[News Figures] 'Black and White Chef' Judge and Michelin 3-Star Chef An Seongjae

In the Netflix cooking show 'Black and White Chefs: The Culinary Class War,' there is a chef who appears as a judge and holds his own in intense debates with Baek Jong-won. He is Chef An Seong-jae (42) of 'Mosoo Seoul,' the only Michelin Guide 3-star restaurant in Korea.

Born in 1982, Chef An immigrated to California, USA, with his family at the age of twelve. His background is unique. Chef An appeared on YouTube and said, "I once went on a deployment to Iraq and became a credit delinquent." Originally, he was a U.S. Army veteran and planned to become a high-end vehicle mechanic. By chance, he saw a brochure for a culinary school that guaranteed 100% employment and became interested in cooking at the age of twenty-three. He graduated from the California culinary school 'Le Cordon Bleu' and began working at 'Urasawa,' a sushi specialty restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Photo by Netflix

Chef An said, "I wanted to work at the most expensive restaurant in the West," adding, "I worked without pay." After working at Urasawa for about two years, he worked at 'The French Laundry' located in Napa Valley. An Seong-jae recalled, "I had no money, so I paid $200 to stay in a cabin in a vineyard in Napa Valley." He started as a commis chef at The French Laundry and was promoted to chef de partie within two months.

Chef An joined Chef Lee Dong-min's restaurant 'Benu' as an opening member. 'Benu' was the first Korean restaurant to earn three Michelin stars. Chef An also worked as the executive chef at 'Aziza,' a Moroccan restaurant in San Francisco.

Chef An opened his own restaurant 'Mosoo' in February 2016. At 'Mosoo,' he launched a $195 dinner tasting menu, the most expensive among new establishments in San Francisco. Although he faced difficulties initially, the restaurant gained attention after earning one Michelin star.

In 2017, Chef An returned to Korea to start a new challenge. With investment from CJ CheilJedang, he opened Mosoo Seoul in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in 2017. 'Mosoo' started with one Michelin star in 2019, received two stars from 2020 to 2022, and three stars from 2023 to 2024. 'Mosoo' is currently temporarily closed and is scheduled to reopen later this year.

Chef An's hobby is boxing. He has even won an amateur boxing competition. He said, "I started boxing because of the pressure of having three Michelin stars," adding, "I needed time to release energy and clear my mind."

Meanwhile, 'Black and White Chefs' ranked number one in Netflix's global TOP 10 TV (non-English) category. From the 16th to the 22nd, it recorded 3.8 million views (the number of views divided by the total running time of the work). 'Black and White Chefs' is a fierce culinary class war featuring hidden master chefs, who are rated the best in taste, challenging Korea's star chefs known as 'Baek Sujeo' in a competition among 100 chefs.