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A luxurious lager? Stella Artois, 'Culinary Class Wars' team up for testing menu.

Published: 03 Feb. 2026, 18:54 Updated: 03 Feb. 2026, 19:17

CHO YONG-JUN
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Chefs Lee Jun and Lee Chan-yang, better known by his nickname “Rebellious Genius,” prepare sorbets made out of Buddha's hand and citrus on Feb. 3 at the Stella Artois event in southern Seoul. [STELLA ARTOIS]

Watching the second season of the Netflix show “Culinary Class Wars” (2024-), one might wonder: What would these gourmet and creative dishes taste like with an alcoholic beverage on the side? One big name in the industry strove to answer that question, but not with French wine, Champagne or whisky, but with a lager — the classic Stella Artois.

AB InBev, the Belgium-based beverage and brewing company, invited chefs Lee Jun and Lee Chan-yang, better known by his nickname “Rebellious Genius,” on Tuesday to serve up a fine dining lunch at the Chavit, one of the three Some Sevit artificial floating islands in the Han River. Chef Lee Jun is the owner of the two-Michelin-star Soigné and the pasta restaurant Doughroom, while Lee, who previously worked at Soigné, is the head chef of Original Numbers.

The special event had the pair re-enact their battle in the show using quail, but with a new mission premise: create a fine dining dish that pairs well with Stella Artois.

This somewhat bizarre event was created as a collaboration between the beer company and Netflix, which began as a brand partnership in September last year. The Belgian beer giant said the journey to “push the limits of taste” as seen in the Netflix show resonated with how the company creates its lagers — and it wanted to show that beer can pair well with high-end food.

From left, Chefs Lee Jun and Lee Chan-yang, better known by his nickname “Rebellious Genius,” pose with a cup of Stella Artois lager on Feb. 3 at the Stella Artois event in southern Seoul. [CHO YONG-JUN]

A total of 20 fans of the show, influencers and reporters were invited to the experience on Tuesday, along with chefs Jung Ho-yeong, Kwon Sung-jun — also known as Napoli Matpia — Park Eun-yeong and actor Ryu Soo-young.

Chef Lee Jun presented nurungji (scorched rice), leek and cheese, oxtail and pecans and a secret dish, with garlic-scented quail breast roulade and seasoned quail leg grill, which appeared in the TV series, serving as the star of Tuesday's show. Chef Lee Chan-yang made chicken liver mousse, radicchio rosso di tardivo, cavatelli and potato and a secret dish, with his quail dish as the main.

The two chefs completed the lunch with a sorbet made from Buddha’s hand and citrus.

Obviously, being a Stella Artois-designed event, its draft beer was served from the very beginning, with bartender Jo Young-joon demonstrating what a “Perfect Serve” is for the lager. Jo represented Korea at the 2025 Perfect Serve Awards held by the beer company, coming out the winner.

A participant tries chef Lee Jun's cheese, oxtail and pecans and chef Lee Chan-yang's cavatelli and potato on Feb. 3 at the Stella Artois event in southern Seoul. [STELLA ARTOIS]

“Unless you use beer just to make somaek [beer and soju], or to simply drink on a hot day, Stella Artois is best enjoyed if you actually get to taste the feel of the beer in your mouth,” Park Ri-na, director of InBev’s high-end brands, told the Korea JoongAng Daily, “So while it might not be a common pair at fine dining events, you can very much pair our beers with [more luxurious] dishes.”

And surprisingly enough, it did pair well. Many of the dishes served at the session, while looking and tasting like perfectly well-cooked Michelin-quality plates, felt almost like snacks served with beer, if the bar was exquisitely luxurious. At every step of the course, a sip of the lager felt refreshing and enjoyable.

But unlike in fine-dining sessions, which often pair different types of wine and champagnes depending on the menu, the same beer was served throughout the course menu, with the lager the only refill available — a deliberate choice as the company didn’t want the functionality of the beer to mimic wine.

“We just want you to think that Stella can be a choice when you eat something special.”

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]