Culinary Class Wars is a cooking competition with an incredible production. It starts with twenty ‘White Spoons’, who are renowned chefs, and eighty ‘Black Spoons’, who are less experienced. The judges are Paik Jong-won and Korea’s only three-star Michelin chef, Anh Sung-jae. There are four rounds and a consolation round, followed by a semi-final with two separate challenges and a final. The locations where the rounds take place are always different, with a very polished style. It is perfectly filmed, and the post-production must have been a massive job. Even with these very net settings and tough competition, the game had real moments of touching emotion where the chefs really put their hearts and lives on the line. It was the first cooking competition I ever watched, and I found it really amazing.
“I have an American name, Edward, but I have a Korean name too. My Korean name is Kyun. So, this dish is made by Lee Kyun. Every time I order food in Korea, they always give me too much, so I get full and there are leftovers. Especially for ttoekbokki. When I get ttoekbokki, there are always two or three pieces leftover. I used to think that was such a waste, but not any more. I realised that generosity, love and consideration for others are exactly what Korean food is all about. So what we have today is a dessert I made with the idea of leftover ttoekbokki.”