Choi Kang-rok
It`s been only a few weeks that Culinary Wars season 2 finished.
I can easily hear people talk about Culinary Wars 2 everywhere.
There are many chefs who participated in the competition.
But one chef is especially remarked much more than the other.
His name is 'Choi Kang-rok, the winner of Culinary Wars 2.
Not well spoken, stuttering and looks a little wacky.
These are words that can describe 'Choi Kang-rok, judging by his appearance.
What makes a seemingly stuttering and wacky guy attract so much public interest? What`s the secret to his appeal?
It`s a long story.. But i will tell you.
To know the reason of his popularity, We have to go back in 2013 when master chef Korea season 2 was on air.
The genuine competence behind his awkward appearance
The first time that he showed his appearance to the public was at Master Chef Korea Season 2 that is also one of culinary competitions.
During the opening mission, Choi Kang-rok revealed that he had learned to cook through the manga 'Mr. Sushi King', which actually made judges laugh a lot. (I personally think it`s one of the most funniest moment of Master Chef Korea season 2)
NO one, including judges, expected that his dish would be delicious because it`s plausible to think someone without formal training is not good at cooking.
But all judges were astonished that his dish was perfect, even much better than some chefs with proper training. Especially Leo Kang was really shocked to the point where Leo Kang said "Let`s get Choi Kang-rok $300,000 prize and let him go home."
Choi Kang-rok continuously showed overwhelming performance after the opening mission and finally became the winner of Master Chef Korea season 2.
On the contrary to his performance, he had kept looking clumsy since the opening to the end of Master Chef Korea season 2.
His mix of outward clumsiness and inner brilliance, especially in cooking, is exactly why he has such a huge fanbase.
Responsibility as a leader
There is also a famous story that makes Choi Kang-rok more attractive.
It` was among team competition in Master Chef Korea season 2.
The team Mr. Choi led was defeated by the other team.
So the members are forced to face off internally and they had to fight for their survival to avoid being the next one sent home.
Choi Kang-rok was given a special benefit to choose and exempt one participant from the elimination round.
He could have used it for himself but he didn`t.
And he even demonstrated what a real responsibility looks like as a team leader.
Choi Kang-rok used this safe pass for one of his team member 'Baek Seong-jin' because the main ingredient of the elimination round is not familiar with 'Baek Seong-jin.'
The funny thing is it was the only time Choi Kang-rok didn`t stutter and said exactly what he wanted to say during the entire Master Chef Korea.
You can watch this at this link.
His Humbleness and Respectfulness
His charm also comes from his humble and respectful attitude.
During Culinary Wars season 2, we can easily find he respected his competitors
And he remained incredibly humble every time despites holding the title Master Chef Korea winner.
Especially when he met culinary monster in the final stage
or when he participated in team mission in Culinary wars 2,
His humble and respectful attitude was well revealed and that`s also the one of reasons many people are crazy for Choi Kang-rok.
Unwavering excellence : his consistent cooking style
Braised chicken in Gochujang with basil, Steamed eggs custard with green onion,
Braised radish with oysters.
Whether intended or not, many of dishes he made in competition were braised ones.
And the funny thing is that he defeated almost all of competitors through his braising skill.
That`s the reason he started to be called like a braising human, consecutive braising murder and braising fairy as his nickname.
Choi Kang-rok`s commitment to braising was clearly revealed when he compete by making a braised radish dish with oysters. His competitor brought a bunch of cutting edge cooking utensils for the mission.
but It only took some knifes, pans and braising for Choi Kang-rok to beat his competitor.
It`s like Choi Kang-rok tells a lot of chef It`s not about how fancy utensils you got but how important basic cooking skill is. And that`s exactly why the public love his approach.
Attractive hidden sides
This might come as a bit of a surprise to you.
He seems to be more people person than what he looks like in TV show.
There is a behind scene that Choi Kang-rok was goofing around with female participants in Master Chef Korea season 2. In this video, He`s a very good talker.
The response of people after watching it is like "It feels betrayed", "It`s unfamiliar to see Choi Kang-rok not stuttering."
Here is a video clip that captures he`s goofing around with other competitors.
And the other hidden side of him is, in contrast to his clumsy appearance, Choi Kang-rok actually served in Korean Marines.
It might not be a big surprise that Choi Kang-rok served in the military.
because all Korean men are mandatory to complete their military service.
But it`s truly shocking that he chose to join the Korean Marine, especially considering rigorous testing and requirements one must pass to become a marine.
