Netflix’s survival cooking show “Culinary Class Wars” (directed by Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji), which had been praised for both its entertainment value and production quality, made such a self-sabotaging move. On October 1st, the 8th to 10th episodes were released, featuring a consolation round and narrowing the 15 contestants down to the top 8. However, an unexpected team release mission has drawn viewer criticism.
During the restaurant mission, where three teams of five were competing, the production team suddenly introduced the release card under an emergency announcement, which triggered the controversy. Each team had to secretly vote to eliminate one “surplus” member, and the eliminated contestants formed a hastily created fourth team. While two chefs “Comic Book” and “Chef Chulgabang” volunteered to be eliminated, creating less tension, Chef Ahn Yu-seong was awkwardly voted out by Choi Hyun-seok’s team, leaving an uncomfortable atmosphere.
Up to this point, the situation wasn’t terrible—it could be passed off as a harsh dose of reality TV. However, the real problem was the breach of procedural fairness. The three eliminated chefs were down by one member compared to the other teams and were also at a 6-hour disadvantage, which left them severely handicapped. As they scrambled to open their restaurant, they lacked the necessary manpower, leading to inevitable limitations in menu planning, ingredient procurement and preparation.
Ultimately, unlike the other teams that were able to collaborate on menus like Japanese or Western cuisine, these chefs had no choice but to individually rely on their own signature dishes. Under time pressure, they couldn’t even develop a proper pricing strategy. As a result, their sales were the lowest, and they were all eliminated. Viewers voiced their dissatisfaction, “It was fun to watch, but it suddenly lost its momentum and I felt uncomfortable“, “It was clearly an uneven playing field“…
While the production team claimed that the eliminated chefs had some form of advantage, as they knew the strengths and weaknesses of their former teams, this advantage was ineffective. Under the pressure of limited time and with contestants lacking in TV show experience, this “advantage” merely felt like an extended punishment rather than a legitimate advantage.
By this point, the answer becomes clear: if the eliminated contestants had miraculously survived, it would have been a dramatic twist. If they didn’t, it would only reflect the laziness of the production team. While the show had been a refreshing, high-quality cooking survival program without the usual “evil editing”, this release mission essentially undermined its core concept of “winning based solely on taste”. It turned the show into just another survival competition.
Despite this, one variety show PD commented “Even so, ‘Culinary Class Wars’ is a groundbreaking program. Without considerable expertise, it would be impossible to film a large-scale survival cooking show with 100 chefs, using fire and knives.” The PD added, “It’s disappointing that contestants like ‘Cafeteria Guy’ and ‘Master of School Meals’ were eliminated, but it’s impossible to capture everyone’s story in a survival show”, acknowledging the limits of selective storytelling.
Source: Nate
