The behind-the-scenes story of creating 'Culinary Class Wars'

Chef Kwon Sung-jun, left, known as "Napoli Matfia," and Korean American chef Edward Lee faced off in Netflix’s "Culinary Class Wars" / Captured from social media

By KTimes

• Published Oct 17, 2024 8:24 AM KST
• Updated Oct 17, 2024 8:24 AM KST

For three consecutive weeks (Sept. 16 to Oct. 6), Netflix's cooking competition show "Culinary Class Wars" claimed the top spot in the non-English language series category, making it the longest-running Korean variety show in the rankings. Netflix confirmed Tuesday that a second season is currently in production.

Getting to this point wasn’t easy. Initially, there were concerns about whether the two judges — Paik Jong-won, a veteran in mainstream dining, and Anh Sung-jae, a Michelin three-star fine dining chef — would work well together.

"They’ve lived completely different lives, and when they first met at a grilled intestine restaurant last winter, there was a strange tension in the air," director Kim Eun-ji recalled during an interview in Seoul.

Casting Anh, a relatively young chef with no prior experience on cooking shows, was a gamble. Kim Hak-min, another director, recounted meeting Anh at his restaurant: "He confidently said, 'If I’m judging, who would dare question my judgment?' I thought, 'Is he too overconfident?' But then I realized, 'This is the person.' We cast him on the spot."

The decision to have two judges was made to highlight the discussions that would take place between them.

Class concept throws contestants into chaos

The competition positions 20 “white spoons” (prestigious or awards-winning chefs working in or affiliated with Korea) against 80 “black spoons” (professionals on a smaller scale or from a lesser-known establishment) in a cooking battle for 300 million won ($222,000).

The show featured 100 experienced chefs, with 20 of them, including well-known chefs like Lu Ching Lai and Choi Hyun-seok, assigned to the white spoons.

However, the twist was that these chefs learned about their participation as white spoon chefs only on the first day of filming.

The unexpected division into white and black teams caught many off guard, including the remaining 80 black team chefs.

"We were worried that the black spoon team chefs would get upset and walk off the set," director Kim Hak-min added.

There was also concern about potential racial tension when promoting the show abroad, so the set was designed like a Go (strategy game) board to emphasize competition rather than race. The international version of the show even dropped the "black and white" title.

From emotional support to victory cheers

While the show faced some criticism for unfair play during the restaurant mission in the final rounds, it avoided controversy over its class-based conflict.

Writer Mo Eun-seol said, "The original idea was based on 'unknown chefs,' and we spent two to three months debating whether the black and white spoon structure was appropriate. In the end, the respect between the chefs on both teams was clear, with black spoon chefs admiring the white spoon chefs, and vice versa."

Director Kim Eun-ji noted that the viewers’ responses gave the team confidence: "The idea that respecting achievements earned through hard work is true fairness, which resonated with the audience."

Memorable moments included Anh Sung-jae’s emotional encounter with a former student, and Edward Lee’s triumphant towel throw after winning the endless cooking mission.

As the team gears up for season two, expected to be released in the second half of next year, Kim said, "Now that the black and white theme has been established, contestants in season two will need to clearly show why they belong to either team."

She also revealed that the team hopes to bring in famed British chef Gordon Ramsay as a future guest.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.