Expect redesigned missions, fiercer rivalries, and more challenges in the ultimate cooking show of recent years.
Tighten your aprons and sharpen your knives. Netflix’s hit cooking survival show Culinary Class Wars is set to return for a second season, promising yet another heated battle in the kitchen this December.
The streaming giant, on Nov. 18, 2025, announced the news with a teaser of the highly anticipated series. It comes a year after Culinary Class Wars debuted in September 2024 and established itself as the best cooking show in recent years, with millions of viewers cheering for their favorite contender.
The show gathers 100 chefs to compete in two groups: The “White Spoon” team consists of established, often Michelin-starred, chefs who are classically trained and highly acclaimed for their skills, while the “Black Spoon” team features self-taught underdogs battling to get their names recognized in the industry.
They all dive into a cutthroat battle with 300 million won (P12 million), professional prestige, and the opportunity for enhanced career prospects as the prize. The first season ended with intense drama from the show’s underdogs-vs-elite dynamic, as well as Black Spoon chef Napali Matfia defeating the award-winning, White Spoon chef Edward Lee.
Shortly after its finale was released on Oct. 8 last year, countless fans began clamoring for the hit show’s return. In fact, Culinary Class Wars made history as the first Korean unscripted program to top Netflix’s global non-English TV chart for three consecutive weeks. It’s also the first unscripted Korean show to clinch the grand prize (Daesang) in the television category of the 61st Baeksang Awards in May 2025.
The Korea Times reported that many of the chefs’ restaurants also had a surge in reservations since the show premiered on Netflix. The streaming giant responded to the hype, announcing that the show was renewed for season 2 on Oct. 15, 2024, just one week after the season 1 finale.
“We’re deeply grateful for the unexpected love that the first season received,” said producers Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji in a recent press release.“We’ve poured our hearts into crafting the second season to meet the audience’s expectations. We hope viewers will affectionately cheer on all the chefs.”
“We built the second season on what fans loved in the first season while refining aspects that received criticism,” they added. “Expect upgraded rules, new missions, and plenty of surprises.”
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Who are the chefs joining the second battle?
The show’s second round sees the return of season 1 judges: celebrity chef Paik Jong-won and Anh Sung-jae who helms the three-Michelin star restaurant Mosu. Fans should better gear up for more drama, with several high-profile names joining the White Spoon team. Michelin two-star chef Lee Joon is making a comeback alongside Michelin one-star chef Son Jong Won.
Rounding out the group is Venerable Sunjae, who is Korea’s first officially recognized master of temple cuisine, as well as Hou Deok-juk, who received the Michelin Mentor Chef Award in 2024 for mastering the Chinese cuisine for over 50 years and mentoring numerous of aspiring chefs along the way.
Similar to the show’s first installment, Culinary Class Wars 2 will also feature Black Spoon chefs from a wide range of culinary backgrounds, including Korean, Japanese, Western, and Chinese. In the teaser released by Netflix earlier this week, the contestants say they hope the show will give them the opportunity to finally make their name known in the world.
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What are the challenges this season?
Several challenges in the first season got fans craving for more. From the initial round where Black Spoons had to prepare a single signature dish to determine who would advance to the next round, to the semifinal’s “Endless Cooking Hell,” where contenders had to create a rapid-fire series of dishes using tofu, these challenges left fans in awe and and anticipating the show’s next episodes.
Whichever of these you consider your favorite, one thing’s for sure: Culinary Class Wars 2 is turning up the heat. Producers Kim Hak Min and Kim Eun Ji told the Korea JoongAng Daily that fans should gear up for redesigned missions, fiercer rivalries, and more challenges that highlight regional ingredients and cross-cuisine creativity.
The show is slated for a worldwide release on December 16, only on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
