1
This review may contain spoilers
You will only know when its over how good it really was
2025 romedy 10eps at 1hr ea. This is a wonderful show. Binge it or parcel it out, its a great classic romedy with cute tweaks on the basics and truly delicious acting. This show is so good and was so underappreciated by reviewers that it is sure to be a standard on hidden gem lists.
Slow food vs. corporate non-ethics. Even when a plot has been done many times before there is always a chance to do it better; in my opinion, this time, practically perfectly. Food, recipes, chefs -- all are treated with the respect they deserve. The soundtrack actually stops for the crunchy dishes and long camera takes wait for individual diners' reactions. Music, scenery and cinematography are high value, It does make you hungry, though -- I often had to take breaks and cook myself something.
The romance is sweet and unusually adult for kdrama; the OTP treat each other with casual familiarity from the getgo and it is oddly authentic. I imagine 30-yr olds (an average of the actors ages, ok) in Seoul or Jeonju tease each other, work together, stutter and stammer and laugh just as this main cast does.
Kang Ha Neul, as the ML, Han Beom Woo, has really great stage-trained comedic skills. He uses his entire body in pratfalls, double-takes, and his long and mid-range shots are just as gorgeous as his storied profile. T he latest trends is for girls with egos and guys with complications, and KHN eats complications for his actor's breakfast. He is shady, shameless, ashamed and embarassed but still spontaneous and sensitive.
Yoo Yeon Seok swoops in for one of his treasured moody 2ML roles (Mr Sunshine? the Gu Family book?) The director used YYS' film acting technique to great effect, contrasting it to KHN's ability to project all the way out and up into the peanut gallery -- YYS' character's falsity and attempts at manipulation are highlighted. YYS excells in the familiar kdrama close-up conversational pauses and glances, but at a distance is much less at ease.
Go Min Si, as the FL, Mo Yeon Joo, is the real shout-out of the show. She is a creative genius, a focused very very professional chef devoted to her practice. She knows what she wants, whether it be boyfriends or cuts of beef and gets the job done with a minimum of fuss.
I loved that Yeon Joo was a monastery orphan. I loved the cozy coats and scarves in wintry sophisticated Sapporo and the cute quilted guest suits on crispy mornings with the (female) monks.
Within the limitation of 10 episodes this is a really masterful use of the std tropes, . The director also did the Weak Hero 1 &2, and his choices and discipline are evident here too.
I really loved the minimum use of childhood flashbacks for backstories and for the 2ML relationship history. We have to actually listen to what the characters have to say.
The storylines are well-woven together. There is no confusion.There is a lack of heavy sentimentality, which may be due to the professional but unobtrusive soundtrack.
The supporting cast was excellent. The main villain, the CEO Mom was introduced early and remains consistent throughout the show. One admires her singlemindedness. The in-between villains show some development and the 'village' team gave solid comic performances. Park Ji hoon does two or three cameos as an idol actor favorite.
The 'village' was one of those preservation attractions, not a 'real' kdrama-hokey rural spot. Frequently but subtly, in this show standard kdrama expectations are set up, and then have the rug pulled out from under them . I list a few below but they are mostly spoilers. The plot is exciting and dramatic but not because of reversals in time line or yearning angst.
Just as the final credits roll, that twist-and-unlock trick of the heart that only kdrama can produce makes you realize how much you loved the show.
ps. Spoilers and a longer discussion below-- warning
Some examples of many economical renovations of std. tropes --
*the brother (Bae Na Ra) just edges towards a better relationshipbut remains his soulless self
*the mother does not have a last minute conversion
*the female lead makes the first move and then totally ignores the ML's silliness.
*she is totally absent for what would normally have been a climatic moment. Her team and the ML wing their way through it.
*Anxiety abt whether her career is in danger is combined with the essential fact that since she is the restaurant, she could always have picked up anf started elsewhere.
pps. Breaking 3 of my parameters here: no spoilers, no long analysis and no explication where short allusive enticement will serve. Why? Because TY is a close-to-perfect 10 episode new-formula pan-asian-romedy and a better than usual international food-romedy. Way too-much pearl-clutching orientalizing going on here in reviews. (i am not always innocent of the same..)
So.
THE PLOT is misunderstood --
1. it is within the food industry, not about heroic little outsiders.
2. it is a neo-classic new-formula romance with more realism and relaxation than the old longer form, but it retains some anxiety-causing ambiguity for the sake of dramatic tension.
(Tears and laughter are used with careful discipline so the operatic rhythm of the older formula is redefined.)
3. winning and losing are ironically also redefined yet within a very Korean horizon.
