A chef was fired from his job after telling an influencer she wasn’t famous enough to be given free food.
San Francisco based chef, Luke Sung, was exposed last week as the chef at Kis Cafe who refused the ‘micro influencer’ @itskarlabb for not having enough followers.
Sung was sacked and to make matters even worse, the business has since closed down due to the online backlash.
Karla Marcotte posted on her TikTok that she was left “shaking” after she was invited to the wine bar for a collaboration.
She had attended expecting a free meal for her and her husband if she posted about her experience to her 15,000 followers.
When she arrived however, Sung was confused as to why she was there.
Her video, which at the time of writing now has over 2 million views, shows her leaving the restaurant in tears. She explained that she was ‘really excited for’ the event.
She had shown up for her reservation alone with plans to meet her husband later. She spoke to the host and then proceeded to film around the restaurant, getting her content.
When she took her seat however, she heard Sung talking to the host and allegedly bad mouthing her following count.
‘He is not having it,’ Marcotte said.
‘This is Kis Cafe in Hayes Valley SF. The owner is Luke Sung. He also founded the restaurant Isa. Both restaurants named after his influencer kids, Isa Sung and Sunkis,’ a TikToker commented on Marcotte’s post.
She claimed she introduced herself to the chef who said she didn’t have enough of a following and that her audience were not the kind of clients they were looking for, which the influencer thought he meant her followers couldn’t afford to eat at his restaurant.
Sung then went on to claim his own daughter had a higher following count and that she was not ‘at that level.’
Her husband then arrived and they left without dining there.
She then posted the story to her page, without naming the business or the chef. However, of course this didn’t last long and the internet managed to work out who it was she was talking about.
Since her video went viral, the restaurants Yelp and Google Reviews were overwhelmed with one-star ratings. Even celebrities have commented their support on her video. Alex Cooper, podcast host of Call Her Daddy wrote: ‘I’m so sorry queen. He spoke it into existence tho! We your audience will never ever be dining at Kis Cafe,”.
Actress Jameela Jamil also wrote: ‘Love how badly this has gone for them,’.
Since, Sung has shared a statement apologizing for his actions: ‘Hi everyone – I am Luke Sung (previous chef of Kis Cafe).
‘It was important for me to first apologize to Karla privately and step away from Kis Cafe before publicly apologizing.’
‘Karla – I am truly sorry for my actions towards you. I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to be made feel less then or unimportant,’ he wrote.
‘I also want to be clear the responsibility of this whole situation is mine alone and my behavior should not be a reflection on anyone else who works there, or anyone who is related to me,’ Sung wrote. ‘I truly care about my staff and am devastated that my actions have impacted both them and their families.’
On Saturday, the restaurant announced that ‘it had been ‘a pleasure serving our neighbors and community,’ but that ‘tonight is our last night.’
The business has been permanently closed.