“That part was edited” — Culinary Class Wars’ Scott Kang clarifies his “that” comment towards Paik Jong-won following backlash

On October 18, 2024, Culinary Class Wars contestant Triple Star (real name Scott Kang) appeared as a special guest on the YouTube show of South Korean celebrity chef Paik Jong-won. For the unversed, Triple Star was among the Top 3 finalists on the popular Netflix show, which aired from September 17 to October 8, 2024. The show was judged by Paik Jong-won and Ahn Sung-jae.

Meanwhile, on Paik Jong-won's show, Triple Star revealed that he received hate comments from Korean netizens for his comments towards Paik Jong-won on the show. In the show, Triple Star hinted at Paik Jong-won being a celebrity chef and a restaurant franchise owner who makes budget-friendly meals and wondered if he would enjoy the dish Triple Star made.

However, the show's editing team showed only a part of his comment about the celebrity chef, which confused viewers. This invited public backlash towards Triple Star, as viewers assumed that he mocked and disrespected Paik Jong-won for his judging skills of fine dining cuisine. Paik Jong-won opened his recent cooking blog episode, touching on the subject. Triple Star clarified the comment and said,

"After I made that comment saying "I wonder if he'll understand my cooking," I added "and he did, which made me really happy." But that part was edited."

Paik Jong-won clarified that the fault lies on the Culinary Class Wars' editors for editing the statement in a way that caused trouble for Scott Kang. He joked that Kang should sue the show's editors if he hasn't received a proper apology from them.

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Culinary Class Wars confirmed to be renewed for a second season

Netflix confirmed that Culinary Class Wars would return with a second season. Variety reported that the show's producers, Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, along with writer Mo Eun-sol from Studio Slam, confirmed the show's renewal. Additionally, for three weeks in a row, it was the first Korean unscripted film to top Netflix's Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) list.

Culinary Class Wars follows 100 top chefs who were split into two classes: black spoons, or non-famous chefs, and white spoons, aka celebrity chefs. The culinary competition comes with a reward of 300 million Korean won (approx. $230,000). The first round only had 80 black spoon chefs compete against each other, while only 20 made it to the second round.

Meanwhile, the 20 renowned white spoon chefs were already given a clear pass to the second round due to their established global reputation. The show was judged by chef Anh Sung-jae, Korea's sole Michelin three-star chef and owner of MOSU SEOUL, and Paik Jong-won—a seasoned restaurateur and celebrity chef.

Culinary Class Wars' two finalists were white spoon Edward Lee, aka Lee Kyun, and black spoon chef Napoli Matfia, aka Kwon Sung-jun. The show title was won by Napoli Matfia. Meanwhile, Triple Star, aka Scott Kang, made it to the Top 3 but was eliminated.

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Culinary Class Wars is available on Netflix for global streaming. It has 12 episodes.