▲ "Culinary Class Wars" aired on Netflix (Source: Netflix)

“Culinary Class Wars,” a Netflix entertainment show, is drawing keen attention. Since its first airing on Sept. 17, it has attracted viewers for two consecutive weeks since its release. It is the most popular Netflix original series since The Glory Part 2 aired in 2023.

Culinary Class Wars gives fresh entertainment by introducing a new concept of 'class' to the familiar genre of cooking survival. 100 chefs are divided into 20 'White Spoons' and 80 'Black Spoons' for a fierce and diverse culinary competition. The Black Spoon group is an unknown group of culinary enthusiasts, leading ordinary lives outside of the field. It consists of people from various backgrounds, such as cooking YouTubers and restaurant owners. On the other hand, the White Spoon group consists of famous chefs from various fields such as Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. The concept and direction between unknown challengers and famous chefs, give us expectations and tension that were not felt in existing cooking programs.

Participants each show off their passion and expertise in cooking, completing a variety of missions, ranging from one-on-one competitions between the Black and White Spoon groups, a consolation match, a Black and White Spoon group competition, and a Black and White mixed team competition. The various life stories of the participants, which are illuminated through each episode, are one of the attractive elements of the program. In particular, the Black Spoon group includes people with ordinary jobs, such as school cafeteria cooks, cartoon lovers, and Chinese restaurant delivery workers, to participants who have no kitchen experience. Their spirit of determination and desperation to succeed, coupled with the way they grow and fine tune their skills, have impressed and empathized with viewers, creating a loyal fan base.

The humble attitude and the spirit of a challenge imbued in the challengers, ahead of the match which White Spoon chiefs were showcased, were also impressive. This included Chef Yeo Kyung-rae, who is called the master of Chinese food, Chef Edward Lee, who prepared a White House dinner, and Chef Choi Hyun-seok, who has already become famous for entertainment and broadcasting. The popularity of the program has continued to expand to social media, along with restaurant information in which the chefs of the White Spoon team are actively sharing on YouTube and X. In fact, reviews from people who visited the restaurants are overflowing, making you realize the Culinary Class Wars craze.

The judges' conflicting evaluation styles are also one of the highlights. Baek Jong-won, the food industry mogul and representative of the Black Spoon team, delivers intuitive and honest reviews based on the popular "taste" as the standard for evaluation. On the other hand, Ahn Sung-jae, the owner and head chef of a three-star Michelin restaurant and the representative of the White Spoon team, reveals his professional insight by inquiring and analyzing the intentions of cooking and the degree of intricacy of cooking of the ingredients. The way Baek Jong-won unexpectedly recognizes the ingredients and recipes of the dish, and Ahn Sung-jae gives a sharp evaluation of the completeness of the dish based on a delicate palate, provides viewers with interesting comparison points. The two judges' conflicting evaluation styles add enjoyment and tension to the program, while helping the viewers visualize the dish from various perspectives.

However, the Culinary Class Wars also left some regrets due to the composition in the second half. In particular, some of the cast members suffered from malicious comments because of their lack of teamwork in the Black and White Spoon team match, and they directly complained of defamation on social media. In addition, in the Black-and-White mixed team match, all the participants had already been divided into three teams and even conceived a concept, but there was a scene in which the production team suddenly released a team member one by one and demanded that a new team be formed. With this team reorganization, viewers felt the need to question it and felt uncomfortable about the way the team was formed, as it strayed away from the main concept, rather than focusing on the chef’s skills and cooking.

Despite these limits, Culinary Class Wars is evaluated as having a positive influence on audiences and the culinary industry, even in the competitive format of direct elimination. It has a differentiated charm from other entertainment shows that focus too much on stimulation, by focusing instead on showing authenticity and passion for cooking, rather than highlighting the conflict between chefs. This is significant in that it gives courage to many people who work toward their dreams and suggests that they have an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, regardless of their social background. It is expected that there will be more entertainment shows that depict both enjoyable and positive influences in the future.

By Kim So-ha, reporter  lucky.river16@gmail.com

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