Netflix's 'Culinary Class Wars' stirs up 148% spike in reservations at chefs' restaurants

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Netflix's 'Culinary Class Wars' stirs up 148% spike in reservations at chefs' restaurants

Published: 08 Oct. 2024, 12:21 Updated: 08 Oct. 2024, 14:48

CHO YONG-JUN
cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr

Contestants on Netflix's hit chef survival show “Culinary Class Wars” [NETFLIX KOREA]

Restaurants run by contestants featured on Netflix's hit chef survival show “Culinary Class Wars” saw a 148 percent increase in reservations in September, according to CatchTable, a restaurant reservation and rating service, on Monday.

In-app searches for these restaurants surged 74-fold between Sept. 19 and 25 compared to the previous seven-day period, while the total number of bookmarks for the restaurants increased by 1,884 percent.

CatchTable said that one restaurant experienced a 4,937 percent increase in reservations during this period but did not specify its name.

Chef Roi Choi’s Japanese restaurant Neo was the most searched restaurant in the app, followed by Chinese restaurant Doryang, run by Black Spoon chef Lim Tae-hoon, chef Kang Seung-won’s contemporary restaurant trid, chef Yoon Nam-no’s dining bar deepin and chef Choi Hyun-seok’s Choi Dot.

Some 65,000 people rushed to reserve a seat when Doryang first joined CatchTable's reservation service, with October reservations selling out in just one second, according to the company on Tuesday.

Among the restaurants owned by White Spoon chefs, Choi Dot and Central Reducer — both run by chef Choi Hyun-seok — saw the steepest increase in reservations. Choi Dot is a high-end fine dining restaurant in the Gangnam District of southern Seoul, while Central Reducer is a Chinese fusion restaurant in the Seongdong District of eastern Seoul.

Veteran chef Lu Ching Lai’s Chinese restaurant Hong Bo Gak, located in Gangnam District, and chef Nam Jeong-seok’s vegan restaurant Local Eat are also gaining popularity in the app, said CatchTable.

Deepin Oksu, the Italian restaurant in Seongdong District owned by chef Yoon, saw the highest increase in reservations among Black Spoon-chef restaurants, followed by Shawnino, owned by Park Jae-hyun — better known by his YouTube nickname “camping MAN” — and Gunmong, owned by chef David Lee. Shawnino is an Italian restaurant, and Gunmong is a fine dining restaurant, both located in Yongsan District in central Seoul.

“The dining industry is having a hard time due to the economic downturn, but it has bounced back a bit lately thanks to the popularity of ‘Culinary Class Wars,’” said CatchTable CEO Tei Yong.

The final episode of the show will be released on Tuesday, deciding the winner who will receive 300 million won ($223,000).

BY CHO YONG-JUN, KIM JI-HYE [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]