Cooking Crush (2023)

light and fun BL

I wasn’t sure at first, but this BL surprised me. I’ve already watched a few bl with offgun, so I know this pairing and their chemistry. Also it was a comedy relief when it was airing at first with the other more depressing BL airing at the same time.

I love the friendships and the relationships. Green flags/supportive boyfriends and healthy relationships. No break up also. I also enjoyed the cooking aspect.

Love grandma and samsee’s parents. Fire and Ten parents had development. Ten’s father could be an ass, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He didn’t mind that his son was gay, he didn’t want him to suffer and him being used and in the end, wanted him to be happy. The step mom was weird and annoying.

Prem’s sister and Samsee being in a relationship was a cute surprise, even if I still ship him with grey hair guy (forget his name for a sec ahah), their bickering and dynamic was hilarious. That would have made an interesting enemies to lovers, but in the end friendship, it’s okay.

I liked the comedy and not many problems or drama. Good kissing scenes from her main couple. I also absolutely love Fire and Dynamite. Their dynamic interested me from the beginning. I liked the development when Fire realized that he liked him. Also a cute relationship.

Happy end perfect ending.

Waiting for the next OffGun drama. Also, get Neo a leading role and his own BL, he deserves it. I’ve seen many BL with him as the side character or the second couple. I really like his acting.

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They Better of Friends!

I don't know the Thai entertainment industry much, but their script is too bland and has no depth when it comes to the BL series. the acting looks like a parody sometimes.

Now let's talk about Pro & Cons of this series:
- Short series: this series is short and way too sweet & cute but if you find chemistry b/w the leads you will be disappointed, they look more like friends rather than couples.
- The food in the series looks indeed appetizing but idk when the 3rd year cooking student can't even chop vegies properly.
- Fire's mom changes in the end completely within one go is so unexpected but most unexpected was Paeng [Prem's sister] dating his friend was shocking and so unnecessary.
- Imagine you admire your senior and out of nowhere he has a crush on you.
- Prem's personality is so shy every time Ten has to stand up for him...
- Ten has the touching issue which he addressed after 3rd time meeting Prem even tho he had no problem touching him for the first time, he realized it after Prem moved him in the market. In the starting, he said, "Money is not the problem." turned out to be his father's money and he had a problem... Dude you only said that when you knew there would be no problem but suddenly your dad took account of your spending and you had no idea. How slow he is?
- His senior doctor doesn't need to look like his mom, it was too obvious.
- the series is short with a good story but the script was not compatible and made it a little bland puppy love.

Anyway, it is a one-time watch series if you are Gun & Off fan. You can enjoy the puppy love and the little cute less funny scenes.

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Not Much Cooking

I watched this series solely for Off/Gun because they were so phenomenal in Not Me, but Not Me and Cooking Crush are polar opposites in every way. Cooking Crush is a rom-com but unfortunately neither the rom or the com was done particularly well and as a whole it lacked substance. It was generically cute with nothing to make it stand out from the legion of other Thai rom-coms. The cooking aspect, which could have made it more unique, was not utilized well enough to make a mark. With such a stellar cast, I'm disappointed that it didn't live up to it's potential.

Cooking Crush really leaned into the comedic side of things from the get go with heavy use of sound effects and exaggerated acting from its cast. But it wasn't well thought out, intelligent humor, it was simply cheesy and, in a number of cases, cringeworthy. In fact, it was so painful and not to my taste that I very nearly dropped it then and there. The main plot centers around Prem, a cooking student, who meets Ten, a med student, in a series of unfortunate events that eventually leads to Ten trying Prem's food and finding it to be absolutely delicious. He proceeds to ask Prem to teach him to cook which Prem refuses until he's in need of money to pay for his sister's school and agrees, though he charges an exorbitant price that Ten is all too willing to pay. From there they slowly fall in love, facing a few up and downs with time spent apart, the disapproval of Ten's father, and a brief scandal. The secondary couple of Dynamite, Prem's fellow cooking student friend, and Fire, a pharmacy student and Ten's friend, focuses on Fire separating himself from his domineering mother and finally having the freedom and opportunity to discover himself and come to terms with his own sexuality. Dynamite, having fallen for Fire some time previously, relentlessly pursues Fire, sometimes stalking him, in an effort to win him over which is eventually successful though they still have to contend with Fire's mother once she finds out. Secondary to the romance is Prem and his friends journey to be on a popular cooking show and the various challenges they face with it. It's a very simple series without much depth and it can stray into being downright tedious times. And for a show called Cooking Crush, I expected a much greater focus on the cooking and, once the cooking show began, on it. But while food is certainly woven throughout the story and is utilized well at times, there was a lack of detail that made it seem shallow. For all that Prem was supposed to be teaching Ten to cook, it felt more like a cooking demonstration as Ten wasn't seen doing a whole lot. The show, which could have been a great way to lean into the cooking aspect, was not well defined and key elements like the tasting and judges' comments on the food were left out. The pacing was slow. It could have very easily been condensed into ten, maybe even fewer episodes. There's a fair amount of filler with nothing going on or just sweet scenes between the couples which were not needed.

