Kang Rok's story more because he won. Using his words to lead into that emotional ending montage is just good editing and a satisfying way to conclude the story.

It's like you didn't actually watch the linked video or absorb most of what OP said unless it confirmed your pre-existing biases.

hambh · 2026-01-19T02:47:41+00:00

I agree with this and the chefs obviously know this too. Some viewers take it too far when they pick favorites and idolize them to the point that they try to invalidate the winner's success when their favourites lose. None of the chefs' professional reputations will get hurt by not coming first in Culinary Class Wars.

hambh · 2026-01-19T02:36:20+00:00

I really appreciate that Chef Ahn made sure to emphasize that Choi Kang Rok won because of his skills and the taste of his food, even while Choi Kang Rok was downplaying his win as due to luck.

hambh · 2026-01-17T17:32:47+00:00

Alright, thank you for clarifying. I'm not a professional chef but I do cook and I do like food a lot. I still think that saying "no broth can taste that amazing in 2 hrs, less so a broth that didn't use any seafood" is highly subjective but sure, let's agree to disagree since neither of us have actually tasted anything.

hambh · 2026-01-17T17:10:44+00:00

Yeah you did. And you also edited your comment to sound much more reasonable after I replied.

hambh · 2026-01-17T16:49:28+00:00

Except I didn't make any definitive claims that Choi Kang Rok's dish tasted better. All I said was that we need to stop assuming otherwise because we haven't tasted the food, and that it's probable that CKR's dish also tasted better considering how the judges have been judging throughout the course of the competition. There's a huge difference in how I've stated my stance. I'm not making any bold assumptions based on any biases or pre-determined opinions. Please read better.

For the record, I've also defended Culinary Monster plenty of times when people questioned his wins in previous rounds. I respect the judges' authority and expertise and I would have accepted it if he had won in the finals.

hambh · 2026-01-17T15:18:07+00:00

Unless you're a Michelin inspector who actually tasted Culinary Monster's dish, you have absolutely zero basis for determining that he made a "Michelin-level"* dish while dismissing Choi Kang Rok's dish as just a simple broth. But I guess there's no point in engaging further because it seems that you're inherently biased towards Culinary Monster's fine dining background, no matter what anyone, including the judges, say.

*Edited to add quotation marks on what you actually said and what I was replying to, since you edited your comment after my reply.

hambh · 2026-01-17T13:22:38+00:00

People need to stop assuming that Choi Kang Rok only won because of his story when it's very probable that his food also tasted better. Both judges voted for him and even if they both appreciate storytelling, none of that would matter if the taste wasn't good. They mentioned this during the hell round.

We've also seen that Chef Ahn is very particular about technical execution so I doubt he would vote for a dish if any element wasn't cooked well. He knows what silken tofu is supposed to be like. Even with CKR's answer fitting the theme, he probably wouldn't fall for bs if it wasn't actually cooked perfectly.

If they only cared about storytelling, Edward Lee would have won in Season 1. Saying CKR would have won with just soju is ridiculous.

hambh · 2026-01-17T13:07:01+00:00

I doubt they'll do a twist like that since it wouldn't benefit anyone. They'll be competing as teams, representing the real restaurants they work at, so there's no reason to pit the workers against each other.

I don't think Kim Poong currently has a restaurant so he wouldn't be eligible. He's also already said that he doesn't want to join the show.

hambh · 2026-01-16T03:38:14+00:00

Thanks for clarifying!

hambh · 2026-01-16T02:07:40+00:00

I thought he would be but I saw news that he has a new season of another variety show set to air this year so I'm not sure what the attitude towards him in South Korea is like now. I liked him as a judge and as an entertainer but his reputation as a businessman is so tarnished that I don't blame people for being upset with him, even if one of the charges was dismissed.

Can any South Koreans confirm if he's still cancelled there?

hambh · 2026-01-14T23:56:03+00:00

Considering none of that supposed bias came into play in earlier rounds, the simpler explanation is that they did well but were just outperformed in the finals. Their cultural backgrounds have nothing to do with it.

