Netflix recently announced that its smash hit Culinary Class Wars—in which 100 skilled chefs compete for a cash prize of 300 million Korean won (approximately $220,000)—would be returning next year for a second season. That comes as no surprise, as the Korean cooking competition topped the streamer’s Global Top 10 list of non-English shows for three consecutive weeks, becoming the first K-reality show to do so.
Though the first season of Culinary Class Wars ended earlier this month, stories about the show and its cast members continue to crop up online as fans across the globe express ongoing curiosity over what went on behind the scenes.
So if you’re one of those viewers craving more details about this deliciously addictive show, read on for answers to many of your lingering questions about Culinary Class Wars.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead!
Who created Culinary Class Wars?
Culinary Class Wars was created by executive producer Yun Hyun-joon, directors Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji of the Korean production company Studio Slam, and head writer Mo Eun-sol. Yun is also the CEO of Studio Slam and a veteran producer known for creating popular Korean variety shows like Sing Again and Two Yoo Project Sugar Man.
Others who helped produce and direct the show’s first season include Lee Joo-yeon, Joo Mi-rye, Yosep Kim, Yoo Si-won, Lee So-rim and Kim Sol. In addition to Mo, the show’s writing team consisted of Moon Jeong-seon, Kim Seon-ah, Ha Gyeong-jin, Yeoh Chae-min, Park Soo-yeon, Hong Joo-yeon, Lee Soo-bin, Kang Shin-young, Kim Sora, Shin Ji-yeon and Kim Hyo-jin.
Triple Star (real name: Kang Seung-won) in ‘Culinary Class Wars’
Were there any concerns over the idea of dividing contestants into two classes on Culinary Class Wars—the renowned, elite “white spoon” chefs vs. the underdog “black spoon” chefs?
The show’s creators have admitted that there was a lot of concern over the idea of grouping the participating chefs into two classes and pitting them against each other. The production team held meetings for two to three months to flesh out the show’s concept, and much of that time was spent debating whether separating the participants into two classes was appropriate. Some of the writers apparently even wanted to quit over what they considered to be a discriminatory and disrespectful premise.
As executive producer Yun shared in a recent interview with Korean news outlet JoongAng Ilbo, the production team decided to blindfold the two judges during the 1:1 challenges to minimize any potential bias stemming from this white spoon vs. black spoon structure. Contestants also weren’t told in advance that the judges would be blindfolded, lest that knowledge influence the kind of dish they prepared.
Yun stated in the same interview that although it might’ve seemed unfair that the white spoon chefs were referred to by their real names while the black spoon chefs were forced to go by nicknames, this might’ve actually worked in the black spoon chefs’ favor, as nicknames tend to be easier to remember than full names. (Indeed, chances are there are more viewers outside of Korea who remember nicknames like “Cooking Maniac” and “Triple Star” than the names of white spoon chefs like Choi Hyun-seok or Jung Ji-sun.)
There were also concerns that the very concept of black vs. white might come across as racially insensitive overseas, so the words “black and white” were dropped from the show’s international title (note that the Korean title of the show is 흑백요리사: 요리 계급 전쟁, which translates to Black and White Chef: Culinary Class Wars).
(L to R) Paik Jong-won, Anh Sung-jae in ‘Culinary Class Wars’
How were the chefs and judges cast in Culinary Class Wars?
Casting the judges in Culinary Class Wars
Paik Jong-won, a leading chef and restaurateur in Korea who owns over 20 food, beverage and restaurant brands and has hosted various cooking shows, was top of mind for the show’s creators. Director Kim Hak-min even went so far as to say, “We didn’t choose Paik Jong-won; [he] chose us. If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t think we would’ve been able to launch this program.”
As for the second judge, the creators decided on fine dining guru Anh Sung-jae, the head chef and owner of Korea’s only Michelin three-star restaurant Mosu, who could serve as the perfect complement to Paik’s judging approach and mass market expertise.
Casting the competitors in Culinary Class Wars
In an interview with Donga.com, writer Mo Eun-sol shared that recruiting 100 chefs to participate was extremely hard, since the producers couldn’t disclose most of the details about the show—including the fact that contestants would be divided into two teams. Instead, the producers had to convince the chefs largely by reassuring them that appearing on the show wouldn’t hurt their careers.
It wasn’t until the first day of filming that the competitors learned the surprising news that they would be split into two teams. “We were worried that the black spoon team chefs would get upset and walk off the set,” director Kim Hak-min told The Korea Times.
Producers had a particularly difficult time trying to cast some of the white spoon chefs, as appearing on the show as a contestant was perceived as a potential risk to their already established reputation (especially when most—if not all—of them are qualified to judge cooking contests themselves).
Writer Mo revealed that white spoon competitor Choi Hyun-seok—one of Korea’s most prominent chefs—was the hardest person to cast, as he was often hard to reach and even changed his mind midway through the casting process. Choi later explained on Paik Jong-won’s YouTube channel that though he’d initially accepted the casting offer, people around him kept discouraging him from participating. Ultimately, the producers succeeded in persuading him for the second time to join the show.
Chef Choi Hyun-seok
Lu Ching Lai, another white spoon chef who’s a living legend in the world of Korean-Chinese cuisine, also shared on Paik Jong-won’s YouTube channel that he decided to go on the show because he thought his participation might inspire and motivate younger chefs. Indeed, some of the contestants were reported to have accepted their casting offers after learning that Master Chef Lu would appear on the program.
