Chef Choi Kang-rok, left, and chef Son Jong-won / Courtesy of JTBC, Xportsnews
Netflix’s hit cooking show :Culinary Class Wars” Season 2 has an unexpected twist: its champion has nowhere for fans to line up, even as another contestant is enjoying a celebrity-fueled reservation frenzy.
The season finale aired on Jan. 13, ending with an intense showdown between underdog Culinary Monster and elite chef Choi Kang-rok. Choi, who was eliminated from the competition in Season 1 before making a dramatic comeback in Season 2, claimed the championship in a storyline many viewers called one of the most emotional in the series.
Normally, winning a major food survival show triggers an instant war for reservation as fans rush to try the chef’s dishes. This time, however, the usual hype has nowhere to go.
Scenes from “Culinary Class Wars” / Captured from Netflix
Choi does not currently operate a restaurant. He previously ran a venue called Neo, which was fully booked after his Season 1 appearance, but he closed it in 2024 and has since focused on television projects including JTBC’s “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator,” also known internationally as “Chef & My Fridge.” As a result, viewers searching for the winner’s food were left stunned.
“I wanted to eat the champion’s cooking but there’s no place to go,” one viewer wrote online. Another said, “There isn’t even a reservation war — there’s just nowhere to book.” Some jokingly described themselves as “restaurant refugees.”
The same problem applies to runner-up Culinary Monster, whose name is Lee Ha-sung, who also does not currently operate a restaurant in Korea. For the first time in the franchise’s history, none of the chefs to reach the finals have a venue the public can visit. Even fan favorite Lim Seong-geun, known as “Limjjang” on the show, has yet to open his own place.
That stands in sharp contrast to Season 1, when most top-ranked chefs were running their own restaurants, triggering booking battles across Seoul.
One chef, however, is enjoying exactly that boom.
Chef Son Jong-won with celebrities / Captured from social media
Son Jong-won’s restaurants Eatanic Garden and L’Amant Secret have become one of the hottest dining spots in the city. Celebrities including IVE’s Jang Won-young and influencer Lee Coco from the reality show “Transit Love” have shared their visits on social media, creating even more buzz. Regular reservations are also flooding in, turning the restaurant into a hotspot for fans and foodies.
The contrast has not gone unnoticed online.
“There’s demand but no supply,” one comment read. Another said, “Only Son Jong-won is winning right now.” Others added, “We’re just waiting for Lim Seong-geun to open.”
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
link
