I can't speak for others but I don't think the shine would bother me in the least. It could possibly even double as a signaling device if it truly is that reflective.
I'm not planning to fight any ninjas or sneak up on a deer armed with only my knife so as long as it doesn't rust, I wouldn't be worried about it.

Then again, I always have been far too clumsy to be tactical.

I have done the condiment treatment with carbon steel but I've never tried it with stainless. With the carbon steel though, I left a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and salt on the blade overnight. It wound up drying and when I cleaned the mixture off in the AM, I found a lot of surface rust. That came off easily enough and underneath was a somewhat case-hardened looking finish. It still had more shine than I liked so I treated it again. Although I never did make anything with that blade, it did wind up having a nice flat patina look.