Netflix has a new, very popular show from South Korea called “Culinary Class Wars.” For the past two weeks, it has been the number one non-English show on Netflix.
The show has 100 chefs competing in a big cooking contest. The chefs are split into two groups: the “white spoons,” who are famous chefs with Michelin stars, and the “black spoons,” who are lesser-known underdogs.
The winner of the show was Kwon Sung-Joon, a black spoon chef known as “Napoli Mafia,” who won 300 million won ($222,000). One of his final opponents was American chef Edward Lee, who owns 610 Magnolia in Kentucky.
The show has created a lot of online buzz, with funny memes and videos related to the show getting millions of views. The restaurants run by chefs from the show are also seeing many more reservations.
The two judges, Ahn Sung-jae, a Michelin-starred chef, and Baek Jong-won, a famous food expert, make the show more exciting with their different opinions.
“Culinary Class Wars” is just one of many popular South Korean reality shows on Netflix, including “Single’s Inferno” and “Physical: 100.” Netflix is also adding more shows like “Zombieverse,” a zombie survival show.
“This show has been great for chefs because the food industry is getting a lot of attention again,” said chef Choi Hyun-seok, who owns the restaurant Choi Dot. He added, “I always try to make new things, and this show has made me feel like I am on the right path.