On the latest episode of MBC's variety show 'The Manager', Chef Park Eun-young, known as the 'Goddess of Chinese Cuisine', revealed that she faced losses after opening her Chinese restaurant.
During the episode aired on the 28th, Yoon Jun-won, the head chef of Park Eun-young's restaurant, shared, "After the last broadcast, over 7,000 people searched for us on the reservation app, and our reservations doubled." He added, "We used to have one lunch service, but now we have two, serving 40 to 50 guests instead of 20 to 30."
Park Eun-young and Yoon Jun-won were seen purchasing Chinese ingredients at Daelim Market. Park showed interest in unique items like stir-fried grasshoppers, loaches, edible frogs, silkworms, and pig offal, drawing attention. Yoon humorously commented, "Today, she's on a shopping spree."
Park Eun-young also visited her mentor, Chef Yeo Kyung-rae's restaurant, where she shared a sibling-like chemistry with Yeo's son, Chef Yeo Min, bringing smiles to viewers.
Yeo Min revealed, "Eun-young once injured her hand badly while working. I rushed to her in the car, and as soon as she got in, she asked me to take a picture of her injury. I told her to get out of the car."
Chef Yeo Kyung-rae laughed, saying, "She had that madness from back then," while Yeo Min joked, "Lately, Eun-young's dance videos keep popping up. I hit 'dislike' to stop the algorithm from showing them."
Reflecting on her time as Yeo Kyung-rae's apprentice, Park Eun-young expressed gratitude, saying, "Whenever I made mistakes, Yeo Min would cover for me. I moved from the cutting board to the grill after six years and got many opportunities to work with the wok."
When asked about her first salary, Park Eun-young shared, "In 2012, my first salary was 1.5 million won. It was a lot, and everyone was surprised."
In contrast, Yeo Kyung-rae reminisced about 1975, saying, "Back then, a bowl of jajangmyeon was 170 won, and my first salary was 6,000 won. We didn't even have refrigerators, so we had to run to the butcher shop for ingredients."
Meanwhile, Park Eun-young, a disciple of renowned Chinese cuisine master Chef Yeo Kyung-rae, gained recognition on Netflix's 'Black and White Chef'. She recently opened a Chinese dining restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul. She shared her unfortunate experience, "After opening the restaurant, the walk-in refrigerator broke down, ruining all the ingredients and causing a loss of about 10 million won."
Reported by Kim Eun-jung, TenAsia