Chinese Version of ‘Culinary Class Wars’ Causes Stir… Netflix Claims No Rights Sold

The emergence of a Chinese variety show resembling 〈Culinary Class Wars〉 has caused Netflix to show discomfort.

The OTT platform 'Tencent Video', which operates in China, aired a variety show called 〈Chef of China〉 on the 17th. 〈Chef of China〉 depicts the process of 100 culinary masters competing to become a god through a meal.

However, after its airing, the program received reactions that it was too similar to Netflix's original 〈Culinary Class Wars〉 (hereafter 〈Culinary Class Wars〉). Featuring a competition between 20 famous chefs known as 'white spoons' and 80 'black spoons' showcasing the best flavors in their respective fields, 〈Culinary Class Wars〉 set a new standard for cooking variety shows. 〈Chef of China〉 filled its program with a structure where 16 famous chefs compete against 84 street food masters, which closely resembled the competitive structure and spatial direction of 〈Culinary Class Wars〉.

In response, Netflix officially stated, "We have never sold the rights or format of 〈Culinary Class Wars〉 to China," intensifying the controversy. There have been previous suspicions of plagiarism of Korean variety shows in China, but this is the first time a global company like Netflix has had its Korean content taken, raising attention on how Netflix will respond.