Food companies cash in on 'Culinary Class Wars' with chef collaborations

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Food companies cash in on 'Culinary Class Wars' with chef collaborations

Published: 16 Oct. 2024, 18:43 Updated: 16 Oct. 2024, 18:53

Netflix's ″Culinary Class Wars″ [NETFLIX]

Meal kit maker Fresh Easy will roll out precooked meals with Choi Hyun-seok, the star chef from Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars," riding the wave of the show’s popularity.

The company announced Monday that it has partnered with Choi to launch a brand called “Choi Dot: Staff Restaurant.” The chef was designated as Fresh Easy’s honorary consultant to spearhead the new line on Oct. 10.

The brand is inspired by the concept of “staff meals,” drawn from the dishes Choi prepares for the staff at his Italian fine dining restaurant, Choi Dot.

Known for blending various culinary genres, Choi’s new line will feature two dishes: Itaewon-style budaejjigae (army stew) and basil fishcake soup.

The meal kits will be available exclusively on the food-focused e-commerce platform Market Kurly.

The recent surge in collaborations between food companies and chefs comes on the back of the success of Netflix’s hit cooking survival show, which ran for 12 episodes, pitting 80 Black Spoon chefs, or lesser-known chefs, against 20 White Spoon chefs, the higher-powered and renowned professionals. It was the most watched non-English series on the streaming platform globally for two consecutive weeks from its Sept. 17 release.

Some food manufacturers are leveraging the show's popularity to boost their sales and to advertise their products.

Nongshim shared a parody of the “Culinary Class Wars” show on Instagram after one contestant on the show used its Neoguri ramen to create a high-scoring dish. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Nongshim, for example, shared a parody of “Culinary Class Wars” on its Instagram account after one contestant on the show used its Neoguri ramyeon to create a high-scoring dish.

Ottogi promoted its sesame and perilla oils on Instagram after “Auntie Omakase #1,” or chef Kim Mi-ryeong, used the products during the show, calling them her “top choice.”

Dongwon F&B plans to release a video on Wednesday night featuring school cafeteria cook Lee Mi-yeong. The company is also in the process of developing a new product based on a dish from the show that increased sales of its canned mackerel by 30 to 40 percent.

Food collaborations with the show's contestants that have been released so far have been big hits.

A marron tiramisu developed by the show’s winning chef, Kwon Sung-jun — better known as Napoli Matfia — in partnership with convenience store chain CU sold out of its 20,000-unit preorder stock in just 20 minutes on Oct. 8.

Kwon Sung - junLeft, chef Napoli Matfia, whose real name is Kwon Sung-jun, and CU's Marron & Tiramisu [BGF RETAIL]

The tiramisu, featured in episode eight, where chefs had to use convenience store ingredients creatively, is priced at 4,900 won ($3.60) and is currently undergoing flavor adjustments based on customer feedback.

Market Kurly also saw success during its "Chef’s Recipe" event, held from Sept. 30 to Oct.10, offering 50 representative food items from six popular chefs from the show at discounted prices. The daily sales average for these products saw a 2.5-fold increase compared to September.

Market Kurly is currently also working with Choi Dot on upcoming salmon steak and chuck tail flap steak meal kits, along with a warm noodle meal kit by “Yun Seoul,” a one Michelin-star restaurant run by chef Kim Do-yun.

Starting Thursday, GS25 is releasing a line of precooked meals in collaboration with “Culinary Class Wars” contestants.

The Convenience Store Spoon Series will include bossam suyuk (napa lettuce wraps with boiled pork), side dishes and a French toast sandwich developed by Auntie Omakase #1, laziji (firecracker chicken) from Cho Kwang-ho — known on the show as Comic Book Chef — mala xiang guo (stir-fried hot pot) and stir-fried seafood with beef and rice from Lim Tae-hoon — known as Self-Made Chef — as well as Jang Ho-jun's fish cake soup and beef green onion udon.

Comic Book Chef’s two dishes will hit shelves first, with preorders open on GS25’s mobile app from Thursday through Saturday. The remaining meals will be released by the end of October.

Fans are eager to try these collaborations, as it has become increasingly difficult to secure reservations at the chefs' restaurants due to the show's popularity.

“I tried to visit the Chinese restaurant run by chef Im Tae-hoon since it's right by my office, but I gave up because people were lining up early in the morning,” said Kim, a 28-year-old office worker, “So I’m going to try the convenience store products instead.”

The success of the show has not only boosted interest in food but also led to a surge in ingredient sales.

GS The Fresh reported a 77.2 percent increase in vegetable sales and a 45.5 percent rise in meat sales from Oct.1 to 7 compared to the same period in September. Lotte Market also saw a 5 percent rise in ingredient sales during that time.

“There’s been increased interest in ingredients like white radish and tofu, which were highlighted on ‘Culinary Class Wars,’” said a Lotte Market official. “If this trend continues, we expect to see further growth in food sales.”

Experts predict that the show will further fuel the home-cooking trend. “With more consumers cooking at home to save money in light of inflation, this trend is expanding as people recreate popular dishes from ‘Culinary Class Wars’ and share the recipes on social media,” said Hwang Jin-joo, a professor at Inha University and the Catholic University of Korea.

BY OH SAM-GWON, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]