The characters themselves had both highs and lows to them, though Ten and Prem were certainly the highlight. One of the biggest downsides was that they were all supposed to be college students and yet the immaturity level made them seem more like high school students or even younger. There were also a few character inconsistencies, namely, Ten's father scolds him for using his fists to defend Prem, but a few episodes earlier he had slapped Ten himself. Despite that, there was some decent character development which I did appreciate.
-Prem is a budding chef who has the skills to succeed but lacks the confidence to do so. Prem's journey, besides romantic, is learning to develop his self-confidence and have faith in himself and his skills. Of course there's also his relationship with Ten, which starts out rocky, but quickly takes on a romantic note when the pair develop mutual feelings. Though there are moments of immaturity between the two, having their friends run messages between them being a big one, they are generally pretty solid together. Other than the aforementioned case and one or two other instances, communication is generally a strong point between them. Their support for each other is also quite endearing. I was, however, surprised when he started making unilateral decisions for his team after the drama with Ten punching Chang Ma. It felt out of character for him.
-Ten is a shy med student haunted by his past. He can be a bit of a hot head, but he learns from the mistakes he makes and more importantly is willing to admit to those mistakes and apologize for them. His love for Prem pushes him out of his comfort zone and helps solidify what he wants in life. His unending support and encouragement of Prem was very sweet. We should all have such support in our lives.
-Dynamite is characterized by his fiery personality that refuses to be contained or in any way diminished. He loves fiercely and gives his all, no matter the situation. Though his pursuit of Fire does stray into downright stalking, he's not creepy or threatening about it, just overenthusiastic, not that that makes it okay. He does eventually learn to respect Fire's boundaries and gains some maturity. Hiding their relationship from their friends though is not one of their smarter moves and does cause damage when Unky finds out he was left in the dark when Prem knew. It's a learning experience for all involved. And while he does grow and mature, he also never loses sight of who he is which I found admirable.
- Fire is the one character who experiences an identity crisis when faced with the fact that he might not be straight. Controlled and suppressed by his domineering mother, he is only allowed to explore his own wants and desires after she allows him to move out. And while he is clearly drawn to Dynamite, he is reluctant to voice the possibility that he may be into guys. One thing that I appreciated throughout this drama is that there are no labels. No one is identified as strictly gay or straight and none of the challenges they face in their relationships are related to their sexuality. It's refreshing. Once Fire recognizes his own feelings and accepts them, he's all in, quickly turning into a sweet, loving boyfriend. Perhaps a little too abrupt of a change for my taste. And while he may not see eye to eye with his mother, I did like the way their relationship was portrayed and how once he gained the courage to actually tell her how he felt, she respected that and was open to talking.
-Unky stood out to me with his passion and determination. The oldest of his friends, he faces the fear that they'll eventually decide to leave him behind, a fear that is the driving force behind his fight with in Ep 9. The way that they assuage those fears is very wholesome and creates a sweet scene. I do wish we'd seen a bit more maturity from him given that he was older than the others, but I suppose that's a fairly minor complaint. His budding relationship in the last episode with Pang was cute though I wish it had been introduced earlier.
-Chang Ma was an unnecessary character, at least as a love interest. I would have much preferred for him to be left as a mentor and friend for Prem rather than someone who came in and tried to stir up trouble. I actually quite liked him at first, but when he started pushing boundaries and vying for Prem's affection even though it was obvious he had feelings for Ten, official or not, he lost my respect. He did eventually get the message and helped to take the heat off of Prem's team after Ten punched him, but the damage was done as far as I was concerned.
-With the parents, I liked the fact that the gender of their child's partner was never an issue, even with Ten's father. He was concerned about Prem trying to scam Ten, not that Prem was also a man. And I loved Prem's grandmother and how supportive she was of Prem in everything. She was an absolute gem.

The acting was not quite as strong as I was expecting. I know how strong of actors Off and Gun are and this was not their best work. While the chemistry was there, it just wasn't at the same level as it was in Not Me or even Theory of Love. Neo was good as always, though having just seen him in Only Friends, his performance wasn't quite as strong here. Newbie Aungpao was entertaining as Dynamite and while it was obvious he wasn't quite as seasoned as the other actors, he still did a good job and was fun to watch. Dome was one of the stronger actors and I thought he did a great job giving a nuance performance.

