Culinary Class Wars Season 2 Winner: How Cooking for Himself, Not Recognition, Won the Title

When Chef Choi Kang-rok stepped into the Culinary Class Wars Season 2 kitchen, he carried more than culinary skills—he brought a deeply personal mission to break free from expectations and cook for himself. On January 13, 2026, Netflix crowned Choi as the winner of its most anticipated Korean cooking competition, awarding him ₩300 million and cementing his place in Korean culinary history. This redemption story about a chef who chose self-expression over others’ approval has captivated millions worldwide, revealing what truly matters in Korean food culture.

Reading time: about 12 minutes

Table of Contents

• Who Won Culinary Class Wars Season 2?
• The Journey from Elimination to Champion
• What Made Choi Kang-rok’s Final Dish So Special?
• The Deeper Meaning: Recognition vs. Living Authentically
• Understanding the "Pretending" That Leads to Truth
• Choi’s Background in Japanese Cuisine and Korean Food
• How Culinary Class Wars Reflects Modern Korean Dining Culture
• What’s Next for the Culinary Class Wars Winner?
• Frequently Asked Questions About the Season 2 Winner

Who Won Culinary Class Wars Season 2?

Chef Choi Kang-rok (최강록) claimed victory in the Culinary Class Wars Season 2 finale, which dropped on Netflix in January 2026 after a five-week run that captivated Korean food enthusiasts globally. The White Spoon chef defeated Black Spoon finalist Lee Ha-sung, better known by his competition nickname "Culinary Monster," in a unanimous decision by judges Paik Jong-won and Anh Sung-jae.

What makes Choi’s victory remarkable isn’t just the prize money or the prestige. At 38 years old, this chef known for his expertise in Japanese cuisine and dashi-based cooking represents something rarely celebrated in competitive cooking shows: the courage to stop pretending and embrace one’s authentic self. His win resonated with Korean viewers who saw themselves reflected in his honest admission during the finale that he’s "not someone who makes food that’s exceptional" but rather "just one of them"—referring to the countless hardworking chefs across Korea.

The victory marked a redemption arc for Choi, who had competed in Season 1 only to be eliminated in the third round. This time, he climbed from the bottom to the very top by choosing to cook for himself rather than for others’ recognition—proving that authenticity matters more than meeting expectations.

The Journey from Elimination to Champion

Before becoming a household name through Culinary Class Wars, Choi Kang-rok already had impressive credentials. He won MasterChef Korea Season 2 in 2013, establishing himself as a skilled competitor. However, that early success didn’t translate to the fame or recognition many might expect. Instead, Choi spent over a decade building his reputation as a specialist in braised dishes—a label that eventually became both his identity and his burden.

His culinary journey began with an unconventional inspiration. After serving in the Korean Marine Corps, Choi discovered his passion for Japanese cooking through reading the manga "Mr. Sushi." This sparked his decision to study at the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Japan, where he focused intensively on technique, flavor development, and particularly dashi (Japanese stock). This Japanese culinary foundation would later become his signature approach, blending Korean ingredients with Japanese precision.

Throughout his career, Choi also appeared on various Korean television programs, including "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" in 2024 and hosting his own Netflix show "The Blank Menu For You" in 2025. Despite this exposure, he remained relatively unknown outside food industry circles—until Culinary Class Wars Season 2 changed everything.

The competition format pitted twenty White Spoon chefs (established veterans with industry recognition) against eighty Black Spoon hopefuls (newcomers seeking to climb the professional ladder). Each stage pushed both groups into direct kitchen battles that tested not just cooking skills but also creativity, adaptability, and resilience. Choi’s methodical approach and deep understanding of flavors carried him through each elimination round, though he faced fierce competition from talented chefs representing diverse culinary backgrounds.

What Made Choi Kang-rok’s Final Dish So Special?

The finale’s theme—"Just One Dish For Myself"—proved unexpectedly challenging for both finalists. Professional chefs spend their entire careers cooking for others, whether diners, judges, or critics. Being asked to create something purely personal pushed contestants to confront deeper questions about their relationship with food.

Choi presented sesame tofu in a carefully crafted broth, a deceptively simple dish laden with personal meaning. The foundation began with chicken bones roasted to develop deep umami, then blended with dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and an abundance of green onions. He shaped the sesame tofu by hand to his personal preference, then added ingredients he genuinely enjoys: pine mushrooms, snap peas, pumpkin leaves, and uni (sea urchin) wrapped delicately in those leaves.

Judge Anh Sung-jae, the only Michelin three-star chef in Korea and owner of Mosu restaurant, praised Choi’s approach with remarkable insight: "I think every chef goes through that ‘pretending’ phase. It’s the same for me. This was very honest food." This comment struck at the heart of what made the dish powerful—it wasn’t designed to impress or to showcase technical prowess. Instead, it revealed vulnerability and authenticity, qualities rarely rewarded in high-pressure competitions.

