Competition show 'Culinary Class Wars' tops non-English category in Netflix chart

Netflix survival show "Culinary Class Wars" became the most watched non-English TV series during its debut week.

Creators and judges of Netflix Korea's ″Culinary Class Wars″ attend the press conference for the show at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. From left are restaurateur Paik Jong-won, producer Kim Hak-min, producer Kim Eun-ji and chef Ahn Sung-jae. [NETFLIX KOREA]

Netflix survival show "Culinary Class Wars" became the most watched non-English TV series during its debut week.

Netflix said Wednesday that the cooking competition series topped Netflix’s global top 10 in the non-English TV series category, garnering 3.8 million views from Sept. 16 to Sunday.

“Culinary Class Wars” pits 100 contestants from diverse culinary backgrounds — ranging from Michelin-starred chefs to school cafeteria cooks — against each other in a massive studio that can accommodate up to 40 professionals cooking simultaneously.

Produced by Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, the show features restaurateur Paik Jong-won and fine dining chef Sung Anh as judges.

Paik is well-known as the owner of Theborn Korea, home to many franchise restaurant chains. Anh owns Mosu, the sole Korean restaurant with three Michelin stars.

Two other Korean shows were included on the list of most watched non-English content. Romantic comedy series “Love Next Door,” featuring actors Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min, hit No. 2 and JTBC melodrama “Family X Melo,” which recently wrapped up on Sept.15, ranked No. 10.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]