LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Editor's note: This story contains results and spoilers.
"Culinary Class Wars," a Korean-based cooking competition show on Netflix, featured a familiar face in Louisville’s food scene.
Chef Edward Lee, owner of local restaurants Nami and 610 Magnolia, competed on the show, using Korean ingredients and Western techniques to engineer creative, cohesive dishes.
“In America, I try to introduce the beautiful ingredients of Korea to Americans,” Lee said on the show. “It’s my life and my passion.”
The central theme of the show was the less-experienced chefs were referred to as “black spoons” and the chefs that were considered titans in the industry were called “white spoons.”
Many of the challenges pitted chefs in white and black against each other. The competition began with 100 chefs.
Lee, who was considered a white spoon, was seen by his competitors as a strong favorite to win it all due to his experience on similar American cooking shows.
In 2010, Lee beat out Chef Jose Garces to win Iron Chef America. He also placed fifth in season nine of Top Chef.
The nine-time James Beard Award nominee was also the visiting chef at the White House in 2023 for an official state dinner for the Republic of Korea.
The Louisville chef did his city proud while competing on "Culinary Class Wars." He made delicious, inventive dishes that some called risky.
Ed Lee even paid homage to the Bluegrass State when he served “Kentucky fried tofu” to the judges.
In the end, Chef Lee came in a respectable second place overall. He was ultimately bested by the Black Spoon chef nicknamed Napoli Matfia — whose real name was Kwon Sung-jun.
Sung-jun’s last dish was a luxurious, maximalist-inspired Italian dish, which included ravioli and a rack of lamb. He earned the title of Culinary Class Wars winner as well as 300 million won (about $223,000).
Lee’s final dish was a play on leftover tteokbokki, which is a savory Korean rice cake.
When describing his dish to the judges, he recollected how when he ordered food in Korea, he’d always be given too much and end up with leftovers.
“The generosity of hearty meals prepared with love and consideration for others is what Korean food is all about,” Lee said.
Though the dish appeared the be leftovers, it was actually a well thought-out dessert. He made a semifreddo disguised as rice cakes which sat on top of a splatter of gochujang caramel.
Despite the second place title, the judges clearly loved his food and his concept. The chef indicated he has no intentions of taking off his apron just yet.
“Right now at my age, most chefs are slowing down and I don’t want to slow down,” Lee said. “I can still cook and I want to do it in Korea with my countrymen.”