The broth-based presentation also reflected Choi’s Japanese culinary training, where clear, umami-rich stocks form the foundation of countless dishes. Korean cuisine certainly features broths extensively, from sundae-guk (blood sausage soup) to samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), but Choi’s approach incorporated the precision and restraint characteristic of Japanese dashi preparation.

The Deeper Meaning: Recognition vs. Living Authentically

The finale revealed something profound about two different approaches to life and cooking. While celebrating Choi Kang-rok’s victory brought joy, watching Culinary Monster push himself relentlessly evoked a bittersweet recognition for many viewers—they saw their own struggles reflected in his fierce determination.

Choi spoke calmly about being labeled the "Braised Man," "Braised Killer," or "Braised Ping" by others. To meet these expectations, he had "pretended" and played a role. He studied intensely and cooked fiercely to make that pretense real, but he didn’t want to continue that performance even in cooking meant for himself.

In contrast, Culinary Monster was still fighting desperately. For him, cooking remained something he had to "do better at"—a constant test of his worth. His approach revealed how fiercely he had driven himself just to survive, channeling the pressure many feel to meet others’ expectations. Even in creating a dish "for myself," Culinary Monster prioritized others’ recognition over personal truth. Standing before the next chapter of his life, at what should have been a fresh beginning, he demanded even more from himself.

In their final dishes, Culinary Monster presented "recognition" while Choi Kang-rok presented "life itself." At Choi’s table of life, viewers found themselves removing clothes that didn’t fit, swallowing warm broth, and receiving comfort for their ordinary, unexceptional days—perhaps with a bottle of soju with a red label beside them.

Even Judge Anh Sung-jae seemed momentarily choked up by Choi’s food and explanation. He too confessed to having "pretended" often in his career. We all live through these periods of pretending. But can we truly call the time spent pretending false? The pretending itself, the effort to make that pretense real, and the stages of moving past pretense to focus purely on essence—all of these dissolve together to become who we are.

Rather than dividing our journey into "false" moments and "truthful" stages, perhaps all these times are equally us. We’re all somewhere within that process. Without Choi’s time of "pretending," he could never have finally presented truly authentic cooking for himself. We all pass through the time of pretending to reach the ocean of authenticity.

So there’s no need to worry too much about finding your "real self." All your faces are your real face. Just as Choi made his dish by following his desire to create something with ingredients he loves, we can simply live day by day according to the good intentions of the one who created us, living as we want to live.

This philosophical depth transformed Culinary Class Wars Season 2 from a cooking competition into a meditation on authentic living within Korean society’s demanding professional culture.

Understanding the "Pretending" That Leads to Truth

The concept of "pretending" (척하기 in Korean) that Choi discussed carries particular resonance in Korean work culture, where professionals often feel pressure to embody specific roles or meet rigid expectations. This isn’t unique to Korea, but the intensity of Korean professional culture—with its emphasis on expertise, specialization, and meeting societal standards—can make this phenomenon especially pronounced.

For over a decade, Choi was known as a specialist in jjim dishes—the Korean category of steamed or braised preparations like the spicy monkfish dish agujjim. While this reputation brought opportunities, it also created a cage. People expected the "Braised Man" to excel at braising, to always produce stellar braised dishes, to embody braising expertise completely.

"I pretended to be good at braising to survive," Choi revealed—a confession that resonates with anyone who has felt trapped by their own specialized reputation. But his insight went deeper: that pretending wasn’t meaningless or false. The years spent perfecting braised dishes, studying techniques, and building genuine expertise transformed the initial pretense into real skill. The "fake it until you make it" process is itself authentic growth.

This perspective offers profound comfort to anyone navigating professional identity. The intern pretending to have confidence, the junior chef pretending to know a technique before fully mastering it, the professional maintaining composure while learning—these aren’t dishonest performances but necessary stages of becoming. Korean food culture itself reflects this philosophy. Korean street foods like hotteok evolved from foreign influences into distinctly Korean creations. Samgyeopsal (pork belly) transformed from utilitarian food into Korea’s most beloved dining experience. Everything authentic passes through stages of adaptation and pretending before becoming genuinely itself.

Choi’s Background in Japanese Cuisine and Korean Food

Understanding Choi Kang-rok’s culinary identity requires recognizing how he bridges Korean and Japanese food traditions. His training at Tsuji Culinary Institute in Japan gave him technical precision and a deep appreciation for dashi—the foundational stock in Japanese cooking made from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).

This expertise in Japanese culinary techniques enriched his approach to Korean ingredients. Dashi shares similarities with Korean anchovy-kelp stock (멸치다시마 육수), which appears in dishes like budae jjigae (army stew), but the preparation philosophy differs slightly. Japanese dashi emphasizes clarity and subtle umami, while Korean stocks often incorporate more assertive flavors. Choi’s cooking synthesizes both approaches, creating broths with Japanese refinement but Korean soul.

