While some may sour on the idea of celebrities getting richer, you gotta be sweet on the fact that a celebrity chef just won a million bucks and plans on giving it all away.
Before you say that is a half-baked idea, you need to know that famous chef is David Chang, the founder of the Momofuku Restaurant Group who has a series on Netflix called “Ugly Delicious.” He was a contestant on the celeb edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” playing for the Southern Smoke Foundation, a crisis-relief organization for people in the food and beverage industry.
When it came to the final question, he decided to risk half the pot ($500,000) and go for the million bucks. The topic in question was U.S. history and asked the guy who cooks for a living who was the first president to have electricity in the White House?
The choices were A) Ulysses S. Grant, B) Benjamin Harrison, C) Chester A. Arthur, or D) Andrew Johnson.
This was the point in the game when the chef dropped back and punted by “phoning a friend” who just happened to be ESPN host, Mina Kimes.
Kimes, a Yale grad, somehow knew the correct answer (which was Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States). Duh. ?
When Chang won the million, he got emotional while talking about the suffering restaurant industry. “I’m doing this because having a million dollars right now, at this moment, is a game-changer for many families,” he said on the show, which is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
“As much as I want to walk away, and the embarrassment I would have for the rest of my life for getting it wrong, it would mean more to me to get this right to put a spotlight on the industry in need,” Chang said. “And, at this point, the way things are—things are pretty bad. I never imagined I’d be in this position. And I’ve always told myself I’m going for the million bucks.”
Taking the risk worked, and he scored a big payday for people in his industry.
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