Culinary Class Wars winner hits back at scalpers who are reselling ticket reservations to restaurant
Reservation tickets for the winner's restaurant are reportedly being resold at around 500,000 won (US$370) – with the highest listing reaching 1.5 million won.
The final eight contestants of the hit South Korean cooking competition Culinary Class Wars. (Photos: Instagram/netflixkr)
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The recently-crowned winner of the hit South Korean cooking competition Culinary Class Wars has hit back at scalpers who are reselling ticket reservations to his restaurant.
The increase in resale activities came hours after over 110,000 users crashed restaurant reservation platform CatchTable on Thursday (Oct 10) to book a slot at the winner's restaurant.
Stop reading here if you do not want to find out who won the cooking competition.
In an Instagram Story on Thursday, Culinary Class Wars winner Kwon Seong-jun aka Napoli Matfia posted a resale listing of a user offering more than 700,000 won (US$519) for reservation tickets for two at Kwon's Via Toledo Pasta Bar.
Kwon cautioned fans against reselling and scalping tickets, writing: "If you are caught selling tickets, the app will permanently black you out and your reservation fee will not be refunded."
He also encouraged users to report those engaging in resale activities – offering reservations "to those who catch a black market ticket reservation".
Following Kwon's win on Culinary Class Wars, resale ticket reservations to Via Toledo Pasta Bar have been on the rise – with prices usually ranging between 500,000 won and 700,000 won. According to South Korean media outlets, there was even a listing that was going at 1.5 million won (US$1,100) for two diners.
Addressing CatchTable's crash, Kwon apologised: “I am embarrassed and sorry because this is my first time experiencing something like this.
"I will consider reducing the number of course menus and the price per person, and increasing the number of reservations."
Other restaurants operated by Culinary Class Wars contestants have also seen a rise in reservations following the show's premiere. Trid by fan favourite Scott Kang Seung-won aka Triple Star is reportedly fully booked until the end of the year.
