How a chance encounter put an Iraq veteran on the road to ‘Culinary Class Wars’ stardom

Before becoming one of the judges in the hit Netflix show “Culinary Class Wars,” Chef Sung Anh took an unconventional path to culinary success. Born in South Korea and raised in California, Anh served in the U.S. Army in Iraq before honing his skills at renowned restaurants like The French Laundry and Urasawa and later opening his first restaurant, Mosu San Francisco, in 2015.

“Spontaneous” career shift: Anh, who initially intended to become a car mechanic, shared in a June interview with 50 Best that it was never his plan to be a chef. Calling it a “spontaneous decision,” the 42-year-old noted how his chance encounter with a culinary school in Pasadena, California, after leaving the army led him to abandon his automotive aspirations and pursue a career in fine dining. “I had no idea you could make a living out of it,” he said. “I’d seen the white coat and hat in the movies, but I never thought it could be a career choice.” His unique style, blending Asian cooking with Korean fermented ingredients presented in the classic French haute cuisine tradition, quickly earned him a Michelin star for Mosu San Francisco.
Homecoming chef: Driven by a desire to connect with his heritage and family, Anh relocated Mosu to Seoul in 2017. “Just like I did in the US Army, where I volunteered to go to the war, wanting to do something different — I decided to come here to Korea to try something different,” he told CNN. The move proved successful, with Mosu Seoul achieving the prestigious three-Michelin-star rating in 2022. Anh has also expanded his culinary empire to Hong Kong, opening Mosu Hong Kong at the M+ museum of visual culture. He would gain further recognition as a judge on the hit Netflix cooking competition, “Culinary Class Wars,” where he focuses on the fundamentals but praises deserving contestants. “When I speak my mind, I speak accurately, logically and carefully,” he says of his judging style. “I wasn’t acting, I was just being me.”

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