“Afraid j-hope just posted who’s the winner” — Fans react as Culinary Class Wars contestant, Cooking Maniac, makes debut on BTS’ j-hope’s Instagram

On October 2, 2024, BTS rapper Jung Ho-seok, aka j-hope, posted new pictures on Instagram, suggesting that he has been watching Culinary Class Wars. Among the fleet of images, he shared a picture of Cooking Maniac—a contestant from Netflix's Korean cooking show, Culinary Class Wars. The BTS rapper wrote about his upcoming military discharge and said,

"It's October. It's made up of really pretty (even) pictures. I'll see you on deployment day then. Enjoy it"

Cooking Maniac is the nickname given to the contestant in the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars. Per the show's rules, only the Top 9 surviving contestants from the Black Spoon Team can reveal their names. Currently, the show's season 1 is ongoing, and the names haven't been disclosed.

His admirers were surprised to learn he has been watching the popular Netflix cooking reality show. Some BTS fans, aka ARMY, speculated that the rapper must have accidentally posted about the show's winner.

"I am afraid jhope just posted who’s the winner on his ig post. Not that I don’t like the guy, but I’m so invested in this show and I love suspense," one fan wrote on X.

The BTS fandom mentioned how they have been ardent viewers of Culinary Class Wars. They were thrilled to learn that j-hope's favorite contestant is Cooking Maniac, who has earned praises from the show viewers for his "pure-hearted" nature.

"lmao cooking maniac on bts jhope instagram post," one fan wrote.

"Hobi posting Cooking Maniac! Haha the most anxious contestant I've ever seen. Relatable, of course, because who wouldn't look like the could pass out anytime in a contest? So pure hearted this guy." another fan noted.

"OMG! Hobi also watching #CulinaryClassWars. Hobi High Five. wow he posted Chef Maniac from Black Spoon team. Bro he’s so good." one other fan added.

Some emphasized the contestant's background and revealed that Cooking Maniac is a truck driver's kid whose mother has cancer. They talked about how the BTS rapper's post about the contestant would get greater support from fans worldwide.

"hobi has time now to watch series....he is watching culinary class wars, a new show in netflix. The one in the pic, is a truck driver with cancer-stricken mother, who is getting a lot of support frm the go," one fan commented.

"Hobi being an angel once again. He knows that adding his picture will bring attention to him and his story about his sick mother, and most likely increase the support the truck driver is getting," another fan said.

"Hobi’s watching Culinary Class Wars, too!! It’s really good! Black Spoons vs. White Spoons - let’s go, black spoons! I love a good underdog story!" one other fan added.

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More about Netflix's popular reality Korean cooking show, Culinary Class Wars

Culinary Class Wars aired its first episode on Netflix on September 17, 2024. Around 100 culinary chefs were brought in and divided into two teams: the White Spoons and the Black Spoons. For the unversed, the contrast refers to the Korean cultural phrase, where a "black spoon" denotes a beggar, and a "white spoon" represents someone who was born with a golden spoon.

Eighty participants, each a specialist in their cuisine, were awarded the title of Black Spoon per the show's criteria. Twenty renowned and Michelin-starred chefs were selected as the White Spoon chefs. The White Spoon chefs received a free pass to advance to the first round because of their established track records in the culinary sector.

The show's judges include South Korea's celebrity chef, Paik Jong-won, and Ahn Sung-jae, South Korea's only three Michelin-star chef and owner of Mosu Seoul.

Each of the Black Spoon chefs was given a nickname by the show, such as Cooking Maniac, Triple Star, Auntie Omakase #1, Comic Book Chef, Master of School Meals, etc.

Cooking Maniac was a contestant on MasterChef Korea season 4. He runs a popular wine and bar restaurant in Seoul known as Deepin.

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Culinary Class Wars is available on Netflix for global streaming.