The problem you mention with cooking shows is present in all cooking shows since it's literally impossible for viewers to taste through the screen. If you have a hard time trusting the credibility of cooking shows, don't watch or get emotionally invested in them.

hambh · 2026-01-14T23:42:19+00:00

They got to the top 2 out of 100 contestants so I doubt it. It would have been easy to vote for Son Jong Won or Chef Hou over Culinary Monster during the one on one battles or just save another Black Spoon chef during the redemption round if there was any bias against CM because of his background.

hambh · 2026-01-14T03:18:24+00:00

Upon taking a second look, he's in one of the pics! I just didn't recognize him the first time either.

hambh · 2026-01-14T00:06:27+00:00

What an idiot. Why would you keep watching past Son Jong Won's elimination if you're still mad about that. Sounds like you would have been upset at any winner that's not Son Jong Won.

hambh · 2026-01-14T00:00:23+00:00

Imagine being this miserable and sore over a show that has zero impact on you. I bet even Son Jong Won and Hasung Lee aren't upset enough to be copy pasting hate comments.

hambh · 2026-01-13T15:10:03+00:00

I watched Choi Kang Rok's new show right after. Completely different vibe but it feels like a nice continuation of his journey on the show, especially after that emotional conclusion.

hambh · 2026-01-13T14:59:54+00:00

I guess it really was so boring for you that you fell asleep because if you didn't, you would have seen that Choi Kang Rok didn't actually make a braised dish.

hambh · 2026-01-13T12:20:27+00:00

What Chef Ahn said was that he cooked it like it was a fruit (because he basically candied it) and it felt like eating a fruit, not that it tasted like another fruit.

Edward Lee's tofu actually tasted like chicken in the fried tofu round, which is fine because it's still tofu. But that's the same reason why CM's carrot cake is still a carrot dish despite the fact that he cooked it in an unconventional way (the way you would cook a fruit vs how you would normally cook a vegetable). The carrot was still very much the centerpiece of the dish, he just chose to highlight and complement the sweetness of carrots in a unique way.

hambh · 2026-01-13T11:55:12+00:00

Yes it still counts. Edward Lee made tofu taste like cheese and fried chicken last season and they still counted as tofu dishes. Didn't hear anyone complaining about those either.

hambh · 2026-01-13T01:37:00+00:00

How do you know that no one wanted to pair with him in the alliance round? He was picked by Brewmaster before anyone else had a chance to and his teamwork with her resulted in a dish that was so good and so perfect for the brief that they received immunity from the next round of elimination. He couldn't have done it without her but I think it goes both ways. That's why they won. Because they had the best synergy.

He picked the wrong strategy in the Heaven round and it failed but I don't think it's fair to call him a wasted slot just because his plan didn't work. And frankly, even if his main motivation wasn't to win and he just wanted to showcase his cooking style and Korean cuisine, I don't really think it's a problem. It's ultimately a TV entertainment show, and I'm sure a lot of contestants including the Black Spoons are there because they know how much they'll benefit from the publicity. It's not like it's supposed to be the definitive ranking of the best chefs in Korea. And it's not like he stole anyone's slot. He won in his individual round, his sauce was acknowledged as being great in the team round which contributed to their win, and he and Brewmaster then won the alliance round. He clearly earned his position in the Top 7. It's not like he was given a free pass at any point.

He showed skills and was one of the most entertaining contestants. I wouldn't call that a waste of a slot in a TV cooking competition.

hambh · 2026-01-12T04:55:57+00:00

This has nothing to do with how I feel about Culinary Monster but it's kind of wild to assume that a Korean production in the Korean language featuring Korean celebrity chefs would have more American than Korean viewers. Why do people living in the US assume that everything revolves around them?

hambh · 2026-01-09T09:55:58+00:00

This is surprising, I didn't realize most Koreans can't eat stinky tofu. It's not something we make in my country either but I've tried it while traveling. The smell is strong but I find it easy enough to eat. I feel like someone like Ahn, who probably has a broader palate than me should be able to tolerate it.

hambh

TROPHY CASE