His role as a food writer also distinguishes him from typical competition chefs. Choi authored "Choi Kang-rok’s Cooking Notes" in 2023 and "Cooking For Life" in 2025, demonstrating his commitment to sharing culinary knowledge beyond professional kitchens. At the 2025 Seoul International Book Fair, he expressed uncertainty about whether his "trivial stories" deserved publication—another glimpse of the self-reflection that characterized his journey toward embracing authenticity.

How Culinary Class Wars Reflects Modern Korean Dining Culture

The success of Culinary Class Wars Season 2, which matched and potentially surpassed the cultural impact of its blockbuster debut, reveals important shifts in how Koreans engage with food media. While Season 1 emphasized the dramatic tension between Black Spoon challengers and White Spoon elites, Season 2 focused more deeply on human stories, mutual respect among talented chefs, and the emotional relationship between cooks and their craft.

This evolution mirrors broader changes in Korean dining culture. Modern Korean consumers increasingly value authenticity, craftsmanship, and stories behind their food rather than just novelty or luxury. The popularity of chefs like Choi—who prioritize genuine self-expression over meeting expectations—reflects this shift.

The show also highlighted Korea’s position as a global culinary destination. With contestants from diverse international backgrounds competing alongside Korean chefs, Culinary Class Wars demonstrated how Korean cuisine attracts and influences food professionals worldwide. From grilled samgyeopsal at restaurants like Gimsukseoung to regional specialties, the competition showcased the incredible diversity within Korean food culture.

Additionally, the fierce yet respectful competition atmosphere reflected Korean dining’s communal spirit. Despite the high stakes, contestants displayed genuine appreciation for each other’s skills and creativity—a value deeply embedded in Korean food culture, where meals traditionally serve as opportunities to strengthen social bonds and build relationships.

What’s Next for the Culinary Class Wars Winner?

Following his victory, Choi Kang-rok has several projects lined up. He launched a six-episode web show called "Food deokhu" on the TEO YouTube channel, which premiered on January 12, 2026 (one day before the Culinary Class Wars finale). The show explores Japanese ingredients and food culture, allowing Choi to share his passion for the cuisine that shaped his cooking philosophy.

Despite his newfound fame and substantial prize money, Choi’s plans remain characteristically grounded in self-acceptance. He stated he intends to save the ₩300 million prize toward opening a small restaurant in his senior years rather than pursuing immediate expansion or celebrity chef status. This decision aligns perfectly with the authentic, self-embracing persona that won hearts throughout the competition.

The announcement of Culinary Class Wars Season 3—which will pivot to a team-based format pitting entire restaurant teams against each other—came just three days after the Season 2 finale aired. While Choi’s participation in future seasons remains uncertain, his impact on the show’s legacy is undeniable. He proved that self-acceptance, emotional honesty, and cooking for oneself can triumph over cooking for recognition.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Season 2 Winner

Who is Choi Kang-rok and why is he famous?

Choi Kang-rok is a Korean chef who won both MasterChef Korea Season 2 (2013) and Culinary Class Wars Season 2 (2026). He’s known for his expertise in Japanese cuisine, particularly dashi preparation, and his specialization in Korean braised dishes. His authentic approach and willingness to stop "pretending" to meet others’ expectations made him a fan favorite, especially after he openly discussed the journey from performing a role to embracing his genuine self through cooking.

What did Choi Kang-rok cook in the Culinary Class Wars finale?

For the final round’s theme "Just One Dish For Myself," Choi prepared handmade sesame tofu served in a rich broth made from roasted chicken bones, dried bonito flakes, kelp, green onions, and mushrooms. The dish featured his favorite ingredients including pine mushrooms, snap peas, pumpkin leaves, and uni (sea urchin). Unlike typical competition dishes designed to earn recognition, this meal represented his personal tastes and his philosophy of cooking for himself rather than for others’ approval.

How much prize money did the Culinary Class Wars 2 winner receive?

Choi Kang-rok won ₩300 million (approximately $203,000 USD) for his victory in Culinary Class Wars Season 2. He has stated he plans to save this money toward opening a small restaurant in his senior years rather than pursuing immediate expansion, staying true to his self-embracing approach to success.

Share Your Culinary Class Wars Experience

Have you watched Culinary Class Wars Season 2? Did Choi Kang-rok’s journey from pretending to authenticity resonate with you, or were you rooting for another contestant? The show’s success demonstrates how Korean food culture continues to captivate global audiences through stories of dedication, self-acceptance, and the deeply personal relationship between chefs and their craft.

Next time you prepare a Korean meal or visit a Korean restaurant, consider the stories behind the dishes. Whether it’s understanding the cultural significance of sundae-guk at Seoul restaurants or appreciating the technique behind perfectly grilled samgyeopsal, every dish carries meaning beyond flavor. Choi Kang-rok’s victory reminds us that the most memorable cooking comes from embracing who we are, not from meeting others’ expectations—and that all our stages of growth, including the times we "pretend," are equally real steps toward becoming ourselves.

Planning to explore more of Korean food culture? Share this guide with friends interested in understanding how modern Korean chefs are shaping global culinary conversations while staying true to authentic self-expression.