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After receiving much fanfare and promoted as the “master of gastronomy” here, Edward Kwon, chef extraordinaire, publicly admitted Sunday that much of his advertised career was exaggerated.
He said he had never intended to “lie” and that many of the myths surrounding him were spread through media without his confirmation or proper fact-checking.
In an interview published in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, Kwon confessed that he had neither been an executive chef at the prestigious Dubai hotel, Burj Al Arab, nor did he master at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
“I was a ‘head chef’ at the hotel with an executive chef above me. But I didn’t exactly know how to explain that system in Korean and the media assumed that I was the executive chef,” he said in the interview, explaining his career bounce.
He also admitted that he did not finish a regular degree course at the CIA.
“I took a six-week online program at the CIA but it took me two years to finish it because I had so little time,” he said, adding that his academic career was bloated unintentionally by other institutes which sought to promote him.
Asked why he did not correct this earlier, he said he thought it did not matter much at which school he studied.
Kwon said he didn’t feel it was necessary to hold a “grand press conference” to “straighten up the facts.” “I didn’t find myself to be that large of a figure,” he said.
Kwon, who was born with the Korean name Kwon Young-min, became a household name in 2009 when he gave up his job at the Burj Al Arab, promoted as a seven-star hotel here, and settled back in Korea.
He was celebrated for having climbed way up to work at the Ritz Carlton, W and many other luxury hotels worldwide after graduating from a two-year college in Gangwon Province; named as a young culinary master among chefs in California; and landed an executive chef (in Korean translation) position at one of the most famous hotels in the world.
He even had his own talent show, “Yes, Chef” portraying his rigorous and passionate personality. He was regarded as the epitome of a “rags to riches” story.
Kwon has recently opened his own restaurant, “The Spice,” in the foreign-friendly district of Itaewon, central Seoul, serving top-notch dishes at rather affordable prices (30,000-80,000 won). Apart from all the media frenzy, his dishes received a warm welcome from people who were looking for quality food without paying excessively.
“I am quite scared at the very moment. I’ve had difficulties after coming to Korea and I know this career inflation will haunt me for quite a while. But all I really wanted was to communicate with more people with great food,” he said.
