This drama isn't the newest or latest, it is an older drama so some may feel it is dated with the style etc...but what makes a drama anyways because it has the latest fashions or hottest actors. If this is what your looking for than you can just skip this drama.
This drama had so much depth not only in cuisine but also emotional depth.
If for no other reason i would recommend this for the food aspect. I mean everything you could imagine from sea to land. Everything from snow crabs, to croaker bladders to mountain pheasants and yes even the art of korean butchery.
I personally would recommend this for any Kim Rae Won fans, which I never was but I am now!
as for OST, great intro! and some memorable tunes as well.
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THE STORY: I was hooked on it from the first episode. It's about a father and 2 sons who run a renowned historic restaurant serving traditional Korean food. What I really enjoyed is the way the father-son and brother-brother relationships are played out. There are good guys and bad guys, but the bad guys are relatively well-rounded and realistic. You can kind of see their point of view and feel for them. The actors all do a great job bringing these characters to life. Kim Rae Won is really likable as the the sincere and naturally talented chef, Sung Chan. Kwon Oh Jung is good as Bong Joo, Sung Chan's overly-ambitious brother. And Choi Bool Am is endearing as their father.
The story touches on themes like balancing modernization with protecting tradition and heritage, living up to your parents expectations and finding your own way in life. It's relatively realistic for a drama. Just like in everyday life there's a little bit of everything - some fun moments, some sadness, rivalries, competition, jealousies, heartwarming and supportive friendships. There is some romance. It was cute, but not the main focus of this drama.
THE FOOD COMPETITIONS: The plot involves not just one food competition but several cooking competitions. And it all looks so good to me. I want to taste it all. There is a lot of focus on the food preparation and the drama of coming up with interesting creative recipes that will outdo the competition. I love watching cooking competition shows so I really get into this aspect of the story and find it exciting. And I don't know much about Korean food so it is really interesting for me to watch them making it and see how they eat and appreciate it.
THE PACING: I read some comments about it being slow. I didn't find it slow, but I can understand why some people might feel this way if watching people making food or talking food doesn't interest you or you prefer dramas with more focus on romance or thrills. But I thought the pacing of the story was just right. Every scene had its purpose and moved things along at a comfortable pace.
Maybe it's not everyone's taste, but this drama left me feeling happy and satisfied just like a good meal. It's definitely one of my favorites!
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A Bitter Aftertaste
It wouldn't have been a culinary piece without pulling the classic "like my mother used to make it" move with the nostalgia hit like Ratatouille. Cooking extravaganza, orgasm by taste, sabotaging rats, exotic ingredients, old rivals, and lvl 99 hidden chefs, they're all here as you would expect from such a theme. However, I wish it stuck to its culinary theme more tightly. There were a few detours here and there that didn't fit well. The butcher arc, specifically the first 2 rounds, was an example of the drama shifting away from the main characters and cooking. The drama also added a little bit of "supposed" romance but it was one of the driest displays of romance ever, they even turned it into a quick love square for one episode. The brothers rivalry was meh, I didn't like its progression nor its resolution. Aside from everything else, the one thing that pushed me to the limits was the inclusion of the deplorable trope of excessive constant interrupts. More often than not, cutting scenes and conversations short. This deplorable trope left such a nasty sour taste that I couldn't shake it off. It ruined what I might have liked about the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Korean Royal Gourmet Fit for Everyone
Of all the drama genre I enjoyed watching, those of the Food, Cooking and Nutrition were my favorites. Although I love to watch, action, suspense, historical and science inspired tv series, stories on cooking and food can make me instantly glued and my welcome treat since I love to cook and explore on cooking inter-racial foods. As an Asian, I enjoy cuisines from the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Malaysian, Chinese and of course American as well as European treats like pies, pasta, sauces , etc. I was a big fan of Andrew Zimmern and Mark Wiens.I initially thought Gourmet was of the same plot as Feast of the Gods since they were both based on the premise about Korean Royal Cuisine. But as I watched further, Gourmet is of a different plot. Honestly, I appreciate having watched both tv drama. And my understanding about Korean Royal Gourmet grew further. I somehow can understand why Korean food has been making waves and have been known all over the world. The traditional food started by the Koreans were served to the royals of the Korean kingdom and was now being propagated worldwide by Korean foodists, travelers, merchants and visitors who have highly appreciated their rich heritage and distinct taste the Korean people so loved. Korean TV Series Gourmet is an uplifting should watch series if you love to eat Korean food.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good as a cooking show, the love story was meh
The concept was very good and the story was well-done, more or less, and Kim Rae Won was adorable. So was his father, old Chef Oh, one of the most delightful characters in the show.1. The romance department was more than lame. Especially the romance between the main leads. It seemed as an after-thought, the restaurant problems being the main concern for everyone. There were no heart-fluttering moments - let alone a proper kiss. We never felt he's really in love with her.
2. The female main lead was terrible. Both the actress (plain, boring, overacting) and the role (clueless and helpless idiot). Her part was barely relevant to the plot - except for that one article, that could have been written by anybody else.
3. The music was too on-your-face, over-dramatic, you thought it was a historical epic. It seriously bothered me at times.
4. Too many cooking competitions, in the end it got old.
5. The cooking part, which was the main thing, sometimes showed extremely disgusting things, I had to turn my eyes away.
6. The second female lead's love story was disappointing. This drama had one of the coolest female second leads I’ve seen. But Yun Ju Hi was too self-sacrificing and noble, didn’t fight for her love, or let's say she was too wishy-washy, not bold enough. In fact both she and the one whom she loved had to compromise and ended up with their second choice of partners. This wasn’t satisfying, especially for him, given how much of an insignificant woman was the one he ultimately got with and how much more suitable was Ju Hi for him.
7. The negative characters were pardoned too easily, with no consequences.
Still it was a solid drama.
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В целом, она бы пошла на ура, если бы мне не были так несимпатичны внешне два главных героя - братья-повара. К женскому касту никаких претензий, нравятся, что Ким Со Ён, что Нам Сан Ми. А вот Квон О Чжун и Ким Рэ Вон прям наказание какое-то. Причем так же и в остальных их дорамах. Даже последние "Доктора" мной не отсмотрены до конца именно по этому. Ну да ладно, все равно я с удовольствием погрузилась в мир такой простой и такой замудренной корейской кухни, попутешествовала с героями по стране, такой богатой на все, что можно съесть и то, что даже и не подумаешь, что это можно есть. Узнала много интересного из основ кулинарии, как ловятся моллюски, как добывается соль, как что-то ферментируется, а что-то может простоять 100 лет и только обогатиться вкусом.
Как всегда, второстепенный каст отличный, старшее поколение даст фору любому молодняку.
А еще опять царапнуло отношение к Японии, наверное, понадобиться еще несколько десятилетий, чтобы как у нас в прошлое ушли "немцы", а у них "японцы".
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