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Kim Hak-min, coproducer of "Culinary Class Wars" (Netflix) |
The creators of "Culinary Class Wars," the hottest Korean original on Netflix right now, stated they felt they had accomplished the impossible when recruiting participants for the show.
According to the show's creators, there were a total of 600 applicants. Around 10 writers participated in the casting process, with the final 100 participants being selected through interviews.
Interviewing the applicants was a difficult process, but recruiting some of the chefs the creators wanted on the show was challenging as well, the creators explained.
However, by emphasizing their vision for the show — to showcase the high level of Korean culinary expertise to audiences overseas and rejuvenate the food service industry — they said they were ultimately able to convince the chefs.
"No one said that things are going well right now or that the restaurant industry is booming. Whether it was a famous restaurant or a small eatery, they all said the culinary industry is struggling. When I expressed my hope that this cooking survival show would help revitalize the food industry, I think that touched a lot of people's hearts," said writer Mo Eun-seol, during a group interview held Tuesday in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
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Mo Eun-seol, writer of "Culinary Class Wars" (Netflix) |
The producers said that during the recruitment process, they intentionally withheld all details about the program, except for the fact that it would be a cooking survival competition among 100 participants. "Culinary Class Wars" features various rounds of cook-offs between the 20 renowned chefs from the white team and 80 underdog chefs from the black team,
"We asked the chefs to keep their participation a secret until filming began. ... They arrived on set without knowing anything about the black team and white team concept, who the judges were or how the show would proceed," said writer Mo.
"I feel those who were put on the white team might have felt frustrated, as they set aside their status to compete against 100 others. When we revealed, 'Actually, you're on the white team,' they were quite surprised," said coproducer Kim Hak-min.
"For chefs like Yeo Kyung-rae and Edward Lee, who jumped in thinking it would be fun (to compete on equal terms), I feel like we misled them without intending to," said Kim.
He went on to explain that the decision to divide the participants into black and white teams based on various factors such as their fame, popularity, award history and career length was a daunting one.
"For the show to draw attention as a show which showcases the competition among 100 contestants, the entire structure needed to change. So, we divided the chefs into 'unknown' and 'well-known' categories and on visual terms, into black and white. We spent two to three sleepless months agonizing over it, worried about how the audience would react to the concept and whether it would face criticism," Kim shared.
However, they were wrong. Kim Eun-ji, co-producer of the series, expressed surprise about what the audience considers fair and how it has evolved in today's world.
"I was initially concerned that the chefs on the white team getting a first-round free pass might be seen as unfair. But nowadays, it seems people believe it is fair to give them due respect for their achievements. It made me realize that, in today's world, this approach might actually be more fair," said Kim Eun-ji.
All episodes of "Culinary Class Wars" are now available for streaming on Netflix.
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Kim Eun-ji, coproducer of "Culinary Class Wars" (Netflix) |
