'Culinary Class Wars' winner apologizes for being 'arrogant' during semifinal

Netflix’s cooking survival show “Culinary Class Wars” winner Kwon Sung-jun, also called by his nickname "Napoli Matfia,” apologized for his “arrogant” behavior during the show’s semifinal released Tuesday.

Kwon Sung-jun, also known as Napoli Matfia, speaks during the show’s press conference at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery Ambassador in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

Netflix’s cooking survival show “Culinary Class Wars” winner Kwon Sung-jun, also called by his nickname "Napoli Matfia,” apologized for his “arrogant” behavior during the show’s semifinal released Tuesday.

“Before expressing my joy, I would like to start by offering my apologies and gratitude,” he said Tuesday on his Instagram. “Although I’m not young, I realize that I often acted and thought immaturely.”

“At the end of the ‘Infinite Cooking Hell’ mission using tofu, I thought the last three chefs — Edward Lee, Triple Star and Cooking Maniac — were formidable opponents, and to avoid feeling intimidated, I put on a front to appear more confident,” he added.

“Seeing myself on screen, I noticed myself being arrogant and having a lot of flaws, which served as a valuable opportunity for self-reflection.”

The winner also apologized for saying, “Whoever makes it through, get ready to be obliterated by me” to Chef Edward Lee in the show, pointing out it was a “thoughtless statement.”

Chefs Napoli Matfia, left, and Edward Lee [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“[The comment] was intended as motivation to not give up and to rally our strength during the final dish when everyone was exhausted. However, it ended up sounding arrogant and thoughtless. I would like to again sincerely apologize for that.”

Kwon briefly added his feelings about being the show’s inaugural winner, saying, “I feel like I drew on a lifetime of luck in the final and just happened to win.”

The final two episodes of the cooking survival show were released Tuesday, with Kwon taking home the 300 million won ($223,000) prize after defeating White Spoon chef Edward Lee. Kwon was unanimously announced the show’s grand prize winner by judges Anh Sung-jae and Paik Jong-won.

Kwon joined "Culinary Class Wars" as a Black Spoon, a group of cooks considered the lesser-known, underdogs of the industry compared to the higher-powered White Spoon chefs, the industry’s best professionals.

The show, produced by Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, was first launched on Sept. 17 and has garnered major global and public attention ever since. It has been sitting at No.1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 (Non-English) list since its release and has also caused a 148 percent increase in reservations at restaurants run by the show's contestants in September.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]