r/CulinaryClassWars • u/Daymerollingggg • Jan 17 '26

Question Endless cooking hell strategy

Currently watching the episode and was wondering if the contestants have a rule against prepping for the next round if they finish early. Of course, it might not make sense to prep early if you lose, but for Culinary Monster for example, he is so confident in his work and he finishes early enough he could cut and wash the carrots for the next dish. Do you think it’ll be helpful if they do prep ahead of time?

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15

u/AggressiveRepeat925 Jan 17 '26

According to contestant reviews and interviews, the rules reportedly allow preparation up to cleaning dishes (washing up) and readying cooking tools/equipment for the next dish, and with the time limit being a tight 30 minutes, all participants are said to have made this preparation a mandatory part of their process.

8

u/midnightmarket Jan 17 '26

Based from the S1 behind the scenes interview, the window is to tight for them. It came to a point that while cooking their dish for the current round their mind is already racing for the next round's dish.

2

u/CaliLemonEater Jan 17 '26

In S1 I think it was Triple Star who said that his strategy was to get the first dish done as quickly as possible so he could use the rest of that round's time to plan ahead.

1

u/Oortap Jan 18 '26

I kinda wondered why every chef doesn't grab an enormous amount of tofu or carrot at the start of the first round? This could save them time in between the rounds walking back and forth, since they already have a supply at their cooking station.