The production value was decent. The uncut version has a much better flow whereas the cut version had some choppy scenes and cuts. I would definitely recommend the uncut version as it provides more insight into various characters and their actions/interactions. However, even in the uncut, there are still some awkward jumps and tonal shifts. With the cooking element, no offense to the actors, but not once did I believe they were actually culinary students. Their knife and cooking skills/technique was not up to snuff. This is where clever camera angles, close ups of hands and the like, etc. could have been utilized to fool viewers into thinking they were far more skilled than they appeared.

Ultimately I found Cooking Crush to be disappointing. Given the caliber of its cast, it could have been so much more, but the overly campy nature of it really suppressed their talent and it didn't have the weight it could have had. I would have loved to have seen a more serious take, with some humor still thrown in, and more of a focus on the food and how it brings the characters together. But that's just me, I prefer dramas like Not Me over ones like Cooking Crush. If you're an Off/Gun fan, you may very well enjoy it or if camp is your genre of choice, but if you are looking for something more akin to Not Me, this is not the drama for you.

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Unfair for the past to judge the present.

Yes, this is not "Not Me." It's "Cooking Crush."

Any reviews that compare the two series, solely because of the actors involved, are automatically suspect. One is a dark crime thriller, the other RomCom. Each series should be judged individually, within the framework of its appropriate genre. Full stop.

REVIEW -
I watch a BL with one major criteria - acting. If it's subpar - and there are many, many, a LARGE host of MANY that fall into this hole - not wasting my time. The second is script, a hollow and muddled narrative will be abandoned. Over the last 6 months, I've completed 2 series - Be My Favorite and Cooking Crush.

OffGun chemistry, the biggest seller of the series. No wobbling in character, each scene was theirs, from first glance to last kiss, Ten and Prem's attraction and story believable, they bonded over food, over family, over acts of service and sacrifice. Too often BL protags are thrown together by the script, and that's where the spark remains, on the page, not shining out from loving eyes. Every TenPrem glance has love baked right in there, and their love became real.

No silly BL miscommunication tropes - Ten and Prem spoke honestly and openly. Adversity met and overcome, hard work leads to a happy life. A solid friend group, two actually. and satisfying ending. I liked this series, warm hearts and smiles are always needed and appreciated.

Where this production stumbles is the cinematography, and editing. A moving shot when stillness called, a static on a stick camera when motion would add energy to the talky scene. Lingered too long, or zipped right on by too fast, the frame never seemed to be in the right place or angle. The edited cut on YT was an unkind thing for this series, and even with footage restored behind the WETV paywall, choppy still with odd scene transitions, and missing chunks of story padding that would have helped soften around the edges. Silly froth still must have a cohesive thru-line for the audience to engage fully.

And the script never quite rose to the original lofty goals of exploring socio-economic differences in Thai society. There kinda, sorta, maybe, briefly, then slipped in between the cracks. Rich vs. poor, doctor vs. cook, privilege vs. opportunity, money is usually also an issue. There could have, should have been SO much more to examine - they both had lost their mothers, for crying out loud! Where was that?

Also, second couple never clicked with me. What was the commonality that drew Fire and Dynamite together - stalking is not a good look.

I recommend this series if looking for sunny and happy, and will be revisiting TenPrem often.

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COOKING LIKE A CHEF

A poor(ish) culinary student and a rich med student. Put those 2 together and you get a cute relationship!! I LIVE for OffGun. I mean, who doesn't? If you've seen their previous works then you already know that it'll be a great paring.

STORY:

Third year culinary students Prem, Dynamite, and Samsi/Unky are the best of friends. They've been together since the 1st year of culinary classes. Trusting their friendship and skills, they join a cooking competition, known as Super Monster Chef (aka A BIG DEAL.) Prem then meets Ten, a med student. When Ten asks Prem for cooking lessons, he agrees due to money problems. What will happen when sparks begin to fly in the kitchen?

FAVSSS!!!

Let me start off with the chemistry. Nothing can go wrong between Off and Gun!! But.. Neo and Aungpao? Let me just- AHHHHHHHH!!!! I LOVEEE THEM!! Neo can have chemistry with just about anyone. Take the actors from Only Friends for example, you could ship him with any of them and I'd be like "I could see it." But they came to win their fans hearts and THEY DID. Aungpao is such a great actor and I'm excited for his future projects, whether its with Neo or not.

THE OST WAS SO CATCHY!! Everytime it played in the background I couldn't stop myself from singing "You give me a sugar rush, you're my baby crush!!"

NEEDS SOME.. FIXING.

The storyline was a little messy. The acting wasn't as good as other series, but I can understand with the script. The random time jump?? It could have been better. I would like to see more series where they're out of their college/high school days. Especially with OffGun. Cmon GMMTV!! They're in their 30's, lets see some more mature series which I know they can do with their potential.

Overall, this was a sweet, lighthearted series. I would recommend to those who just need a wholesome watch for a bit. Plus, the friendship between Unky and Metha was just AMAZING. I laughed at almost every scene of theirs.

