Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars is officially back in production for Season 2—and returning with it is judge Paik Jong Won, whose recent controversies have put him in the public spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
According to industry sources on April 3rd, filming for the new season quietly began, with Paik and fellow judge Anh Sung Jae both reprising their roles from last season. The scheduled release date is later this year. The show, which became a hit after its debut in September last year, features 100 self-made “black spoon” chefs going head-to-head with elite “silver spoon” chefs in a fierce culinary showdown.
While Culinary Class Wars is moving full steam ahead, much of the attention is on Paik himself. The celebrity chef and CEO of The Born Korea is currently facing multiple investigations, including allegations of price inflation for his canned meat Bbaekham, farmland law violations, and failure to properly label country-of-origin on products.
Despite issuing two public apologies, Paik has struggled to recover his public image. Still, producers have chosen to bring him back, likely due to the key role the two judges played in the show’s breakout success. He was present for the first day of filming on April 1st.
Meanwhile, Paik is also set to appear on additional shows this year, including MBC’s The Chef of South Polar (literal title) and tvN’s The Genius Paik 3, signaling that—for now—his screen presence isn’t going anywhere.
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