--- (1) All the characters involved have very good palates so the mdl summary is incorrect. The CEO/Mom villain, the ML, the ML's brother, Motto's chef; her sensei/the Sapporo chef and the villainous ex; the monks, the jeonju teammates, the food-influencers brought in for the cook-off and the Michelin-starred judges, they all recognize Chef Mo's talents immediately without reservation. She is never denigrated or denied her due within the storyline.
The battles between the various components of the food industry are not unusual in RL, but sparingly used in show -- in addition each type of niche establishment is represented and respected: the Seoul mom-and-pop seafood place in the beginning, the regional large gukbap place, the 2 flagship corporate owned fine-dining restaurants, the French-fusion chef-headed big restaurant (in Sapporo) and the exclusive little JungJae hidden gem (in Jeonju).
Chef Mo's personal struggle to find her own direction is a great and central theme -- her retreat to a small city, her solid focus due to her monastery upbringing combined with a super big-time professional training in the US and Sapporo all ground her practice. Even this conflict with the ML's mom brings him into her establishment and creates the context she needs. This all-important frame seems to be invisible to reviewers???? Why.
Also, a restaurant is more than a chef, especially in classical technique. JungJae in a simplified and cute form exemplifies this. The FL as the creator and the ML as the floor manager transform the "gukbap veteran" and the local bad boy heir into a skilled sous-chef and an attentive and expressive sommelier/waiter. When she needs to take time off (Sapporo heartbreak, ML-caused heartbreak) the restaurant temporarily functions well enough without her to actually win the cook-off! Did anybody notice this? Did anybody notice that the entrance of this man was what the restaurant needed...
The restitution of the seafood restaurant, the exit of the secretary and the chef from the corporate restaurant to a goofy food-truck are all the usual cute wrap-ups along this line. The restaurants are characters too. Who always needs babies for a satisfying end? (emphasis on always)
--- (2) The love arc. A psychologically realistic attraction. He is a divided soul and has not found his own integrity. She is centred but looking for her own path in practical terms. He has an educated palate and is almost immediately subdued by her undeniable, unstealable, culinary skill. She is the real thing -- classically trained in the french style 'en batterie ', but Korean to the core. Brave where he is cowardly, able to gently, inexorably, and courageously do battle with those in power. she has an authentic, quietly commanding presence.
She picks him. He immediately depends on her, wants her. They find each other in the midst of their struggles. Workplace attractions always have problems, especially if from opposite poles of the industry. One person must find the value in the other in order for them to move closer. This time it is the ML who sheds his previous life and enters her world. Everyone has their own taste, its all fantasy entertainment, but this is a younger, fresher take, in my opinion, than the tired old chaebol tradeoff.
A 10ep neo-classic formula which works efficiently enough that I hope it becomes standard:
1-4 the set-up...the restaurant coalesces around the FL and ML training the newbies and classic workplace attraction involving
a lot of tossing and turning on opposite sides of a cheap thin inn-wall. First kiss. (no problem here for most viewers)
5-7 The lovers need to resolve divided loyalties in the present stemming from past events.... Why did this seem to have broken most viewers minds? This is the place where Chef Mo finally gets respect from the male hierarchy and where she emotionally breaks free of the undeserved damage it caused her. This would be incomplete without the 2ML, who broods in the alleyway in his big car and secretly is in league with the chaebols to ruin her life.
The goofy jealousy antics of the ML are a std kdrama thing, so what? The 2ML has to be believably slick and our now honest ML needs to be cute and semi-baffled. He actually doesnt struggle much, quickly assesses the situation, finally steps up and saves the day. In the process he breaks free of his horrifying slavery as his mom's 'hunting dog'.
8-10 Crises threaten total annihilation. Trust problems caused by misunderstandings plus real problems. Joint retreats to family clarify things. The villain's machinations go poof. Happy hugs and kisses. What's not to like? These new rhythmns are different. Viewers will adjust eventually...
--- (3) Winners and losers.
*FL -- winner. Achieves a peaceful and calm resolution of her painful past. Stays true to herself and her Buddhist upbring. Her sincerity makes all obstacles in her path slowly fall away. Reconciles with her sensei. With the help of the ML, reveals her ex to be a creep.
Conquers her own trust issues and finds that her intuitive judgement of the ML as a dependable lover to be finally justified. Survives the assault of the CEO Mom using the-empress-has-no-clothes technique without public exposure. Mom has no real
power over a real chef. And over a real daughter-in-law.
*CEO/Mom -- loser but winner, in her own world. She loses the cook-off but shamelessly steals it back, which means she will lose her 3stars because Michelin will never grant that again. Her chef and second son,s secretary leave the corporation. However, she is a winner because she gets the publicity she wants for all her product lines. She keeps her oldest son under her thumb.
