A well-known chef in San Francisco has been fired after he reportedly made an influencer cry by telling her she wasn’t famous enough for free food.

The drama unfolded at Kis Cafe, a new Bay Area wine bar that had invited TikTok food creator @itskarlabb – real name Karla – for a promotional collaboration.

The arrangement was that Karla and her husband would get a free meal in exchange for a video review shared with her followers.

But when Karla arrived early to film, she said the experience quickly turned sour after she overheard a man – later identified as chef and co-owner Luke Sung – allegedly questioning why someone with her follower count had been invited at all.

“He was saying I had too little followers,” she claimed in her video. “I am turning red because I am so embarrassed, and I feel really disrespected.”

At the time of the incident, Karla had 15,000 followers – though this has since grown to 382,000 at the time of writing.

Despite being invited, Karla claimed Sung berated the host for organizing the partnership and then pulled up her social media profiles, playing her videos out loud and critiquing her content.

“After scrolling like, two times, he says to me that he doesn’t think my videos are at the level which he wants his restaurant represented,” she recalled.

Worse still, she claimed Sung insinuated her fanbase wouldn’t be able to afford to eat there, telling her, “Do you know who I am?” and touting his two-time James Beard Award finalist status.

Karla said he also mentioned his daughter is popular NYC TikToker Isa Sung, who has 600,000 followers.

Feeling humiliated, Karla left the restaurant in tears. “At this point, I’m crying,” she said. “So, I tell him that I’m no longer interested in doing the collab, and that I felt disrespected… and he tells me that he was offended because I didn’t introduce myself to him.”

Karla didn’t name the chef or restaurant in her post, but internet sleuths quickly identified the spot and turned up the heat.

Isa Sung has since issued a video supporting Karla and condemning her father’s behavior.

What followed was a storm of negative Yelp reviews and online outrage, eventually leading Kis Cafe to close temporarily and announce that Sung was no longer involved.

“He is no longer part of the team as a co-owner, a chef, or in any other way,” the restaurant said in a statement on Instagram. “That behavior does not reflect the remainder of our team. We want to create a space that’s welcoming and respectful to everyone. In this instance, we failed to do so.”

The unnamed co-owner confirmed to NBC Bay Area that Kis Cafe had shut its doors to “restructure after these events,” adding: “When we’re ready, we will restart differently, separate from chef. This way my staff can also continue their livelihoods.”

The restaurant pleaded with the public not to weaponize the controversy, saying: “We understand the frustration and anger, but please do not use this lapse in our values as an opportunity to foment racism and hate speech towards us and our loved ones.”

Sung has since apologized for his behavior, in a statement posted to the Kis Cafe Instagram page, he apologized to Karla personally stating he was “condescending, hurtful, and intimidating.”

He continued: “I thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson in kindness and respect. There are no excuses to be made, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to step away from Kis Cafe permanently.”

He later apologized to his daughter for having to be the one that “[owned] up to [his] mistake.”

It is unclear when Kis Cafe will reopen.