Chef David Lee shares the difficulties he faced while building his career in the United States on the 331st episode of The Boss’s Ears Are Donkey Ears, airing on the 16th, and he recalls the cultural barriers and racism he encountered, saying that although the experiences were painful at the time he can now look back on them with perspective.
He describes a period when he was the sous chef yet was deliberately excluded from work, a situation that left him so frustrated he sometimes cried, and he explains that he began arriving before dawn to complete every major kitchen task on his own until his dedication eventually earned respect and even led to a friendly drink with the coworker who had ostracized him, a turning point that shaped his Meat Gangster identity.
The episode also shows a visit from his longtime friend Park Junhyung of the K pop group god, who jokes that the group’s meals can cost around 300 million KRW (about 225,000 USD), and Lee talks about his restaurant’s month long waiting list while hoping to host god for a year end gathering.
Park compliments the food and notes that few steakhouses in Korea compare, then adds humor by saying he missed rice and cubed radish kimchi, and TVXQ’s Yunho joins the exchange by teasing that Lee should have prepared extra side dishes if he planned to serve god.
The episode leaves viewers curious about whether Park Junhyung will select Lee’s restaurant for the group’s lavish meal, and the full story airs today at 4:40 p.m.
