Kyochon Chicken crowns Yongin 2nd branch Grand Master in first national cooking competition

Kyochon F&B held the inaugural "Kyochon Cooking Masters" competition on 27 September at the Osan Mokgye‑Yangdo Hall in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The event invited franchise owners and staff with at least one year of cooking experience. After preliminary rounds from 6 to 17 September, six finalists prepared the brand’s three signature sauces – soy, red and honey – under the supervision of the Kyochon R&D centre and senior executives, who judged adherence to standard recipes, taste, aroma and presentation.

The top prize, the Grand Master award, was won by the Yongin 2nd branch, represented by Kim Woo‑cheol, who said he fell in love with Kyochon’s flavor and has strived for ten years to deliver that taste to customers. The second‑place Master award went to the Gyeongnam Yulha branch, whose Vietnamese‑born chef Nguyen Tan Nhiem noted his eight‑year journey with the brand. A total prize pool of roughly 13 million KRW was distributed among the winners, and the awardees received plaques designating them as "Cooking Quality Excellent Franchise" locations.

Kyochon announced plans to use the competition to identify top culinary talent and to standardise cooking quality across its nationwide franchise network, with the aim of ensuring customers receive the same taste at any Kyochon outlet.