*ML -- wins his love's heart and gains the approbation of the monk/mom. Finally gets a real job as JungJae's manager.
*2ML ex -- doomed to work at Le Murir and suffer lots of guilt.
Slow food vs. corporate non-ethics. Even when a plot has been done many times before there is always a chance to do it better; in my opinion, this time, practically perfectly. Food, recipes, chefs -- all are treated with the respect they deserve. The soundtrack actually stops for the crunchy dishes and long camera takes wait for individual diners' reactions. Music, scenery and cinematography are high value, It does make you hungry, though -- I often had to take breaks and cook myself something.
The romance is sweet and unusually adult for kdrama; the OTP treat each other with casual familiarity from the getgo and it is oddly authentic. I imagine 30-yr olds (an average of the actors ages, ok) in Seoul or Jeonju tease each other, work together, stutter and stammer and laugh just as this main cast does.
Kang Ha Neul, as the ML, Han Beom Woo, has really great stage-trained comedic skills. He uses his entire body in pratfalls, double-takes, and his long and mid-range shots are just as gorgeous as his storied profile. T he latest trends is for girls with egos and guys with complications, and KHN eats complications for his actor's breakfast. He is shady, shameless, ashamed and embarassed but still spontaneous and sensitive.
Yoo Yeon Seok swoops in for one of his treasured moody 2ML roles (Mr Sunshine? the Gu Family book?) The director used YYS' film acting technique to great effect, contrasting it to KHN's ability to project all the way out and up into the peanut gallery -- YYS' character's falsity and attempts at manipulation are highlighted. YYS excells in the familiar kdrama close-up conversational pauses and glances, but at a distance is much less at ease.
Go Min Si, as the FL, Mo Yeon Joo, is the real shout-out of the show. She is a creative genius, a focused very very professional chef devoted to her practice. She knows what she wants, whether it be boyfriends or cuts of beef and gets the job done with a minimum of fuss.
I loved that Yeon Joo was a monastery orphan. I loved the cozy coats and scarves in wintry sophisticated Sapporo and the cute quilted guest suits on crispy mornings with the (female) monks.
Within the limitation of 10 episodes this is a really masterful use of the std tropes, . The director also did the Weak Hero 1 &2, and his choices and discipline are evident here too.
I really loved the minimum use of childhood flashbacks for backstories and for the 2ML relationship history. We have to actually listen to what the characters have to say.
The storylines are well-woven together. There is no confusion.There is a lack of heavy sentimentality, which may be due to the professional but unobtrusive soundtrack.
The supporting cast was excellent. The main villain, the CEO Mom was introduced early and remains consistent throughout the show. One admires her singlemindedness. The in-between villains show some development and the 'village' team gave solid comic performances. Park Ji hoon does two or three cameos as an idol actor favorite.
The 'village' was one of those preservation attractions, not a 'real' kdrama-hokey rural spot. Frequently but subtly, in this show standard kdrama expectations are set up, and then have the rug pulled out from under them . I list a few below but they are mostly spoilers. The plot is exciting and dramatic but not because of reversals in time line or yearning angst.
Just as the final credits roll, that twist-and-unlock trick of the heart that only kdrama can produce makes you realize how much you loved the show.
ps. Spoilers and a longer discussion below-- warning
Some examples of many economical renovations of std. tropes --
*the brother (Bae Na Ra) just edges towards a better relationshipbut remains his soulless self
*the mother does not have a last minute conversion
*the female lead makes the first move and then totally ignores the ML's silliness.
*she is totally absent for what would normally have been a climatic moment. Her team and the ML wing their way through it.
*Anxiety abt whether her career is in danger is combined with the essential fact that since she is the restaurant, she could always have picked up anf started elsewhere.
pps. Breaking 3 of my parameters here: no spoilers, no long analysis and no explication where short allusive enticement will serve. Why? Because TY is a close-to-perfect 10 episode new-formula pan-asian-romedy and a better than usual international food-romedy. Way too-much pearl-clutching orientalizing going on here in reviews. (i am not always innocent of the same..)
So.
THE PLOT is misunderstood --
1. it is within the food industry, not about heroic little outsiders.
2. it is a neo-classic new-formula romance with more realism and relaxation than the old longer form, but it retains some anxiety-causing ambiguity for the sake of dramatic tension.
(Tears and laughter are used with careful discipline so the operatic rhythm of the older formula is redefined.)
3. winning and losing are ironically also redefined yet within a very Korean horizon.
--- (1) All the characters involved have very good palates so the mdl summary is incorrect. The CEO/Mom villain, the ML, the ML's brother, Motto's chef; her sensei/the Sapporo chef and the villainous ex; the monks, the jeonju teammates, the food-influencers brought in for the cook-off and the Michelin-starred judges, they all recognize Chef Mo's talents immediately without reservation. She is never denigrated or denied her due within the storyline.
