The Korea Times commented that the show “Culinary Class Wars” is creating a new wave, proving that Korean-produced content is being loved by international audiences not only in the field of television dramas but also in the reality TV show genre.
According to statistics from Netflix - the show's streaming platform, "Culinary Class Wars" attracted 4 million views from September 30 to October 6, reaching the top 10 in 18 countries and territories, including No. 1 in regions such as Korea, Hong Kong (China), Singapore...
With this level of popularity, the cooking competition show has become the first Korean Netflix reality show to reach the global No. 1 spot on the Top 10 Non-English TV Shows chart for three consecutive weeks.
“Culinary Class Wars” is a flavor-based culinary battle between 80 “underdog” chefs (black spoons) and 20 star chefs (white spoons) from Korea.
The classification of “black spoon” and “white spoon” chefs seems to be influenced by the ancient classification of the opposition of black and white in East Asian cultures.
Daum commented that the reason “Culinary Class Wars” is so popular is because each episode brings unpredictable results, creating interest among viewers, while Korea Times believes that it is the diverse backgrounds of the chefs that create attractive characters.
Bloomberg asserts that the show's appeal has gone beyond Korea to international audiences and has breathed new life into the Korean restaurant industry, which has been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The show's popularity has spawned online buzz, memes (funny images, clips, gifs) and colorful characters of the chefs from the food wars.
It also revived Korean food businesses that were struggling from the COVID-19 outbreak, leading to a spike in reservations at restaurants run by chefs featured on the show.
Additionally, iconic scenes from the show, like Tiramisu made with ingredients from the convenience store, have attracted millions of views.”
The 12 episodes of “Culinary Class Wars” ended on October 8 with the victory belonging to “Napoli Matfia” Kwon Sung Joon.
According to Korean newspapers, the success of “Culinary Class Wars” promises to open up many new opportunities for competition shows between social media influencers or talk shows about risky business.
