'Culinary Class Wars' producers deny trying to spice up results

Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" is indisputably one of the hottest shows in Korea right now.

The 12-episode series features 100 participants divided into two teams: the white team of star chefs and the black team of lesser-known cooks and local restaurant owners. The contestants face various elimination challenges judged by popular restaurateur Paik Jong-won and Korea’s only Michelin three-star chef, Ahn Sung-jae.

Since the first episode was released on Sept. 17, the show has skyrocketed in popularity, sitting at the top of Netflix's global non-English TV shows list for two consecutive weeks as of Monday.

Riding high on the show's popularity, the participating chefs' restaurants are seeing an explosive surge in reservations and viral memes of the contestants and judges have taken over social media. Even convenience stores have jumped in on the trend, offering products inspired by creations from "Culinary Class Wars."

Despite its huge popularity, however, the show has also suffered from some controversies -- including allegations that producers worked to deliberately have an equal number of contestants from each team advance through the rounds.

Addressing the issue, the show's producers expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that an equal number of contestants from the black and white teams ended up advancing through the rounds.

"Personally, what I found disappointing was when the judges chose two contestants from the black team to advance, resulting in an equal 11 to 11 distribution between the black and white teams. That moment was particularly regrettable for me," said Kim Hak-min, co-producer of "Culinary Class Wars," during a press conference held with the top eight contestants in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Monday.

"The production team was secretly hoping for a different outcome. I thought that would have felt more real," said Kim.

"But things don’t always go as we want. The top eight contestants ended up being four members from the black team and four members from the white team. ... We had to accept the result, so even though it’s disappointing, I personally hoped it would have turned out differently," added Kim.

Additionally, there has been criticism that the frequent team-based challenges prevented renowned chefs from showcasing their individual talents.

In response, the producers said they were listening to the criticisms and informed fans that the final two episodes would address the audiences' demands.

"We're humbly listening to and paying attention to the feedback about last week's mission. We've been hearing a lot of voices asking for more individual competitions, and I think in tomorrow's episode, we might see the ultimate version of individual matches. Those who are looking forward to individual competitions should be excited for this week's episodes," said Kim.

According to the white team contestants, the star chefs thought they had a lot to lose by participating in the show. However, they said they wanted to set an example for those working for them by participating in the show.

"There are some owner-chefs who think it would be embarrassing to lose while representing their staff. But I thought that fighting hard would set a good example. (Also), studying and working with new (food) themes, rather than just the cooking I do at the restaurant, became a new learning experience that I enjoyed," said star chef Jung Ji-sun.

Black team contestants said they were glad of the positive effect "Culinary Class Wars" has produced.

"Traditional markets are currently experiencing a significant decline. However, since appearing on this program, many people have begun to visit these markets again. I'm proud that (I am) contributing, even if just a little, to their revival," said Kim Mi-ryung, a finalist from the black team who runs a Korean restaurant in Gyeongdong Market in eastern Seoul.

The final two episodes of "Culinary Class Wars" will be released on Netflix at 4 p.m., Tuesday.