New York Sous-Chef Tells Jung Ji-sun Her Scolding Is "My Style" After a Barrage of Rebukes

After being scolded over sunglasses, hands in pockets and missing cutlery, Derek, a sous-chef visiting from New York, told the production team he was not afraid of chef Jung Ji-sun. "Other people may find her scary, but I wasn't scared. She's my style," he said, leaving her flustered. The exchange came in an episode of KBS2's "Boss in the Mirror" aired on the 18th.

Jung Ji-sun is known as the first female dish chef in Chinese cuisine. She appears in several entertainment programs, including "Boss in the Mirror," "Culinary Class Wars" and "Chef & My Fridge." She has made her presence felt through her uncompromising work attitude and sharp tongue, and this time she brought the same charisma to a first meeting with a chef party from New York.

A first meeting that started badly

The guests were Sim Seong-cheol, who runs Michelin restaurants in New York, and his sous-chef Derek, who travelled to South Korea to collaborate with Jung. Sim operates seven venues in New York, including two one-Michelin-star restaurants. He raised his profile in South Korea by appearing as a White Spoon chef in season 1 of the Netflix show "Culinary Class Wars."

The mood was tense from the start. Derek, wearing sunglasses, greeted Jung with a hug. She showed her discomfort at once: "Are you planning to keep those sunglasses on? You seem to have no sense of hierarchy." Though the two had only just met, she did not let it pass, and her blunt manner was on full display.

"Take your hands out of your pants"

The criticism did not stop. At a tableware studio that Sim frequents, Derek kept talking with his hands in his pockets, and Jung immediately barked, "Take your hand out of your pants." The cast in the studio burst into laughter at her applying such strict standards to someone who was not even her employee. Jun Hyun-moo marvelled, "What are you, some gangster's wife?" and Park Myeong-su jeered, "Are you a thug?"

Yang Joon-hyuk advised Jung to take local culture and sentiment in the United States into account, saying cultural differences should be considered when dealing with chefs working there. Jung disagreed. "He's a person with Korean blood, isn't he?" she said, adding, "Putting your hands in your pockets in front of an elder is wrong." Her conviction was that basic respect toward elders applies regardless of nationality or where one works.

At the meal her sharp eye stayed on Derek. She pointed out that he had not set out his spoon and chopsticks, saying "The basic setting isn't done." When she learned he was born in 1990, she fired back, "You're older than I thought, so why are you so rude?" Even the sous-chef of a New York chef with considerable experience and skill was no exception in front of her. Her attention to his every move drew laughs and again underlined her strong personality.

From scolding to romance jokes

Watching the footage of Derek's interview, Jung reacted in disbelief with "I'm going to have to hit him," prompting more laughter. Jun Hyun-moo did not miss the odd chemistry between the two. "In romance dramas, this kind of relationship ends up with the two getting together," he joked, sending the studio into fits of laughter. A meeting that began with a tense standoff over etiquette thus took on an entirely different atmosphere, through Derek's unexpected show of affection and Jun's deadpan reading of it.

Read the original (Korean)