By Rosie Lu
Michelin-recognized restaurateurs. A molecular gastronomy pioneer. Former chefs of internationally acclaimed eateries with decades of experience. All labeled as… underdogs?
Culinary Class Wars is a South Korean cooking reality show pitting 80 anonymous Black Spoon challengers against 20 celebrated White Spoon veterans. Food businessman Paik Jong-won and triple Michelin-starred chef Anh Sung-Jae judge all dishes across varied competition formats–duels, class battles, team missions, and ingredient-based rounds. Season 1 became a global breakout for its radical concept: stripping away titles and background, letting the food speak for itself.
Season 2’s biggest upgrade was its talent pool, especially among the Black Spoons, who arrived sharper and more ambitious than their Season 1 counterparts, producing a more technically impressive and culturally diverse array of dishes throughout. The White Spoon cast was equally compelling—a 57-year Chinese cuisine veteran, a Buddhist nun forbidden from using meat, onion, or garlic, and returning Season 1 alumni Choi Kang-rok and Kim Do-yun, introduced through a new “hidden White Spoon” twist, which allowed redemption at the condition of the judges’ unanimous approval. Venerable Sunjae’s participation, while groundbreaking, generated questions among netizens: How could the simplicity of stir-fried vegetables with little to no seasoning have earned the meticulous judges’ appreciation? Some even blamed her ingredient restrictions for hampering her teammates’ creativity and execution.
Within the Black Spoons, Lee Ha-sung, under the nickname Culinary Monster, stole the spotlight with his ambitious, no-frills mentality, developed over years of international Michelin-star experience. But the true dark horse was Brewmaster Yun, a barkeeper with no professional experience whose deceptively simple dishes and handbrewed alcohol earned consistent praise from the judges.
The early format follows a familiar skeleton–elimination rounds, Black vs. White duels, team battles-–with somewhat insignificant modifications to each phase. The team match is the season’s most intriguing stretch: a shrinking 7-on-7, 5-on-5, and 3-on-3 structure that forced both sides into strategic decisions, revealing the White Spoons’ surprising humility and the Black Spoons’ costly miscommunication. The semifinals push further with a repeated but revamped “endless cooking” format, a no-restrictions paradise followed by a carrot-only hell, that strips the competition down to pure endurance and creativity under pressure.
SPOILER ALERT: Reveals finalists and final results!
The finale introduces the season’s only truly fresh concept: a chef’s dish for themselves. A beautifully progressive idea anywhere else, but a dish for oneself can only be judged by its creator, hence completely undermining the meritocratic judging the show is known for. The chefs were asked to sit down and eat their dish alongside judges Anh and Paik, and in the end, it boiled down to which finalist told the more emotional story. Black Spoon Culinary Monster’s fine-dining recreation of his childhood favorite sundaeguk was stunning, but White Spoon Choi Kang-rok’s simple sesame tofu soup carried a lifelong admission—working hard to become the legendary braiser for everyone else—and how after these long, even performative, decades as a chef, finally sitting down to a special, non-braised and non-performative meal for himself. The ending is fair, but leaves much to be desired with the show’s consistency in ethical values.
Regardless, the cultural and philosophical statements Culinary Class Wars tries to make are not lost in its second season. In a world of pretentious high-end cooking competitions, this production offers a refreshing appreciation for traditional methods and cuisines, Korean and international alike. Most importantly, the kitchen is a microcosm of society—the successful and advantaged versus the hidden and unrecognized—and Season 2 honors that by crowning a White Spoon in addition to last season’s Black Spoon, criticizing the very idea of prejudice and total victory of any class. Ultimately, the second Culinary Class Wars offers a beautiful story and engaging dynamic while honoring food and its artists, and in my opinion, surpasses its 2024 debut.