Culinary Class Wars renewed for 2nd season: 'We will do our best to return the love and fulfill expectations'
The recently-concluded first season of the hit South Korean cooking competition dominated Netflix's viewership charts for multiple weeks.
Get ready for another round of gorgeous food prep shots and aesthetically-pleasing dishes. Culinary Class Wars has officially been renewed for a second season, announced Netflix in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 15). The streamer did not indicate when the second season will air.
Since its debut in September 2024, the first season of the South Korean cooking competition has dominated viewership charts all over the world – becoming the first Korean unscripted title to top Netflix's global top 10 TV (non-English) chart for three consecutive weeks.
The show pits 80 up-and-coming chefs – the Black Spoons – against 20 established celebrity chefs – the White Spoons – in an all-out battle for 300 million won (S$290,000).
After 12 episodes, 29-year-old chef Kwon Seong-jun aka Napoli Matfia was crowned the winner of Culinary Class Wars' first season. Kwon trumped over Korean-American chef Edward Lee after he received unanimous votes from judges Paik Jong-won and Anh Sung-jae for his lamb and ravioli dish.
Following his win, Kwon took to social media to apologise for his seemingly overconfident behaviour during the show.
"As a result of the broadcast, I received a lot of advice to be humble from those around me...When I saw myself through the broadcast, I saw a lot of my arrogance and shortcomings, and it became an opportunity for me to reflect."
The success of the show has led to a rise in the popularity of the restaurants operated by Culinary Class Wars contestants.
On Oct 10, following the finale of Culinary Class Wars, over 110,000 users crashed the restaurant reservation platform CatchTable in a bid to book a slot at Kwon's Italian fine dining restaurant Via Toledo Pasta Bar.
Some users have even resorted to reselling ticket reservations to Via Toledo – something that Kwon has since clamped down on.
Yoo Ki-hwan, director of content at Netflix Korea said that the production of the second season of Culinary Class Wars "driven by the incredible fan response both in Korea and around the world".
Yoo added: "Bringing a show of this scale to life requires immense effort, and we’re deeply grateful for the love and enthusiasm we’ve received so far. As we continue to expand our unscripted offerings, we look forward to bringing even more distinctive and exciting shows to our audience in the near future."
Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, the producers of Culinary Class Wars, echoed the same sentiments, saying: "We’re extremely grateful to the viewers. Because of them, we’re able to come back for season two. We will do our best to return the love and fulfill expectations."