Gourmet, ep. 01-07

[oyceter]

Gourmet is based on the same manhwa the movie Le Grande Chef was based on, only it's much better than the movie.

Sung Chan and Bong Joo are both the sons of Chef Oh, the owner of Un Ahm Jung, but Sung Chan was actually adopted. As the drama opens, the question of who will inherit Un Ahm Jung arises. Chef Oh is a descendent of the last royal chef of Korea, Un Ahm Jung embodies the traditions of Korean court food, and according to tradition, everyone expects Bong Joo to inherit. But! Chef Oh isn't so sure and decides to throw a contest to determine who will inherit Un Ahm Jung, along with the old chef's knife passed down from the last royal chef.

Because cooking contests are always the best way to resolve inheritance disputes, of course...

Most of the contest episodes are, unsurprisingly, very shounen: it's all about surpassing each other with skills and ingredients. It's also a competition of talent vs. skill, as Min Woo (a handsome but smarmy chef) and Bong Joo have vast amounts of skill, but Sung Chan has lots of raw talent, and, of course, even more heart. I admit, I laughed hysterically at all the tropes, from the heirloom chef's knife to the dramatic sports-movie music during the cooking montages to the completely over-the-top taste reactions. And I love it all! I especially love how the tasters will go into exposition overload when it comes to explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each and every food preparation choice.

Spoilers

I'm glad the show didn't go down the entire contest path, though the one-year skip feels a bit funny. On the other hand, I love seeing Sung Chan as a grocer with his good old truck!

I keep rooting for Bong Joo, just because he's set up as the brother who turns to the dark side of capitalism. Plus, the flashbacks of the two as kids is so cute! I mean, I'm pretty sure Bong Joo won't be the straight out villain like Min Woo is, but he is definitely in the grey areas right now. I should also come up with a list of all the dramas with a rich, polished woman who is the person standing between two brothers/cousins/close friends.

Jin Soo was pretty annoying at first, since I have very little tolerance for the clumsy but endearing drama heroine type, but she's a little better now that she's not completely out of her league as a server.

I, uh, cruelly laughed at the storyline of the knifemaker with cancer and his visit to his son in prison. I blame this on the movie! At least his son was not tragically on death row eating his last meal!

So far, the female characters aren't great (I wish there were actual female chefs, for one), but Sung Chan is immensely likeable and charming, and I'm also curious about the fate of Bong Joo.

Plus, food porn galore! I have been craving Korean food for a good month or so, thanks to watching these episodes.

ETA: rilina has a few screencaps of the food porn!

Comments

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I feel it's a shame you saw the movie before the knifemaker with cancer episode, because it really was quite affecting without that background. Possibly because no one went blind from staring at a fire or got stabbed with a piece of burnt wood.

[oyceter]

*snorfle* The whole "putting him on death row is not enough! No, we must also make him blind!" still cracks me up.