Warning: The article may contain spoilers.

One of the most important elements of a survival show is keeping vacuum-sealed confidentiality, especially regarding the eventual winner and runner-up. However, the latest season of “Culinary Class Wars” (2024-) failed to keep its results under wraps. Regarding this unfortunate turn of events, the show's producers apologized, stating they have “no other words to say.”

“We did not realize it before it was released,” said co-producer Kim Hak-min to reporters on Friday, referring to an incident where Black Spoon chef Culinary Monster’s real name was revealed to reporters during an interview segment. The mishap led to viewers eventually figuring out the show's final two.


“It’s an accident too serious to simply call it a mistake. The production team, especially producer Kim Eun-ji and I, feel deeply upset about this, and the responsibility ultimately lies with us,” Kim Hak-min said.

The second season of “Culinary Class Wars,” which pitted lesser-known cooks, dubbed the Black Spoon chefs, against top-tier chefs, dubbed the White Spoon chefs, concluded Wednesday, announcing chef Choi Kang-rok as the winner and Culinary Monster — whose real name is Lee Ha-sung — as the runner-up.

As buzz around the show grew, it was rocked by a major spoiler early on, revealing that Choi would win by defeating a U.S.-based chef who had not appeared in the previous season.

While spoilers are often an inevitable by-product of a wildly popular show, especially one that has achieved global success, speculation intensified after some lackluster editing revealed Culinary Monster wearing a name tag with his real name. The rule of the series is that the Black Spoon chefs use a fake moniker throughout the show, unless they make it into the final round, where the chef's real name is revealed. Lee's name tag, which showed his real name, gave away that he had made it into the final two.

Kim Hak-min also noted that the spoiler in question, which revealed the winner and runner-up early on in the show, will go under investigation by Netflix, citing it as an “intentional leak that can hardly be called a mistake.”

The producers also addressed criticism over Culinary Monster, whom some view as the show's villain. They emphasized that there was never any intention to frame him in a negative light, but rather to portray him with respect.

“When Chef Lee Ha-sung said, ‘I came here to win,’ that’s not an easy thing to say,” producer Kim Hak-min said. “We thought it was a statement of a challenge and commitment to himself, and saw it as something to admire. That’s why we showed that side of him honestly.”

He added, “Also, rather, we aimed to portray him as he truly is, with respect, while making every effort to present his cooking in the best possible way.”

Aside from the controversies, the show did well internationally, topping Netflix's global top 10 list for non-English shows.

The show introduced a diverse range of chef personalities who resonated strongly with viewers, including Hou Deok-juk and Im Sung-geun.

“He took part in our shoot at the age of 76, so we were quite worried, although we were also deeply rooting for him,” producer Kim Eun-ji said. “But he enjoyed the set far more than we expected and looked truly happy while cooking, which deeply moved the entire production team.”

As for Chef Im, the producers revealed that he was the very first to accept the offer to appear on the show. While they anticipated that his outgoing personality would draw attention, they admitted they did not expect his popularity to grow to such an extent.

Meanwhile, Netflix announced Friday that the series will return for a third season and introduced a major format change. Instead of individual chefs, the upcoming installment will feature restaurant-based teams.

Although production is still in its early stages and only the concept has been finalized, the producers shared the reasoning behind the new direction.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about how each season could offer something more evolved and emotionally engaging,” said producer Kim Eun-ji. “That led us to the restaurant competition format, which allows us to introduce more Korean chefs and bring together chefs from a broader range of generations.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]