Culinary Class Wars winner’s pasta bar crashes S. Korean reservation system

After 12 episodes, Italian cuisine chef Kwon Sung-jun emerged the winner among 100 chefs on Netflix’s hit South Korean

reality cooking competition Culinary Class Wars.

The 29-year-old’s fresh pasta joint Via Toledo Pasta Bar is now in such hot demand that it crashed the server of South Korean restaurant reservation and rating system CatchTable.

According to South Korean news outlet K-en News, Kwon, better known by his nickname Napoli Matfia on the series, said in a since-expired Instagram Story: “With over 50,000 people trying to book at once, the app couldn’t handle the load. We’re working on a quick resolution, but this is the first time something like this has happened. I’m truly sorry.”

The app reportedly crashed shortly after reservations for Via Toledo Pasta Bar, situated in Seoul’s Yongsan district, opened on Oct 10 at 10am. The overwhelming surge in traffic led to the app crashing for some 20 minutes. By the time it was restored, reservations for the entire month of October had been fully booked.

Reservations for November have yet to open.

K-en News reported that 100,000 people are on the waitlist for Kwon’s restaurant.

The restaurant’s popularity has led to some attempts to cash in. In another Instagram Story, Kwon posted a screenshot of a reservation for two at Via Toledo Pasta Bar being offered on a reselling platform at 700,000 won (S$678), and warned against such activity.

He said: “If we detect scalping, those involved will be blacklisted from the (CatchTable) app and no refunds will be given. We will thoroughly verify the identities of reservation holders at the door.”

Beyond Kwon’s restaurant, his creations on the show are also selling out.

South Korean convenience store giant CU is launching a marron tiramisu developed by Kwon, a dessert he whipped up in one of the challenges using ingredients found in convenience stores. Pre-orders began on Oct 8 and the product has since sold out.

Kwon urged customers not to put the product up for resale due to hygiene concerns.

The chef won 300 million won for nabbing first place in Culinary Class Wars. The show has been a runaway hit for Netflix, topping the streaming platform’s global list of most-watched non-English series for three consecutive weeks since its release on Sept 17.

The series featured 100 participants divided into two teams: the White Spoon team of 20 established and famous chefs, and the Black Spoon team of 80 lesser-known cooks and local restaurant owners.

Aside from Kwon, reservations for restaurants run by other contestants on the show have also skyrocketed. CatchTable said 65,000 people rushed to reserve a seat when Chinese restaurant Doryang joined its service recently, with reservations for October snapped up in just one second.

Doryang is run by Black Spoon chef Lim Tae-hoon, better known as Self-Made Chef on the show.