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Culinary Class Wars — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Round 1: Black Spoon Elimination Challenge

In the first round, the 80 Black Spoons were given 100 minutes to cook a personal signature dish.

One of the judges would taste the dish, and then decide if the contestant would move on to the next round, or if they were eliminated on the spot. Contestants could also be deferred if the judge tasting their dish was unsure if they should progress to the next round, and allowed for the other judge to weigh in with a second opinion.

For this round, 20 Black Spoon chefs were chosen to advance to the next round, to match the number of White Spoon chefs. As fewer than 20 contestants had received passes to continue to the next round at the end of the cooking time, the judges chose from the deferred contestants to fill the remaining places. The 20 White Spoons were given a bye and automatically advanced to the second round.

The 20 survivors of this round and their signature dishes were as follows. The final four required a second opinion.

Goddess of Chinese Cuisine – Dongpo snowflower dumplings (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Hidden Genius – Spaghetti aglio e olio (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Genius Restaurateur – Tongyeong-style bibimbap + dried pollock-skin sundae (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Side Dish Chef – mixed-grain rice, seaweed soup with Perilla seed powder, braised Japanese Spanish mackerel, 3 kinds of seasoned vegetables (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Yeong Chicken – assorted chicken dishes (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

God of Seasoning – Golden ratio Mapo tofu (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

One Two Three – Bonghwa duck with Korean blackberry (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Triple Star – Lobster with pepper sauce + Lobster Kinilaw (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Auntie Omakase #1 – Assorted home-cooked meals (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Self-Made Chef – Eight Treasure meatball (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Comic Book Chef – Dongpo pork from Oishinbo + Crab Spring Roll from Iron Wok Jan (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Meat Master – Galb uignon (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Celebrities' Chef – Vegetarian Sashimi + vegetarian Futomaki (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Seung-woo's Dad – Sous vide chicken breast + winter watermelon salad (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Yakitori King – Korean chicken yakitori with various cuts (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Kitchen Boss – Braised octopus + lemon cheese pasta (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Napoli Matfia – Naples fresh pasta with 3 kinds of potato purée (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Cooking Maniac – Cod milt with curry butter sauce, fried fish with asparagus, brocoli and saffron veloute sauce (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Chef Spark – seafood fresh pasta (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Master of School Meals – Boiled pork and Ssamjang, Gochujang-fried anchovies, Yukgaejang, kimchi, lettuce wraps (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Round 4: Black and White Mixed Team Match: Restaurant Mission

For the fourth round, the contestants divided themselves into three teams of five, regardless of class. The head chefs for each team were predetermined by a survey where contestants voted on three others whom they believe are most likely to win the competition. The first place contestant (with eleven votes) was Black Spoon's Triple Star, followed by White Spoon's Choi Hyun-seok and White Spoon's Edward Lee. After all teams were decided, the restaurant mission was announced. Each team has 24 hours to create their own restaurant from the ground up, including its concept, menu items and pricing, and shopping and preparing the ingredients. After the 24 hours, all restaurants will open simultaneously to customers for 2 hours and 30 minutes. For the restaurant with the most sales, all of their members will advance to the Semifinal, while for the restaurant with the lowest sales, all of their members will be eliminated. Only eight contestants will survive based on restaurant sales and judges' evaluations.

At the six-hour mark, it was announced that each team must dismiss one member whom they believe will be least helpful in the round. Contestants could also volunteer to dismiss themselves. The three dismissed contestants would form a fourth team that must design a new restaurant to compete against the opposing teams. The dismissed contestants were Black Spoon's Self-Made Chef (from Triple Star's team), White Spoon's Ahn You-seong (from Choi Hyun-seok's team), and Black Spoon's Comic Book Chef (from Edward Lee's team). At the end of the 24 hours, the customers were revealed to be twenty mukbang creators. Each customer was given one million won to order as many dishes as they want during the allotted business hours.

Color key

First place team, all members advance to the semifinal

Contestant advanced to the semifinal via judges' evaluations

Contestant was eliminated

Names in bold denote Head Chef.

Among the second and third-place teams, the judges picked four more contestants to advance to the semifinal.

Jung Ji-sun – Her Mala Cream Shrimp Dim sum was the best-selling dish (with 39 orders), and she was the first contestant to observe the customers' reactions by checking the leftovers.

Triple Star - He was commended for his strong leadership throughout the round.

Napoli Matfia - He was commended for his ability to keep the restaurant running smoothly.

Edward Lee - He was commended for his communication with customers and adapting his dishes throughout the round.

Round 1: Black Spoon Elimination Challenge

The first challenge was similar to last season's opening challenge, with the Black Spoons cooking their signature dishes within 100 minutes to impress at least one of the judges to progress to the next phase, and the White Spoons receiving a bye to progress to the next round.

