Chef Son Jong-won, who appeared on the Netflix show "Culinary Class Wars 2," has been promoted to specialist executive at Shinsegae Group.
Shinsegae Group named Son a specialist executive at Josun Hotels & Resorts in its regular executive reshuffle for 2027, announced on the 23rd. Son is the only specialist executive among the 36 newly promoted officers. The specialist executive title recognizes expertise and performance built up in a specific field.
Son currently oversees Itaenic Garden, a Korean fine-dining restaurant at Josun Palace, and L'Amant Secret, a French restaurant at Hotel LESCAPE. After building his career at prominent U.S. restaurants including COI and Quince, he joined L'Amant Secret as executive chef when Hotel LESCAPE opened in 2018. He has also led Itaenic Garden since 2022.
L'Amant Secret and Itaenic Garden first won one Michelin star in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Both retained their one-star ratings in the Michelin Guide Seoul 2026 released this year, marking their sixth and fourth consecutive years of selection. Son has earned the nickname "double-star chef" for holding Michelin stars at Korean and Western restaurants at the same time.
He has recently raised his public profile through appearances on Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars 2" and JTBC's "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator." After "Culinary Class Wars 2" aired, Itaenic Garden and L'Amant Secret ranked first and second in restaurant searches on the booking platform CatchTable.