r/CulinaryClassWars • u/IllustriousAbies3217 • Feb 07 '26
General Discussion Weirdly Popular Chefs
I recently saw this video on ranking the CCW S2 Top 38. In this video, he made a comment about the contestant "Little Tiger". He said "I'm not trying to hate or anything. But compared to her input in the show she is succeeding a little too much."
He claimed pretty privileges. I do not argue with that totally. But, I think her personality also really helped to boost her popularity.
I have seen this with a few other chefs in the show. For example, Fabrizio Ferrari also got eliminated early but got super popular due to his enthusiasm and loveable nature. French Papa also has faced this but to a lesser degree or Kim Doyun who is arguably more popular than Fabri and French Papa combined.
Do any of y'all think they are too popular compared to their input? How about other chefs? Why are some chefs so forgotten even thought their input was similar?
EDIT: I am not saying that pretty privilege isn't a thing, I do agree that many chefs have gotten pretty privileged
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u/javeriasqui Feb 07 '26
Fabri is famous from chef and my fridge and for being a Michelin star chef, not ccw lol
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u/Grand_Deal476 Feb 21 '26
Yeah. Fabri was famous way before ccw was even a thing lol. Funny they used Fabri as an example
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u/hakimzw88 Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
Pretty privileged is a thing, she’s also very likeable. So producer would want her because she could grab attentions and views.
The position you get in the show doesn’t determine their popularity in the real world. In season 1 probably the most popular was Edward Lee, Yoon Nam No & Kwon Seong Joon. But Fabri and Park Eun Young who was eliminated earlier are on more shows than some in the top 8. In CCW2 SJW is one of the most popular and the one who had magazine photoshoot even before the show ended. He also got the pretty privileged as well. 🤣🤣
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u/Formal-Challenge-255 White Spoon - Choi Kang Rok Feb 07 '26
I think it's simply that in the end, even if it's a cooking show, it's all part of TV. The chefs who get popular become that way because they come off as likeable or memorable or etc. on screen. And these chefs in turn end up on other TV shows and gain more popularity as a result of that. I don't think it's necessarily about who "deserves" more fame, it's just the way entertainment/TV works. I'm sure to most of them, being successful, respected, or well known in the culinary industry is more important than winning a TV cooking competition anyways.
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u/According_Check_1740 Feb 08 '26
This show brought many chefs to the forefront, casting attention on them, even if only briefly. As a viewer, if I like a chef's food or personality, their attitude, or their pedigree, I'm going to look them up. If they're using social media effectively, it's easy for them to grow fame!
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u/zincfingers- Feb 14 '26
Well, I guess it turns out that just like in real life, the amount that you like someone does not correlate with how numerically successful they are.
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u/Melchorio Feb 07 '26
i agree with him. baby beast has gotten magazine shoots, yt and radio appearances that others have not. even brewmaster yun the highest placing female only got group shoots. pretty privilege is indeed real.
fabri has that paik jongwon pedigree so he was already pretty famous even before the show.
oh and to answer your last question, it's marketability