This time, only 18 White Spoon chefs were introduced at the start of the season. Before the challenge began, two additional chefs joined the cooking as "Hidden White Spoons" - Michelin-starred chef Kim Do-yun, and MasterChef Korea winner Choi Kang-rok. Both were White Spoons from Season 1, and had been eliminated in the previous season. They were given a chance to be reinstated as White Spoons, with the caveat that both judges needed to approve of their dish. If a "Hidden White Spoon" managed to reinstate themselves, the number of Black Spoon Chefs that would be allowed to advance would increase. Choi received approval from both judges for his braised eel and vegetables, while Kim only received one yes from judge Paik, eliminating him from the competition.

Because Choi successfully reinstated himself, the number of Black Spoon Chefs allowed to progress to Round 2 was raised to 19.

The top 19 Black Spoon Chefs and their dishes are as follows, with the final five being chosen from deferred chefs.

Brewmaster Yun – "Brewmaster's Set Meal" with home-distilled soju (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Dweji-Gomtang in New York – Signature dweji-gomtang (pork dish with soup and rice) (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Seoul Mother – Seoul-style set meal with neobiani beef, beef brisket and radish soup, and cold vegetable salad (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Loner In a Hole In a Wall – "Modern Korean Juansang" with beef and truffle tteokgalbi skewers and mackerel bibimbap (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Little Tiger – "A Humble Drink and Mountain Vegetables" - vegetable juansang with mugwort and tofu mix, seasoned daylily, and coastal hog fennel and blue crab salad (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

French Papa – Bouillabaisse (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Culinary Monster – Spring vegetable porridge with truffles (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Witch With a Wok – Chinese-Korean "Happy Family" Stir-fry (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Barbecue Lab Director – Signature barbecued beef rib (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Iron Arms – Soba noodles with chicken broth tsuyu (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Annyeong Bonjour – Poached lobster with kimchi bisque (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Perfect Match – Lobster salad with "lobster shell" tuile (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Boss In the Kitchen – Shrimp porridge with spring greens (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Banchan Wizard – Banchan set meal with grilled dried pollock with glutinous rice (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Rebellious Genius – Rabbit and prosciutto roulade with rabbit liver sauce (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Three Star Killer – Squid ink risotto with fried calamari (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Knife Omakase – "Four-Course Knife Omakase" set with Chinese yam somyeon, cucumber and plum daikon maki roll, and grilled blackthroat sea perch (Judged by Anh Sung Jae)

Fan Master – Unagi-don (grilled eel with rice) (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Trendsetter – Rolled lasagna (Judged by Paik Jong Won)

Round 3: Black vs. White Team Match: All-or-Nothing

In the third round, the White Spoons and the Black Spoons divided themselves into three teams, where the White Spoon team in one match competed against the respective Black Spoon team. All contestants were required to participate in at least one match and can also appear in multiple matches. Contestants that did not participate in a match were allowed to observe the cooking process and advise their team. Each match required the teams to utilize one ingredient from the "Wheel of Land" and one ingredient from the "Wheel of Sea" to create a dish that highlights both ingredients. They must also prepare and serve their dish to a large panel of audience members within an allotted time frame. After each match, the teams would earn points based on the total votes they receive which would be combined into a final score at the end of the round. For the winning team with the most points, all contestants would advance to the next round while for the losing team, all contestants would be subjected to elimination.

The first match was a 7 vs. 7 match and the judges selected the ingredients: squid from the "Wheel of Sea" (selected by Paik Jong-won) and chamoe from the "Wheel of Land" (selected by Anh Sung-jae). Both teams had 150 minutes to prepare and serve their dish to a panel of 100 audience members, including the two judges. Each vote was worth 1 point.

Color key

Winning Team

Losing Team

Team Captain

Both Paik Jong-won and Ahn Sung-jae voted for the Black Spoon's dish this match.

The second match was a 5 vs. 5 match and the teams selected the ingredients: chicken from the "Wheel of Land" (selected by the White Spoons) and pollock roe from the "Wheel of Sea" (selected by the Black Spoons). Both teams had 120 minutes to prepare and serve their dish to a panel of 50 audience members, this time consisting of 25 members that initially voted for the White Spoon's dish and 25 members that initially voted for the Black Spoon's dish, including the two judges. Each vote was worth 2 points.

Color key

Winning Team

Losing Team

Team Captain

Paik Jong-won voted for the Black Spoon's dish and Ahn Sung-jae voted for the White Spoon's dish this match.

The third match was a 3 vs. 3 ace match with the three best contestants from each team competing and the teams selecting the ingredients: wooreok from the "Wheel of Sea" (selected by the White Spoons) and veal bone-in sirloin from the "Wheel of Land" (selected by the Black Spoons). The teams were also required to incorporate a hidden ingredient in their dish: tofu. Both teams had 60 minutes to prepare and serve their dish to a panel of 10 audience members, including the two judges and eight former contestants from the first season: White Spoons Choi Hyun-seok, Edward Lee, Jang Ho-joon, Jung Ji-sun, and Lu Chinglai, and Black Spoons Auntie Omakase #1, Cooking Maniac, and Napoli Matfia. Each vote was worth 10 points.

