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If you are suffering from the empty aftertaste of popular Korean food-based drama, Jewel in the Palace, here’s another Korean food blockbuster to satisfy your taste buds.
Le Grand Chef cooks up a story of two aspiring top chefs in a competition to outwit, outlast and outcook each other in order to earn the prestigious title of Royal Chef.
The reward, other than a crowning title, also involves a long-lost (now found) cooking knife which has an esteemed and significant history attached to it.
The protagonist, played by Kim Gang-woo, is a young genius chef trying to make an honest living. But trouble brews and things turn sour for him when he is falsely accused of poisoning his guests with a puffer fish dish.
Against all odds, Kim must now cook up a storm and present the most mouth-watering spread to win his biggest opponent – a slimy, ruthless chef whom audiences will love to hate.
The war between the chefs may be as heated up as Kimchi, but the movie also skillfully weaves a story as heartwarming as Samgae Tang - also known as the Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup, which is well known for its nutritious sources.
The previously little-known Kim has been stirring up female fans' hearts with his Mr Nice Guy appeal in this show. The actor, who has a girlfriend of five years, said that girls now flock to him on the streets.
But while he may be tasting sweet success with the girls, the real show-stealers of the movie are perhaps the food showcased during the tournament.
As with most Korean television dramas and movies, the most impressive parts of the film are probably the cinematography and the colourful movie sets and props.
The fancy and elaborate dishes fight for the audiences' attention, ridiculously extravagant and a rare sight, according to the actor, as some dishes featured in the movie were served to past Korean kings, and hardly seen in modern times.
The dishes, said Kim during his recent trip to Singapore to promote the movie, were also a pain to execute. The actors in the movie had to go through three months of training in order to look convincing for the big screen.
Starting from basics like learning the correct ways to prepare and cut the ingredients, the actors also had to be trained in actually cooking the dishes.
The only part of the cooking that was not executed by the actors themselves was extracting the poison out of a fish as the skill takes years to perfect.
Despite much parallel from Jewel in the Palace, do not expect a great storyline. However, whatever flavour Le Grand Chef lacks in plot, the director has made it up with grand sets and superb execution.
The movie is also good enough to offer a peek into home style Korean cuisine, from old family recipes to the art of making the best charcoal for cooking.
Although the movie received mixed reviews at the Pusan International Film Festival last year, Le Grand Chef opened to stunning success in Korea, with more than three million admissions – making it the top grossing film in Korea in the second half of 2007.
Singapore is the first country out of Korea to get a taste of the show, and rights have already been sold to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.
Le Grand Chef is now showing in cinemas.
CNA/yb
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