Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Culinary Class Wars’ On Netflix, A Cooking Competition That Pits “Unknown” Chefs Against “Famous” Chefs

We all know how frustrating it is to watch the early episodes of a season of a cooking competition, because we have to keep track of ten or fifteen chefs, their personalities and the kind of cuisine the specialize in. So imagine how we felt coming into a new South Korean cooking competition series that starts with 100 contestants.

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Opening Shot: “Here, 100 chefs have gathered today in hopes of becoming the best chef in Korea.” In a scene from the episode, two judges are on a stage, and the camera pulls back to show 40 chefs at 40 stations ready to cook.

The Gist: Culinary Class Wars takes the concept of a cooking competition and expands it to somewhat unfathomable proportions. We first see 80 chefs filing into a room, sitting in a circular arrangement of four tables of twenty. We don’t know their names; they’re each given a nickname/description, like “Side Dish Master” or “Triple Star.” A few of the chefs are a bit odd, like the chicken sandwich maker wearing a chicken mask, or one with an Elvis-style pompadour wig on. Some own well-regarded restaurants, others own tiny casual joints.

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They all know that the competition will actually be 100 chefs, so they wonder where the other 20 contestants are. Then, on a platform above them, the other 20 chefs rise out of the floor. They’re all famous chefs in South Korea, some with Michelin stars, some with Frank Beard Awards; others have won other cooking competition shows. They are all introduced by name.

The famous chefs are put in a class called “White Spoon Chefs,” whereas the “unknown” chefs are called the “Black Spoon Chefs.” Twenty of the Black Spoon group will go on to compete directly with the White Spoon group, with the winner getting 300 million won (about $225,000). This means that 60 of the 80 Black Spoon group will be eliminated first.

Two groups of 40 chefs have 100 minutes to create their best dish. Judges are restauranteur Paik Jong-won and three-star Michelin chef Anh Sung-jae, who will take 20 chefs each. After they taste the dish, they will either eliminate someone, move them on, or put them in limbo. Once the first 20 to move on are selected, the round is over.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Culinary Class Wars is essentially Top Chef on steroids.

Our Take: The concept of Culinary Class Wars sounds interesting, but the execution, at least in the early going, is overwhelming. The eighty Black Spoon chefs come at the viewer in a fast and furious manner, all with nicknames that mean next to nothing without context. Our heads spin during the early episodes of Top Chef when there are fifteen or so chefs to deal with; at the numbers the producers of Culinary Class Wars are giving us, our head spins trying to follow just who is who.

During much of the first half hour of the first episode, no cooking occurs; the 80 chefs file in and chat with each other, then the 20 White Spoon chefs are individually introduced, then all the rules are laid out. It’s all done in an over-the-top manner like it’s a sporting event, but it made us antsy to actually see the Black Spoon group cooking.

After that, though, the show proceeds like an extra-large Quickfire Challenge. The producers do a good job of highlighting certain chefs as the judges eliminate them or move them on to the final 20 Black Spoon contestants. But, given the fact that this is only half of the 80 that will be winnowed down to 20, we’re wondering how monotonous finding the 20 Black Spoons that will go up against the White Spoons is going to get.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: One of the Black Spoons, who happens to be an apprentice of one of the White Spoons, makes some dumplings that she’s afraid are too dry. Paik takes a big bite, then another. Then he’s about to say whether she’s eliminated or moves on and we cut to black.

Sleeper Star: We like the dude who came to the competition with the chicken mask on his head.

Most Pilot-y Line: One of the Black Spoon chefs wore a Fall Out Boy t-shirt to the competition. We would have just eliminated her because of her taste in music.

Our Call: STREAM IT. While the early episodes of Culinary Class Wars feel overwhelming due to the sheer number of contestants, the premise of the contest is pretty intriguing.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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