AMUSE BOUCHE- YUL KWON

By Sara Faith Alterman

Yul Kwon has eaten some pretty bizarre stuff. And who could blame him? The winner of "Survivor: Cook Islands" had to go primal to beat his tribal opponents, besting them and the wilderness by employing a combination of creativity, skill, and…cartoons? We sat down with the California native (the son of South Korean parents) and self-described "culinary baboon" to get a taste of what it's like to be hungry for a win.

NAC: Obviously, we're dying to know what you ate during "Survivor"! KWON:  Our basic staple food was coconuts. It's amazing how many ways you can prepare them if you're desperate! I actually liked coconuts before I went on the island, and now I can't stand them. There were some chickens on the island--though I don’t know if there are wild chickens, so I think they were planted!  I got pretty handy at catching them, because as a kid I always watched cartoons, and they would catch animals using a box and a rope.  So, I tried that with the chickens, and it worked!  When I got home, I told my mother that all of that cartoon watching paid off. NAC: What was the first thing you ate when you got off the island? KWON:  I was at the airport on the way home, and I saw a vending machine. There was a bag of M and Ms in there, and I don't know what happened, but my stomach was going crazy and I started salivating.  The vending machine only took New Zealand coins, but I didn't have any, so I was basically staring and salivating!  The crew must have felt bad for me, because they took up a collection so I could buy them.  I was so happy.

NAC: How did the experience effect your body's metabolism? KWON: I lost about 15 pounds, and just looking at my body was really bizarre.  Once I got back home, I had an insatiable appetite; constantly eating. I gained it back in about a week and then went overboard and gained another 15 pounds. I fee like now I can empathize with what a lot of women go through.  My female friends go through fluctuating weight patterns, face societal pressures, watch what they eat.  Before, I was never conscious of how I looked or what I ate, but now I think I'm hyper aware of it.   When you're on TV and you're not eating, you look ripped.  I feel like I'm now being held to this standard that's unattainable or unusual.  I don't think I've ever been so conscious of how I look.  It's been an interesting experience. NAC: You've been traveling all over the place for speaking engagements and appearances.  What do you like to do to relax? KWON: When I was younger, leaving home to go to college, all I wanted to do was go out, see the world, meet interesting people and travel.  Now all I want to do is come home turn off my cell phone and see all the things I missed on my Tivo!  All I want to do is just hunker down, watch TV, reconnect with friends and family. NAC: Meals can be important bonding tools. What's on your favorite summertime menu? KWON: My favorite summer food is Korean barbecue. I found that I missed Korean foods [while on the island].  I'm really looking forward to filling up this summer at my parents' house. NAC: Do you cook? What influences your cooking? KWON: My cooking skills are sadly pretty much limited to making cereal, burning toast, inadvertently making scrambled eggs. The whole "Survivor" experience expanded my culinary repertoire.  The thing about me is that I have very simple taste in food and in life.  If I find something that's very basic and simple and clean, that's typically what I enjoy.  I can appreciate variety in food, but I don't need it like some people do. NAC: What else did you learn about yourself from your "Survivor" experience? KWON: I came back with an appreciation for things that I've often taken for granted before.  If you're hungry, you'll eat anything!  Anything that's nutritious, even things that you don't think you'd ever crave.  Anything that provides the body with nutrition in a survival environment is delicious! I also learned to be more grateful for everything from food hygiene to the more meaningful things like family and friends. I don't think I had ever experienced such moments of pure joy as eating food for the first time after leaving the island. When you've been so deprived of food--I can't even describe the experience.  It's the absolute purest form of joy you could imagine, when you've been deprived of things you don't realize you appreciated, and then you have access to them.