Netflix’s Korean cooking competition Culinary Class Wars—also known as Black and White Chef: Culinary Class War—returned for its second season on December 16, 2025, with weekly episodes leading to a finale released on January 13, 2026. The series, which places elite “White Spoon” chefs against underdog “Black Spoon” cooks in high-pressure culinary challenges, concluded with Choi Kang-rok emerging as the Season 2 champion, according to the media reports.
Born in Incheon, South Korea, Choi’s path to culinary recognition unfolded gradually and unconventionally. Inspired early on by Japanese food culture, he trained at Japan’s Tsuji Culinary Institute after spending time living in a Buddhist temple. Financial difficulties later pushed him into a corporate job in the tuna trade, but his competitive instincts resurfaced when he applied to MasterChef Korea Season 2 in 2013, a decision he later described on record as impulsive. Judges on Culinary Class Wars, including Paik Jong-won and Ahn Sung-jae, consistently highlighted his ability to deliver dishes that encouraged continued eating without fatigue, a quality praised during the Season 2 “Endless Cooking Paradise” mission that sent him directly to the final.
Choi Kang-rok’s Career, Restaurants, and Cultural Impact Beyond the Show
Following his MasterChef Korea success, Choi taught banquet practice at Mayfield Hotel School in 2014 and later opened Sikdang Neo, an omakase-style pub focused on Japanese-inspired cuisine and slow-built broths. Interest in the restaurant surged after his Culinary Class Wars appearances, with reservation demand reaching tens of thousands of attempts within minutes, as reflected in publicly shared booking data at the time. While reports from late 2024 indicated that Sikdang Neo had closed, Choi has remained active through his YouTube channel, @UltraTasteDiary, where he shares recipes and cooking insights with a broad audience.
His Season 2 return to Culinary Class Wars came with a twist. Introduced as one of the Hidden White Spoon chefs, alongside Michelin-starred Kim Do-yun, Choi advanced steadily and reached the finale against Black Spoon finalist Lee Ha-seong. In the final episode, he presented a sesame tofu dish that he explained on the show as a personal reminder of discipline and focus in cooking. The judging panel unanimously selected his dish, confirming his redemption after the previous season’s early exit. Beyond competition results, Choi’s legacy continues to grow through digital projects such as the web series Sikdeokhoo, which premiered on YouTube on January 12, 2026, under producer Kim Tae-ho, further cementing his influence on contemporary Korean and Japanese-inspired home cooking.
