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On October 8, the finale episodes of the latest Korean cooking series Culinary Class Wars were released on Netflix, revealing the winner of the season. Despite achieving popularity on Netflix owing to its original concept, the show quickly became embroiled in controversy around alleged result manipulation.
Viewers condemned the show's makers and accused the producers of intentionally ensuring an equal number of candidates from each team progressed through the rounds. On October 7, a press conference was conducted in Seoul featuring the top 8 contestants of the competition, one day before the finale release.
On October 8, The Straits Times reported that the Culinary Class Wars' co-producer Kim Hak-min refuted the allegations of doctoring the outcomes at the press conference. He said:
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“What I found disappointing was when the judges chose two contestants from the black team to advance (after the one-on-one duel challenge between chefs of the two teams in episodes three to five), resulting in an equal 11 to 11 distribution between the black and white teams.”
He further said:
“That moment was particularly regrettable for me. The production team was secretly hoping for a different outcome. That would have felt more real.”
The co-producer went on to say that viewers had been requesting more individual competitions. According to Kim, the finale episodes aired on October 8 represented the ultimate version of the individual matches.
Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars became the first Korean cooking reality show on the OTT platform
The 12-episode series, Culinary Class Wars, became the first Korean cooking show to be made by Netflix. The show premiered on September 17 and quickly ascended to the top of Netflix’s global weekly most-watched non-English series list for two successive weeks.
The show featured 100 participants divided into two teams: the White Spoon of 20 established and recognized chefs and the Black Spoon of 80 lesser-known talents and local restaurant and eatery owners.
The synopsis of the culinary show on Netflix reads:
“From Michelin-star chefs to amateur cooks, 100 contestants don their knives for a culinary war where you won't guess what's coming next — or who'll win.”
The competitors are reduced through a series of elimination challenges evaluated by renowned restaurateur Paik Jong-won and South Korea's sole 3-Michelin-star chef, Ahn Sung-jae.
For the show’s finale, the two finalists, Chef Edward Lee (White Spoon) and Napoli Matfia (Black Spoon), locked horns for the whopping prize money of 300 million KRW (approx $223,000).
Culinary Class Wars garnered considerable attention owing to the curiosity about the esteemed status of White Spoon chefs as they vie against the underdogs.
The participants from both categories have garnered audience interest in sampling delicacies from their dining establishments and eateries. On September 27, The Chosun Daily stated that these restaurants experienced an increase in reservations, resulting in sold-out tables.
Viewers contacted the establishments of both Black and White Spoon chefs, including Choi Kang-rok’s Neo, Triple Star’s TRID, and Chef Oh Jun-tak’s Namyeong Chicken, among others, to taste their cuisine.
