Discover the real name, age, and career of Culinary Monster (Chef Hasung Lee) from Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars: explore his new NYC restaurant, Oyatte, and the “all-in” gamble behind his Season 2 journey.
Culinary Class Wars has been a true phenomenon in Netflix’s programming. The Western world has been swept away by this original culinary format which, while showcasing the most brilliant minds of contemporary Asian cuisine, thrives on an extreme competitive spirit—reminiscent of international hits like Squid Game and Physical: 100.
Following the first season released in 2024, a second, even more sensational season arrived, airing between late 2025 and early 2026. Once again, one hundred prestigious chefs clashed with grit and sweat, seeking to finish first through the many stages of the competition. If you haven’t finished the second season yet, don’t worry—we won’t reveal the winner here. But we will tell you everything there is to know about the show’s most sought-after character: the Black Spoon Culinary Monster, who from his very first appearance declared, without a doubt, that he was there to win.
Culinary Class Wars fans began searching for his name early in the second season. His real name, his age, the restaurant where you can eat his food… everyone wants the most minute details about the ‘monster’ everyone respects and appreciates—the Black Spoon with the skills and experience of a White Spoon.
In this article, we will satisfy all your curiosities.
Hasung Lee’s Age and Career: The Story of a Culinary Monster
For most of the competition, we knew him only by his intimidating moniker, Culinary Monster. However, his real name—revealed in the final episode of Season 2 and already whispered across the internet weeks prior—is Lee Ha-sung (known internationally as Hasung Lee). Born in 1988, at 38 years old, he possesses a curriculum that would make even the most established “White Spoon” envious.
His rise as a finalist in Culinary Class Wars 2 wasn’t just a highlight for television; it was the definitive confirmation of a talent that scaled the heights of global gastronomy starting from absolutely nothing. A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Lee built a career defined by surgical precision and an uncanny ability to thrive under pressure in the world’s most elite kitchens.
From the Food Truck to the Heights of the Michelin World
Hasung Lee’s story is a masterclass in resilience. After a period of training in the United States marked by the 2008 Lehman financial crisis, Lee returned to South Korea with very little to his name. Alongside three friends, he invested his meager savings into a small food truck to sell street food. This became his “survival school,” where he learned that cooking is, above all else, about grit, sweat, and speed. Remarkably, while running his business on the streets, he was also pursuing a degree in hotel culinary arts at a Korean university.
Once he completed his studies in Korea, his ascent into the world of haute cuisine was nothing short of meteoric. After a first international experience at Gramercy Tavern in New York, he moved to Copenhagen and made history as the first Asian chef to be hired as a full-time employee at the legendary three-Michelin-starred Geranium.
After Copenhagen, he returned to the USA, working first at Benu in San Francisco, and then achieving one of his most significant milestones at Atomix. As Chef de Cuisine, Lee was instrumental in building the restaurant from its very opening, leading it to earn two Michelin stars and a top spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Following that, his final evolution was serving as a Sous Chef under the legendary Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, another three-star temple of global cuisine and one of the most famous restaurants in the world. His experience at The French Laundry represented the final step of the ‘first phase of his life’: after leaving TFL in 2023, he began planning the opening of his new restaurant, putting himself on the line this time on his own and as the sole lead.
You can discover more about his journey and see his creative process firsthand through his official website and his Instagram.
The Psychology of the “Monster”: Why did he participate?
After concluding his tenure at The French Laundry, Hasung Lee began plotting the course for his own establishment. For him, Culinary Class Wars was more than a television show; it was a crucible to test his individuality. By stepping into the arena, he sought to pit his skills against veterans with decades of experience, proving once and for all that he possessed the mettle to lead his own world-class kitchen.
From the debut of Season 2, Culinary Monster exuded a level of confidence that bordered on the provocative. In every challenge, he declared his intent to win with a bluntness that many viewers interpreted as arrogance. However, as he later revealed in post-show interviews, this was a psychological shield—a conscious effort to remain unintimidated by the prestigious “White Spoons” surrounding him. For Lee, the competition was a high-stakes validation of his professional stature.
The respect he earned from his peers and his deep run in the tournament have become the cornerstone of his next chapter. The validation found in the kitchen stadium is now the bedrock upon which he is building the most significant project of his life: the opening of his own restaurant.
“The Second Chapter of his Life:” Oyatte, the Culinary Monster restaurant
The next step in Hasung Lee’s evolution won’t take place in front of the cameras, but on the competitive streets of Manhattan. His new restaurant, Oyatte, represents the culmination of a twenty-year journey, leading the “Culinary Monster” to challenge the giants of New York as a sole owner.
Here is everything you need to know about his new opening:
- The Name and Meaning: “Oyatte” is derived from the chef’s surname, “Oyat Li” (李). It is a tribute to his roots and a sign of how personal this project is: after years spent bringing the visions of other great chefs to life, it is now time to put his own on the table.
- The Location: The restaurant is located at 125 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016, in the heart of Murray Hill (Midtown East).
- The Concept: Oyatte will be a contemporary fine-dining restaurant with only 30 seats spread across two floors. The atmosphere will be intimate, designed to reflect the precision and calm that Lee displayed throughout Culinary Class Wars.
- The Farm-to-Table Philosophy: For this project, Lee has formed a key partnership with Brett Ellis, the former farm manager at The French Laundry. Oyatte’s menu will be built around seasonal produce from Crown Daisy Farm, Ellis’s farm in upstate New York. Don’t expect strictly Korean cuisine: Lee intends to blend his global techniques with the freshness of local ingredients, creating a style he defines as “thoughtful and restrained.” This Farm-to-Table concept is directly inspired by Chef Thomas Keller’s philosophy at The French Laundry, and Hasung Lee has jokingly (but perhaps not too much) stated that with his new restaurant, he intends to compete with Keller himself.
- When Will It Open? Oyatte is currently in the setup phase and is finalizing its team (the first official staff meeting is scheduled for February). The official public opening is expected in Spring 2026.
Participating in Culinary Class Wars was the final test for Lee Ha-sung before this grand gamble. While the series proved he possesses a “monstrous” technique, in New York, he will have to prove he has the soul of a great restaurateur. The challenge is on, and fans from all over the world are already waiting to book a table.