How much were chefs paid to appear on Culinary Class Wars?
White spoon chef Jung Ji-sun recently went on KBS Cool FM’s Park Myung Soo’s Radio Show to talk about her experience on Culinary Class Wars. When host Park asked if her appearance fee was around 1-2 million Korean won (about $720 – $1450) per episode, she answered that it wasn’t even that much. She added that she’d heard appearance fees also varied among the contestants but that they didn’t tell each other how much they were being paid to participate.
What happened to all the leftover food on Culinary Class Wars?
Sadly, multiple cast members have revealed that all the leftover food from the show was thrown away. Neither the contestants nor the production crew were allowed even a morsel of the leftovers for fear that they might have differing opinions about the dishes that had been evaluated by the judges, which could potentially cause conflict on the set.
‘Culinary Class Wars’
What was it like on the set of Culinary Class Wars?
Renowned chef, restaurateur and award-winning author Edward Lee, who finished as the runner-up on Culinary Class Wars, spoke on The Dave Chang Show about his on-set experience. He revealed that he’d had an interpreter on set, but “they would talk for like 15 minutes, and then the translator in my ear would go, ‘You must pick seafood.’ I’m like, ‘I’m sure they said something more than that.’”
Lee, who’s appeared on various American cooking programs including Top Chef, The Mind of a Chef and Iron Chef America (which he won in 2010), also said that the set of Culinary Class Wars was the largest he’d ever seen. “Everywhere you turn, there are PAs running everywhere. There was an army of people behind the scenes,” he said, adding that the crew was “so efficient” and “did a great job.”
Chef Edward Lee
He remarked that Koreans were “more honest” in some ways and “really follow the rules,” sharing a funny anecdote to illustrate his point. Participants were prohibited from taking pictures on set, and the production crew even pasted stickers on the contestants’ phone cameras. Lee said, “I turn to the guy next to me and I go, ‘You can just take the sticker off and take a picture if you want to.’ And he looked at me with this look of absolute disgust and [said], ‘Why would you do that? They asked us not to. Why would you even think that?’ And I feel like that microcosmic story was kind of the whole production and the whole set. Everyone was like, ‘These are the rules, this is how we do it, and we’re gonna follow it.’”
Lee noted that because there were breaks during the production schedule, he had to return to the U.S. a couple of times, which caused him to feel jet-lagged throughout much of the show (viewers might have noticed that at one point during the show, the judges can be heard saying that Lee must be jet-lagged since he flew in from the U.S. the day before).
How much of Culinary Class Wars was scripted? Were the outcomes predetermined?
During a press conference held earlier this month in Seoul, Director Kim Hak-min stated that while the rules of the show were “predetermined,” the “outcomes were not manipulated.” According to Kim, it was a mere coincidence that 11 white spoon chefs and 11 black spoon chefs were left after the “blindfold” round and that the top eight contestants were also split evenly between the white and black teams. Kim even commented that the producers actually wanted the numbers to be distributed less evenly to make it seem more realistic.
The top eight contestants from ‘Culinary Class Wars’
What did Culinary Class Wars winner Napoli Matfia (real name: Kwon Sung-joon) do with his prize money of 300 million Korean won (~$220,000)?
On a recent episode of the popular Korean variety show You Quiz on the Block, Kwon revealed that he didn’t want to see the money for fear it might make him feel less motivated to work hard, so he used it right away to secure a house next to his restaurant. He explained that that way, he wouldn’t have to worry about his commute and could focus on running his business instead.
Napoli Matfia (real name: Kwon Sung-joon), winner of Season 1 of ‘Culinary Class Wars’
How long did it take to film Culinary Class Wars?
Production alone took about three months; prior to that, the pre-production and casting process took about five months. Filming started in January of this year and wrapped up in March, and post-production continued until June.
How much did it cost to produce Culinary Class Wars?
While Netflix hasn’t disclosed the total production costs for the show, those within the Korean TV industry estimate the figure to be around 10 billion Korean won (approximately $7.2 million USD) or less—a fraction of the cost required to make many popular Netflix scripted shows (including some Korean ones these days).
Choi Kang-rok in ‘Culinary Class Wars’
What can viewers expect in Season 2 of Culinary Class Wars?
It seems the show’s creators are hoping to bring back judges Paik and Anh for the second season and are currently in talks with them. Writer Mo widely shared that Gordon Ramsay is No. 1 on their casting wish list for Season 2 and that she’d reached out to Gordon Ramsay Korea as soon as Culinary Class Wars dropped on Netflix. (As a side note, I know no one cares about my personal opinion, but honestly my heart sank upon reading this news, because all his yelling and scolding on Hell’s Kitchen was the main reason I stopped watching cooking shows altogether for many years…until Culinary Class Wars. But then again, I’ve read that he’s mellowed out in recent years, so maybe I’m overreacting here.)
Director Kim Hak-min has said that some of the viewer feedback from Season 1 of Culinary Class Wars will be reflected in the show’s second season. For example, since there was a lot of criticism from viewers after several contestants were forced out of their respective teams for the “Restaurant Mission,” Kim offered reassurance that audiences won’t be seeing a repeat scenario in Season 2.