Chef Yoon Nam-no, who ran a Naengmyeon restaurant at age 14 due to his mother's battle with cancer: "I learned cooking with insurance money" [Okmun-a][★Night TView]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Chef Yoon Nam-no revealed the story behind how he started cooking at a young age due to his mother's battle with cancer.

On the episode aired on the 13th, Kim Pung and Yoon Nam-no appeared as guests on the KBS 2TV variety show 'The Problem Kids of the Attic Room'.

On this day, Yoon Nam-no said, "I started cooking when I was 14, but it wasn't because I wanted to cook," and revealed, "My mother ran a small Naengmyeon restaurant, but at the time she was diagnosed with cancer."

He continued, "My older sister was a college student, and my older brother was just starting his career, so they couldn't drop everything and return home. I was the only one who was at home," and explained, "Our financial situation was so difficult that if the restaurant closed, it would have been hard to even solve our immediate meals."

Yoon Nam-no revealed that he ran the Naengmyeon restaurant in place of his mother but had to close it after three months. He recalled, "It was a cold period from November to February. One day, I overcooked the noodles so much that they lost their Naengmyeon shape, and the next day, I undercooked them, making them hard."

In particular, he said, "Customers were forcing themselves to eat it. It was out of sympathy," and added, "When I tasted it later, I thought, 'How did they manage to eat this?' My mother's and father's friends were forcing themselves to eat so that I wouldn't be hurt," evoking a sense of regret.

He then confessed his feelings at the time, saying, "It was painful that we were selling nonsensical food. I wondered if I was actually making our family's situation worse."

However, his mother discovered potential in Yoon Nam-no after seeing how focused he became when cooking. Yoon Nam-no shared, "My mother thought, 'This kid becomes calm and focused when he cooks. Won't he be able to earn a living doing this?'"

He continued, "My mother brought the cancer insurance payout and said, 'This is the last support I can give you right now. My health is not good, and I cannot take care of you anymore. Sending you to a cooking academy is my last contribution,'" revealing that he began serious culinary studies with his mother's support.

Subsequently, Yoon Nam-no won a cooking competition for middle school students and entered culinary school as a scholarship student. He emphasized, "It wasn't talent; I really worked incredibly hard."

He revealed that during high school, he became the youngest person to be hired in the hotel's food and beverage division. Yoon Nam-no explained, "My older brother cut off my allowance. Since they provide meals at work, I really worked hard. I arrived two hours early and left two hours late."

Advancing to university was also not easy. He said, "Since my older brother and sister were in no position to support me through college, they told me to enter society quickly," and added, "Then I found out that if I won first place in a cooking competition, I would receive a two-year scholarship."

Yoon Nam-no revealed, drawing attention, saying, "I slept only one or two hours a day while preparing for the cooking competition. I spent almost 20 hours a day with my eyes open. It was probably possible because I was young," and added, "But then I unexpectedly won first place there again."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original