In the first round of Culinary Class Wars‘ second season, some 80 great chefs were reduced down to 20. That’s three out of four cooks sent home before the Korean cooking show even properly began!
To make matters worse, the judges decided to have two batches of 40 chefs each cook simultaneously. As a so-called “Black Spoon,” you ended up having to prepare a dish in 100 minutes at a medium-sized station—and under the watchful eyes of your future competitors, the “White Spoons,” too.
As the judges made their rounds, tasting dish after dish, quickly eliminating folks left and right, it was interesting to see what each competitor chose to serve. It was their first outing, and of course, everyone wanted to shine. Naturally, most folks reverted to the classics they knew how to make well. Often, however, that very defaulting to the familiar got them eliminated.
One guy was famous for bringing molecular cooking to Korea. There’s nothing usual about a molecular dish, particularly not the sugar syrup apple he made, which was filled with pulverized apple ice cream. But the dish itself was one the chef had invented 20 years ago, and it showed. “It does feel like it’s from the early 2000s. But we’re not in that time anymore,” the judge said. “Eliminated.”
Another chef, meanwhile, chose to make rabbit. He was the only cook who picked that meat. Rabbit is not common in Korea, and even the judges hadn’t tasted it. But he did manage to prepare it like a traditional beef steak and really bring out its flavor. As a result, he passed.
When the odds are against you by a factor of three to one, there is no safe option. The only real choice is to be bold and stand out. In this case, the judges vetted each candidate not just versus everyone else but also against their own standards. Did they just cook what they were used to? Or did they dare go out on a limb? If they could transfer their skills and unique approaches to a new, creative idea, they won.
Different isn’t always better, but better often starts with different. And in a sea of similarity, sometimes, different is enough to make it to the next round. So when in doubt, choose different.