Color key

Winning Team

Losing Team

Team Captain

The White Spoons received four votes from Edward Lee, Lu Chinglai, Auntie Omakase #1, and Napoli Matfia.

The Black Spoons received six votes from Paik Jong-won, Ahn Sung-jae, Choi Hyun-seok, Jang Ho-joon, Jung Ji-sun, and Cooking Maniac.

The final score was 158 (White Spoons) to 142 (Black Spoons), with the White Spoons winning the Black vs. White Team Match, while the Black Spoons were eliminated.

Exclusively for the team that lost the third round. The Black Spoons had 60 minutes to prepare a dish highlighting a main ingredient of their choice and could only use up to ten additional ingredients, including seasonings, to support their dish. The judges sampled each dish in the order they were completed. After all dishes were sampled, the judges selected two contestants to advance to Round 4.

Color key

Contestant was selected to advance to Round 4

Contestant was eliminated

[1] Rebellious Genius' main ingredient was kept hidden under his request until after his dish was evaluated. When the contestants opened their boxes to reveal their main ingredient, his box was empty.

Round 4: Black and White Alliance Match

In the fourth round, the contestants formed teams of two to create a dish together. As the winners of the Consolation Round, Black Spoons Brewmaster Yun and Culinary Monster were given first priority in choosing their teammate, then the remaining contestants formed teams among themselves. Teams had 120 minutes to prepare a dish showcasing their synergy. The judges sampled each dish in the order they were completed and then sent each team to either the "survival candidate" pool to be considered for the semifinal round or the "elimination candidate" pool to be considered for elimination. After all dishes were sampled, the judges picked one team to advance to the semifinal round and one team to be eliminated from the competition.

Only seven contestants advanced to the semifinal round: the winning team from the Black and White Alliance Match and five contestants from the 1 vs. 1 Duel.

Color key

"Survival candidate" team that was selected to advance to the semifinal round

Team was sent to the "survival candidate" pool, but was not selected to advance

Team was sent to the "elimination candidate" pool, but was not eliminated

"Elimination candidate" team that was eliminated

From the remaining five teams, each contestant cooked head to head in one-on-one duels, to determine who would progress to the next round. Contestants had 100 minutes to cook a dish using only the ingredients they brought for the Black and White Alliance Match. The judges would then vote on the winning dish, with the winning contestant advancing to the next round and the losing contestant being eliminated. If the dishes were tied, the judges would then deliberate further on which dish had the edge, before choosing a winner.

Color key

Contestant won their match and advanced to the semifinal

Contestant lost their match and was eliminated

[1] Paik Jong-won voted for Jung Ho-young's dish and Ahn Sung-jae voted for Sam Kim's dish.

[2] Paik Jong-won voted for Choi Kang-rok's dish and Ahn Sung-jae voted for Kim Sung-woon's dish.

[3] Paik Jong-won voted for Son Jong-won's dish and Ahn Sung-jae voted for Culinary Monster's dish.

Impact

According to Good Data Corporation, Culinary Class Wars consistently ranked first in integrated TV-OTT non-drama topicality for seven weeks, beginning in the third week of September 2024 and extending through the fourth week of October. It briefly fell to second place in the fifth week before regaining the top position in the first week of November. While its overall rank decreased to fourth in the second week of November, it remained the top-ranked non-drama program. The show's cast members also featured prominently in Good Data's non-drama performer buzzworthiness rankings.

Good Data researcher Eo Yu-seon noted that the show's initial topicality score of 50,000 points was significant, reaching levels comparable to Transfer Love 2 (2022) and representing the highest score for original content released in 2024. In the fourth week of September 2024, it maintained its top spot with a 66.1% increase in topicality, recording 81,000 points, the highest weekly score since 2022 and the highest among Netflix original dramas and non-dramas since The Glory Part 2.

Culinary Class Wars was recognized as Korea's Favorite Program by Gallup Korea in September and October 2024. Its preference rating increased from 5.2% in September to 7.8% in October, making it the first web variety show to rank first in a survey of preferred programs, and the second among Netflix's own productions to achieve this ranking. Several OTT programs, such as The Glory (Netflix, 1st rank in March 2023) and Moving (Disney+, 1st rank in September 2023), had previously entered the top 10, with Whirlwind (Netflix, 1st rank in July 2024) being the only other to achieve this in 2024.

On October 15, 2024, Netflix announced the renewal of Culinary Class Wars for a second season, scheduled for release in 2025. According to Mo, casting for Season 2 is expected to be less challenging than for Season 1 due to the established concept. Mo aims to invite chefs of comparable caliber to those from Season 1.

In December 2024, the show received the FunDex Award 2024 from Good Data in the OTT Original Show Category. In May 2025, it won the Grand Prize in the Broadcast category at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards, marking the first time an entertainment program has received this honor in the history of the Baeksang Arts Awards.