San Francisco’s culinary scene is no stranger to controversy, but few recent incidents have stirred as much debate as the clash between acclaimed chef Luke Sung and TikTok micro-influencer Karla Marcotte.
What began as a seemingly ordinary collaboration quickly escalated into a viral uproar that Sung now says has ‘destroyed’ his career and plunged his family into emotional turmoil. But who exactly is Karla Marcotte – and was her version of events entirely accurate?
About Micro Influencer Karla Marcotte
Marcotte, known to her followers as @itskarlabb, bills herself as a ‘micro-influencer’ who creates food and dining content. With more than 475,000 followers – a figure that has risen significantly since the scandal exploded – Marcotte says she aims to advocate for smaller creators who often feel sidelined by high-profile brands and chefs. Her approach centres on informal, highly visual reviews of restaurants and dishes, often featuring popular comfort foods and TikTok-friendly recipes.
Everything changed in late August, when Marcotte uploaded a video claiming she had been belittled and dismissed by Sung during a scheduled visit to Kis Cafe, the Hayes Valley wine bar and restaurant he co-owned.
According to her, the chef questioned her credentials, mocked her follower count and made her feel unwelcome before she ultimately left the venue. The clip quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of views, sparking a wave of online criticism against Sung and the restaurant.
@itskarlabb its a long video and not something i would normally upload but i feel like i had to talk about this experience. i basically ran out of there but i wish i would’ve stood up for myself. if you are a micro influencer i know it’s easy to feel discouraged at times but don’t let anyone make you feel small or unimportant!!
♬ original sound – itskarlabb
Sung Pushes Back
However, Sung – a veteran chef with more than 30 years in the industry and a James Beard Award to his name – has now pushed back against that narrative. Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, he claims the exchange was misrepresented and regrets that it spiralled into what he describes as an unfair and deeply damaging “character assassination”.
According to Sung, the visit was poorly communicated by his business partner, who failed to tell him about Marcotte’s arrival until the last minute. ‘I didn’t know anything about her,’ he told the San Francisco Standard. ‘I thought she’d say, “Hey, Mr Sung, I read about you and I’m excited to be working with you.” But she sat down and didn’t even say hello.’
Hoping to get a sense of Marcotte’s style, Sung says he briefly looked at her TikTok feed and immediately worried that her content did not align with the restaurant’s philosophy. ‘Right away I saw creamy spaghetti in a pan with sliced, overcooked steak,’ he recalled. ‘That night, I was running a special with a beautiful coho salmon. I didn’t want the restaurant misrepresented by someone who couldn’t tell the difference between Atlantic salmon and king salmon.’
The atmosphere reportedly deteriorated when Marcotte referred to Kis Cafe primarily as a ‘wine bar’ – a comment Sung says prompted him to advise her to ‘do a bit of research.’ He believes that moment may have been taken the wrong way. Marcotte then left, warning him that “the restaurant world is very small” and that there would be consequences.
Those consequences came quickly. Overnight, Kis Cafe’s Yelp page was flooded with thousands of one-star reviews. The restaurant issued a public statement describing Sung’s conduct as ‘unacceptable’, and announced that he was no longer part of the team. Sung insists that he resigned of his own accord.
What he did not expect was just how far the backlash would reach. ‘My daughter stayed up all night watching everything happen. She got 20,000 hate comments. My son got a ton too. They were traumatised,’ Sung said, noting that the family is now planning to begin therapy. ‘Everything is broken into pieces and I have to glue it back together.’
For Marcotte, the viral incident appears to have boosted her online reach and given her a platform to promote the importance of respecting smaller creators. ‘You don’t need a million followers to make a difference,’ she has said. As of publication, she has not responded to Sung’s version of events.
The question of who was ‘in the right’ is likely to divide readers, but Sung’s story raises a broader debate: in a world where online reviews and short-form videos can make or break a business overnight, should content creators be held to the same standards of professionalism as the businesses they critique?
For Sung, the answer is obvious. ‘Why would a young chef learn how to cook today,’ he asked, ‘if someone with no experience can show up and shut your business down without even listening to you?’
