'Culinary Class Wars' eyes May shoot amid judge controversies

Riding the wave of the explosive success of its first two seasons, "Culinary Class Wars" is gearing up for Season 3, with filming reportedly set to begin in May.

Netflix has not confirmed whether its judges, chef Anh Sung-jae and Paik Jong-won, will return, as both remain embroiled in ongoing controversies.

The new season is reportedly set to begin filming roughly four months after Season 2 wrapped on Jan. 13.

Netflix previously revealed that Season 3 would adopt a team-based format, pitting restaurants against one another. Each team will consist of four chefs from a single establishment. The first two seasons, by contrast, focused primarily on individual competition between underdog black team chefs and more established white team chefs, with only occasional team battles.

When asked whether Anh and Baek would reprise their roles, Netflix declined to comment.

"As this is a survival program, we ask for your understanding that details related to the project are difficult to confirm at this time," a Netflix official said.

Anh recently faced backlash after issuing an apology over a wine-switching controversy at his restaurant, Mosu Seoul.

The issue arose from a customer’s claim that a 2005 vintage was served instead of the promised 2000 vintage, and that the sommelier swapped the bottle without the customer’s consent.

In a statement posted Thursday on its official social media, Mosu Seoul said, "Chef Anh Sung-jae and the entire Mosu team take this matter very seriously." The restaurant added that it would review its overall service and implement measures to prevent a recurrence, pledging to "rebuild trust with customers through a sincere approach."

Meanwhile, Paik has announced he would step back from broadcasting last year after becoming entangled in multiple controversies, including alleged violations of the Food Sanitation Act, disputes surrounding franchise operations, and accusations of abuse of power on set.

However, he appeared unedited in last year’s Season 2 of “Culinary Class Wars,” as filming had already been completed before the controversy emerged.