“You're still my winner” — 'Culinary Class Wars’ Edward Lee wins the internet with his endless creative skills and diaspora story

On October 8, 2024, Culinary Class Wars aired its last two episodes on Netflix. The Korean reality cooking show was judged by celebrity chef Paik Jong-won and three Michelin-starred restaurant, Mosu Seoul owner & chef, Ahn Sung-jae. Episode 12 showed finalists, White Spoon chef Edward Lee, and Black Spoon chef Napoli Matfia lock horns to claim the prize of 300 million won ($223,000).

Although Napoli Matfia aka Kwon Sung-jun, won the show's finale, Korean-American celebrity chef, Edward Lee, won viewers' hearts with his humility and creativity. In episode 11, the top 7 semi-finalists had to compete in the "Endless Infinite Cooking Challenge". The contestants had to cook for 4 hours till one player remained to face Napoli Matfia at the finale.

Napoli Matfia won the previous round in episode 10 and directly qualified for the finale. Meanwhile, Edward Lee and the other 6 top chefs battled non-stop. Lee whipped up five unique dishes with tofu that even the judges had never tasted before. Notably, Edward Lee had previously won the Iron Chef America and also cooked at the White House dinner for President Joe Biden.

Viewers found the finale (episode 12) underwhelming because Napoli Matfia had to cook once while Edward Lee competed against him after cooking for almost 4 hours straight. Viewers flooded X, lauding the Korean-American celebrity chef for his creative recipes and resilience. They called Edward Lee their "winner" from Culinary Class Wars.

Furthermore, one fan wrote,

"Chef Edward Lee felt short with that crown but I so much love him for consistently challenging himself w/ the dishes he presented. And i love that each of them has some great stories too. My cool uncle, you're still my winner!"

Netizens praised Edward Lee's culinary skills underscoring his "passionate" and "heartfelt" take on each dish he prepared. They expressed being stunned by his skills in creating 5 new recipes with tofu in a limited time in the finale episodes of Culinary Class Wars.

"The best part of seeing Chef Edward Lee’s cooking is his creativity and how passionate and heartfelt he is while doing it. His reasoning behind why he cooked certain food is always so moving and touching. Makes people appreciate the dishes more." an X user wrote.

"At ep 11 we can see how creative, brilliant and visioner chef edward lee is ! In a rush time like that and only with tofu he can make various dishes to the next level. I think he is the trully winner at the show." another user wrote.

"Personally, Chef Edward Lee in that Endless Cooking Hell was the best ever. He showed like a master with every dish he made. You can see that he's very knowledgeable & innovative." one other user said.

Others also lauded Triple Star aka Scott Kang and said that he should have been in the top 2 finalists, facing off against Edward Lee. Some stated that Napoli Matfia's lamb dish lacked creativity and didn't justify his win in Culinary Class Wars season 1.

"For me chef lee is the winner and yeah triple star deserved to be top 2 it would be better if they just made the 3 of them compete on the final round!! The winner is just meh for me he did not prove anything in that competion except making good pasta." an X user stated.

"Edward Lee should’ve won I felt like he resonated more to the audience, his food has a story," another user added.

"The Finale of #CulinaryClassWar is too underwhelming compared with Ep11. Edward Lee with all his creativity was just defeated by a well-cooked lamb. It’s almost stupid. Hahaha." another user said.

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More about Netflix's popular cooking show Culinary Class Wars

Culinary Class Wars aired its first 7 episodes on September 17, 2024. Episodes 8 to 10 were aired on October 1 and the last two episodes were aired on October 8 on Netflix. The show brought 80 up-and-coming chefs from various walks of life, called the "Black Spoons," and introduced them with a nickname instead of their real identities.

Meanwhile, 20 top celebrity chefs called the "White Spoons" were introduced with their real identities and included Choi Hyun-seok, Edward Lee, Michelin-star chef Fabrizio Ferrari, Hwang Jin-seon, Jang Ho-joon, Jung Ji-sun, Michelin-star Joseph Lidgerwood, Kim Do-yun, Kim Seung-min, Lee Young-suk, veteran Lu Chinglai, Nam Jeong-seok, Oh Se-deuk, Park Joon-woo, and Seonkyoung Longest.

The top 8 semi-finalists of Culinary Class Wars included four White Spoon chefs: Choi Hyun-seok, Edward Lee, Jang Ho-joon, and Jung Ji-sun. It also had four Black Spoon chefs: Napoli Matfia (Kwon Sung-jun), Cooking Maniac (Yoon Nam-no), Triple Star (Scott Kang), and Auntie Omakase #1 (Lee Mi-ryeong).

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Culinary Class Wars has 12 episodes and is available to stream on Netflix.