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Super cute, and definitely worth watching if you like OffGun!

This may be the first time I started a series because I like the bts chemistry of the main characters, and I don't think this series disappointed at all! It was quite sad seeing many people not enjoying OffGun in this serious, and I can definitely see why. But I love their chemistry, and the absolutely hilarious comedy (not everyone will enjoy comedy of course), and I love the friendship groups of both leads.

Prem's grandma is an absolute cutie, and need I mention the couple who everyone thinks overshone the main cpl Dynamite and Firefy! They really have such a great story and I enjoyed their relatinoship as much as Ten x Prem, although I won't say I liked them better, cuz i seriously love OffGun.

The premise of the show is supposed to be 'cooking', and I do think it's cute that we have a foodie x passionate chef pairing, that's always such an adorable trope! But admittedly the premise doesn't really add anything relatively important to the plot. But I did go into this mindlessly just to watch the sweet moments of the couples, hence why my rating is probably a lot higher than others.

But overall, I would definitely recommend this if you want some sweet OffGun / Dynamite x Firefy moments, they're definitely worth the time!

PS: Ten's step-mum is actually quite likeable despite her knack to cause trouble for Ten

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Light entertainment for me

Nothing special about this BL, but good enough to entertain myself by binge-watching the first 8 episodes, then watching the last four episodes weekly,. It wasnt something I would die for every Sunday, but it was okay. Usually watched it the following day (Monday or Tuesday). Everything was predictable. Parents understood their kids at the end. Grandma was so nice until the last episode. The three friends remained friends forever and each found their partners. Everybody lived happily ever after (at least, that was shown in the last episode).

Of course the food was so apetizing, especially Grandma's cooking, and whatever Prem and Ten cooked at the end. I'm not to keen on the fancy dishes made for the chef competition (or any chef competition with Asian food) which looked too artificial and unappetizing. Would rather have regular Thai street food :-)

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Watch for OffGun

Cooking Crush was about what I expected it to be: a silly goofy gay romance. Don't go in expecting anything other than that, and it's a great watch. There might not be much in the way of drama, but boy is it cute and fun!

Prem (Gun) is a culinary student, who doesn't really stick out with his abilities, but does an okay job. When his sister loses her tuition money, Prem needs a way to get it back fast. Ten (Off) is a med student who decides he wants to learn to cook - but really, he just wants to be around Prem. Prem charges him an outrageous fee for cooking lessons, but Ten doesn't mind since his dad is wealthy. The two get closer during their cooking lessons, and feelings start to emerge between them, but it seems there will be some obstacles before they can be together.

If you like OffGun, you should watch this. It's really goofy, and no problems seem to be drawn out too long. Overall a good show and an easy watch.

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Just another forgettable watch, but OffGun's chemistry sparks

What can I ask more than OffGun kissing in every episode. Their chemistry is certainly strong but with this story, I just couldn't enjoy that much. Maybe because I am still in OffGun Not me era and couldn't get out of it yet.

No doubt it is just a easygoing,lighthearted show. I was not invested in the storyline. To explain it more clearly; it wasn't like I would watch one ep and think about it all week and keep waiting for the next. This was more like I would watch just because I want to watch not giving much thought to it and have nothing else to watch.

What I liked about this show:
1. I liked the friendship dynamics of both the groups(Prem Dy Unky) and (Ten Fy Metha) .
2. Comedy was fine in the beginning.
3. Dynamite's character development, from being annoying to mature.
4. Offcourse, Off gun kissing in every episode
5. Food dishes.

Overall: Not the best but not the worst either...

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They WILL NOT BREAK UP ?.

You know when they say the first chapter of the novel should be eye capturing to keep the reader attention. The first episode was like that for me. The Ten's part where he doesn't eat anything and the stuff happens to him was so much fun ? ? ?.
I like this story and how they maintain it. I was thinking on every bad situation that now they're gonna breakup and but they didn't was total a thumbs up. But I totally don't get today's people love life. Like yeah I like you and I can KISS you but still I need to make it OFFICIAL to call you my girl/boyfriend ?.
But still some things really bothered me also. I hate these kind of stuff where everyone's telling the main character that what he's doing is right when he actually DID wrong. Like how Prem's sister asked him to take money from doc and THEN she ACTUALLY wrote "money scammed from doc" as fun just for everyone to see and blamed him.
Like how the Chef Chang Ma were actually helping the group when he was actually the judge of show. He didn't consider that. I know he has feelings for Prem and still he should've known better.
But thank God Prem is matured and didn't do any stupid stuff.
If they won the competition when they show us from the very start how clumsy they were, I would have disappointed but they did the right thing.
All in all I liked it. I was kinda got bored on the 8th episode but they still somehow got my attention. ?.

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