SHINee's Key takes on his first attempt at culinary certification in Western cuisine

AKP STAFF

On the November 29 broadcast of MBC's 'I Live Alone', SHINee's Key took on his first attempt at culinary certification in Western cuisine, administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.

Key was all nerves on this day, confessing that he could not sleep due to the pressure of the upcoming test. He spent all morning practicing prospective menus for the exam, including traditional omelets and canapés. At the exam, Key and the other examinees will be given 2 menu items out of a prospective list of 30 to cook and serve in a limited amount of time.

Changing into a chef's uniform, Key looked the part of a professional as he headed into the exam. However, once the exam ended, Key emerged looked dejected, commenting, "It was way scarier than I thought. It was a war zone."

Key then proceeded to recall his experience, sharing, "First, you hear a long explanation of the exam process before you're led into the exam room. Then, they say, 'You will be given 3 minutes to set up your tools'. When that started, the banging and clanging sounds were crazy. After that, the exam started, and the noises got crazy once again, with people running water, getting out chopping blocks, and all that."

He continued, "There was so much pressure. I would look around and feel like I everyone else was doing it differently, like I was doing something wrong. I couldn't find my own pace at all. It all made me feel unprepared."

Key went on to describe his cooking process, saying, "The shrimp canapé turned out really good. Better than when I made it at home. But the potatoes, I guess because I chopped them too thick, they weren't cooking fast enough. When I only had 10 minutes left. And then I saw that the person in front of me, they had their potatoes cooking on the pot with the lid closed. So I tried it. I tried something I had never done before. And in the end, I burnt it. An examiner kept looking my way, so I thought I would get disqualified. But for some reason, they didn't say anything, even though my station was full of smoke."

Eventually, Key managed to salvage some of the potato soup and served it for judging. However, Key's dishes were ultimately disqualified, because he did not serve over 200 mL of the potato soup.

In the end, Key's first attempt resulted in failure, but the idol nonetheless received applause from his fellow 'I Live Alone' cast members for his valiant effort. Jun Hyun Moo remarked, "If Key failed, it must be a really hard exam," while Code Kunst said, "It would actually be scary if you passed on the first try."

Watch Key practicing for his culinary certification exam, below!