The battles between the various components of the food industry are not unusual in RL, but sparingly used in show -- in addition each type of niche establishment is represented and respected: the Seoul mom-and-pop seafood place in the beginning, the regional large gukbap place, the 2 flagship corporate owned fine-dining restaurants, the French-fusion chef-headed big restaurant (in Sapporo) and the exclusive little JungJae hidden gem (in Jeonju).
Chef Mo's personal struggle to find her own direction is a great and central theme -- her retreat to a small city, her solid focus due to her monastery upbringing combined with a super big-time professional training in the US and Sapporo all ground her practice. Even this conflict with the ML's mom brings him into her establishment and creates the context she needs. This all-important frame seems to be invisible to reviewers???? Why.
Also, a restaurant is more than a chef, especially in classical technique. JungJae in a simplified and cute form exemplifies this. The FL as the creator and the ML as the floor manager transform the "gukbap veteran" and the local bad boy heir into a skilled sous-chef and an attentive and expressive sommelier/waiter. When she needs to take time off (Sapporo heartbreak, ML-caused heartbreak) the restaurant temporarily functions well enough without her to actually win the cook-off! Did anybody notice this? Did anybody notice that the entrance of this man was what the restaurant needed...
The restitution of the seafood restaurant, the exit of the secretary and the chef from the corporate restaurant to a goofy food-truck are all the usual cute wrap-ups along this line. The restaurants are characters too. Who always needs babies for a satisfying end? (emphasis on always)
--- (2) The love arc. A psychologically realistic attraction. He is a divided soul and has not found his own integrity. She is centred but looking for her own path in practical terms. He has an educated palate and is almost immediately subdued by her undeniable, unstealable, culinary skill. She is the real thing -- classically trained in the french style 'en batterie ', but Korean to the core. Brave where he is cowardly, able to gently, inexorably, and courageously do battle with those in power. she has an authentic, quietly commanding presence.
She picks him. He immediately depends on her, wants her. They find each other in the midst of their struggles. Workplace attractions always have problems, especially if from opposite poles of the industry. One person must find the value in the other in order for them to move closer. This time it is the ML who sheds his previous life and enters her world. Everyone has their own taste, its all fantasy entertainment, but this is a younger, fresher take, in my opinion, than the tired old chaebol tradeoff.
A 10ep neo-classic formula which works efficiently enough that I hope it becomes standard:
1-4 the set-up...the restaurant coalesces around the FL and ML training the newbies and classic workplace attraction involving
a lot of tossing and turning on opposite sides of a cheap thin inn-wall. First kiss. (no problem here for most viewers)
5-7 The lovers need to resolve divided loyalties in the present stemming from past events.... Why did this seem to have broken most viewers minds? This is the place where Chef Mo finally gets respect from the male hierarchy and where she emotionally breaks free of the undeserved damage it caused her. This would be incomplete without the 2ML, who broods in the alleyway in his big car and secretly is in league with the chaebols to ruin her life.
The goofy jealousy antics of the ML are a std kdrama thing, so what? The 2ML has to be believably slick and our now honest ML needs to be cute and semi-baffled. He actually doesnt struggle much, quickly assesses the situation, finally steps up and saves the day. In the process he breaks free of his horrifying slavery as his mom's 'hunting dog'.
8-10 Crises threaten total annihilation. Trust problems caused by misunderstandings plus real problems. Joint retreats to family clarify things. The villain's machinations go poof. Happy hugs and kisses. What's not to like? These new rhythmns are different. Viewers will adjust eventually...
--- (3) Winners and losers.
*FL -- winner. Achieves a peaceful and calm resolution of her painful past. Stays true to herself and her Buddhist upbring. Her sincerity makes all obstacles in her path slowly fall away. Reconciles with her sensei. With the help of the ML, reveals her ex to be a creep.
Conquers her own trust issues and finds that her intuitive judgement of the ML as a dependable lover to be finally justified. Survives the assault of the CEO Mom using the-empress-has-no-clothes technique without public exposure. Mom has no real
power over a real chef. And over a real daughter-in-law.
*CEO/Mom -- loser but winner, in her own world. She loses the cook-off but shamelessly steals it back, which means she will lose her 3stars because Michelin will never grant that again. Her chef and second son,s secretary leave the corporation. However, she is a winner because she gets the publicity she wants for all her product lines. She keeps her oldest son under her thumb.
*ML -- wins his love's heart and gains the approbation of the monk/mom. Finally gets a real job as JungJae's manager.
*2ML ex -- doomed to work at Le Murir and suffer lots of guilt.
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