An award-winning San Francisco chef, who was dismissed following an altercation with a TikTok influencer at his restaurant, stated that the incident has devastated his career and family.
Late last month, Luke Sung was removed from his role as co-owner and chef of the Bay Area wine bar Kis Cafe after reportedly ‘disrespecting’ Karla Marcotte.
Marcotte detailed their exchange on TikTok, claiming she left the restaurant in tears after Sung questioned her presence at the eatery and allegedly belittled her for having only 15,000 followers.
The video garnered over 10 million views, prompting users to inundate the restaurant with negative reviews upon identifying where she had tried to dine.
In response, Kis Cafe announced on Instagram that Sung’s ‘behavior was unacceptable’ and confirmed he was ‘no longer part of the team as a co-owner, a chef, or in any other way’.
Currently, Sung has discussed the situation with The San Francisco Standard, sharing that the TikTok incident has destroyed his career and adversely affected his family, while also expressing remorse.
He said that his business partner, Eric Lin, had organized for Marcotte to appear in the restaurant but didn’t tell him she was coming in until she arrived.
He said: ‘I thought she’d say, “Hey, Mr. Sung, I read about you, and I am so happy to be doing this with you.”
Luke Sung was ousted late last month from Bay Area wine bar Kis Cafe after allegedly ‘disrespecting’ Karla Marcotte
Marcotte posted about their interaction on TikTok, saying she fled the restaurant in tears after saying Sung questioned her appearance at the eatery and disrespected her follower count
‘But she showed up and sat down and didn’t say hi. My high expectation for professionalism has failed me again and again — it just brings disappointment.’
Sung, who was previously nominated for a James Beard Award, said he took it upon himself to search her TikTok page to see what she typically shared.
Sung recalled seeing a cream based spaghetti dish topped with what he described as an ‘overcooked’ steak.
He added: ‘That night, I was running a special with this beautiful coho salmon. I didn’t want to be misrepresented by someone who doesn’t understand the difference between Atlantic salmon and king salmon.
‘So I went over to her and said, “Hi. Somewhere along the line, I think there may have been a mistake. I’m not sure if we have the same audience”.
‘I think I asked her, “Have you looked up Kis Cafe? Do you know my background? Do you know what we’re trying to do?”
‘I think there was a lot of “do you know,” and she was intimidated — which I can understand.’
After this he made a comment about Marcotte doing her research on the restaurant, after mentioning he had watched her TikTok’s he said she felt disrespected.
Sung said he took it upon himself to search her TikTok page to see what she typically shared. An inside shot of the restaurant is seen here
It all started when Karla Marcotte (pictured) posted a TikTok detailing her visit to Kis Cafe. She said she was left ‘shaking’ after being invited to a collaboration with the Bay Area wine bar
Sung added: ‘She said to her husband, who had just arrived, “We’re not going to eat here.” And she left.
‘But before she left, she said, “The restaurant world is really small. There will be consequences.”.’
When asked to clarify by the Standard that she did actually say that, he responded: ‘She said this for sure. One hundred percent.’
It wasn’t until his daughter, who is also an influencer, called him that night after seeing Marcotte’s video that he was aware of what was happening.
When asked if he could have let the whole thing blow over instead of closing the restaurant and quitting, he said: ‘No, because the whole hate army.
‘Our Google rating went to 1.1, with 3,000 negative reviews. I had to protect my children too.’
Days after the TikTok went viral, Kis Cafe said on Instagram that Sung’s ‘behavior was unacceptable’ and said he was ‘no longer part of the team’
Due to the incident the restaurant had to announce its permanent closure
He also said his kids had advised against him from even speaking with the outlet, over fears it would pick up more hate after the family already received thousands of hate comments online.
Sung said: ‘My daughter stayed up all night watching everything go down. She got 20,000 hate comments, and my son, who’s a musician, also got a ton of hate comments.
‘They were traumatized. The next morning at 6:30, my daughter called me and said she responded to Karla, saying she didn’t condone my behavior. She did the right thing.’
According to Yung he and his family will be going to therapy together soon, adding: ‘Everything is broken into pieces. I have to try to pick it up and glue it back together. I have to just let it heal.’
Due to the incident the restaurant had to announce its permanent closure.
