I liked Pasta and, despite what those who read my review may think, I do like Gong Hyo Jin. She's a versatile and expressive actress. My problem isn't her, it's the character she portrays. In the beginning I was truly rooting for her, and commended her strength of will, even if it meant being humiliated and treated like a kitchen slave. If you have never seen with your own eyes how the haute cuisine kitchens work, you wouldn't believe how accurate and even "bland" this chef's treatment of his cooks is. High level kitchen are in many cases not different from the military, with the youngest or newest arrival treated like dirt.
However, and here started my problems with Yoo Kyung, this character is completely devoid of sense, and this irritated me no end. First she almost dies frozen to salvage the supplies, accepts to be mishandled by the sous-chef and his accolites, wipes the sweat from other's foreheads in the humblest of ways, then, when she finally has the chance to touch the pans and actually cook, she's too stubborn to learn and doesn't want to recognize her mistakes.
She's like a student who bows his head when called stupid and then stomps his feet when he's caught by the teacher not knowing how much is 2+2.
She somehow ruined my pleasure for this drama, which is overall delightful. Her character felt contrieved and not coherent with the plot at all.
This said, everything else I highly enjoyed, even when it frustrated me and I wanted to shout.
Also, I loved her totally crazy outfits, so colourful and bohemian.
P.S. I am a fan of Lee Sun Gyun and his voice too, since Coffee Prince. His character in Pasta is obnoxious and deserves a couple of kicks, but absolutely cohesive and believable. This said, I have to disagree about the chemistry between the leads. Even though there are sparks, their relationship is too uneven to be truly enjoyable, in my opinion. I'm not sure I like the "romantic" message of this drama.
