Kriti Mehrotra
Netflix’s ‘Best Leftovers Ever!’ follows the success of ‘Nailed It!’ to be the latest addition on the streaming platform’s roster of reality food competitions. Unlike its predecessor, though, this series is not about the mistakes; it’s about giving leftover food, something that we all dread at times, a delicious makeover. In each episode, three amateur culinarians compete over two rounds to find ways of bringing existing meals to another level. And to decide who gets to walk away with the $10,000 cash prize, host Jackie Tohn is accompanied by judges David So and Rosemary Shrager. So, let’s find out who they are, shall we?
Who Is David So?
David So is a multi-talented Korean-American whose occupations go way further than the foodie ‘Best Leftovers Ever!’ deemed him to be. The comedian, YouTuber, actor, entrepreneur, and musician has been active in the entertainment industry since the age of 16, having begun his stand-up career in Northern California at that time. Even though David was born in Seoul, South Korea, he was raised in Sacramento, California, where he worked at his parents’ African American beauty supply store. He briefly enrolled at university but eventually dropped out to pursue a career in acting and comedy.
Migrating from a stage to the online platform, David created a YouTube channel where he wrote, produced, and published much of his original content, amassing over 1.44 million subscribers and 310 million views. From there, once his popularity skyrocketed, he got the opportunity to co-produce and star in Justin Chon’s 2017 film ‘Gook’ and have a re-occurring role on the online series ‘Just Kidding News.’ Most importantly, David hosted and wrote Vevo’s first-ever original scripted series called ‘The Comment Show’ and then launched the ‘Genius Brain’ podcast on his channel in early 2019.
Coming to food, David So currently co-hosts ‘Send Foodz,’ a culinary show with fellow YouTuber Tim Chantarangsu, which was picked up by Thrillist shortly after its debut on DeLaGhetto’s channel. Along with that, David is also the owner of two food joints in Los Angeles – Drips & Swirls, a soft-serve ice cream and coffee shop in Koreatown, and Junbi Matcha & Tea, a matcha-centric snack and dessert shop in Smorgasburg. David’s apparel line and personal life, like all other aspects of his life, are going great as well. After all, he’s been engaged to his longtime partner, Mariel Song, since mid-2019.
Who Is Rosemary Shrager?
Rosemary Jacqueline Shrager is a renowned British chef and television presenter, most known for being an haute cuisine teacher on the reality series ‘Ladette to Lady.’ The judge of ‘Soapstar Superchef’ has also made appearances on a number of reality shows, including ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!,’ ‘The Big Family Cooking Showdown,’ ‘Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live,’ and most recently, ‘The Real Marigold on Tour.’ Most prominently, though, in the late 2000s, Rosemary hosted her own cookery series, ‘Rosemary Shrager’s School for Cooks,’ wherein ten contestants battled it out in the kitchen for an opportunity to work in a Michelin star restaurant.
From there, Rosemary’s career only saw an upwards trajectory. She played the part of a strict, no-nonsense headmistress on ‘The Girls of Hedsor Hall’ in 2009, recreated dishes cooked for Queen Victoria on ‘Royal Upstairs Downstairs’ in 2011, became a judge on ‘Chopping Block’ from 2016 to 2017, and wrote a total of eight cookbooks. ‘Castle Cook,’ ‘School for Cooks,’ ‘Yorkshire Breakfast,’ ‘Rosemary Shrager’s Bakes, Cakes & Puddings,’ and ‘Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery Course: 150 Tried & Tested Recipes to be a Better Cook,’ are just a few of them. Therefore, there seems to be nothing that will ever stop this veteran chef from being surrounded by the one thing she loves the most – food.
