Gourmet / Trencherma / Best Chef / Sik Gaek

Gourmet (also known as Trencherma, BestChef, and Sik Gaek) is a Korean cuisine-themed South Korean drama adapted from the manga and film, Le Grand Chef which tells the story of two talented chefs, Lee Sung Chan (Kim Rae Won from A Thousand Days' Promise, Love Story in Harvard, What Planet Are You From?, My Little Bride, A Thousand Days’ Promise) and Oh Bong Joo (Kwon Oh Joong) raised like brothers by Head Chef Oh Seung Geun (Choi Bool Am from Smile, You, Princess Hours), owner of the prestigious traditional Korean cuisine restaurant Unamjung and known to be the descendant of the last Royal Chef from Joseon Dynasty.

Sung Chan is left orphaned at the age of 14 when Head Chef Oh took him in and raised him as a son, along with Head Chef Oh’s legitimate son, Bong Joo. While both Bong Joo and Sung Chan took after Head Chef Oh’s cooking skills and eventually became chefs themselves, everyone expects Bong Joo to eventually inherit Unamjung due to his seniority and lineage. It thus came as a big surprise when Head Chef Oh promoted Sung Chan on mere credit of his natural cooking talent since Sung Chan tends to be careless, not to mention lacking in management skills.

Sung Chan then meets the over-eager and temperamental aspiring food journalist, Kim Jin Soo (Nam Sang Mi from She’s on Duty, Time Between Dog and Wolf) who later worked as restaurant attendant at Unamjung. Soon after, Head Chef Oh announced an open invitation to all Unamjung Chefs for a cooking competition with a very valuable prize at stake - - Unamjung ownership!  Of all the chefs at Unamjung, Bong Joo, Sung Chan and Min Woo (Won Ki Joon) braved the challenge but the competition is suspended when Sung Chan suddenly runs away from Unamjung after discovering a big controversy behind his true identity.

While away from Unamjung, Sung Chan starts his food peddling business while Bong Joo is eventually appointed as Unamjung’s CEO. Not long after Bong Joo takes over the business, he initiates a number of operational changes to penetrate the global market, but the trade-offs take a toll on Unamjung’s long-preserved quality, tradition and close-knit culture among its employees.  Can Sung Chan stay away from Unamjung when his passion for cooking and concern for Unamjung tells him otherwise?

Details

Genre: romance, family, culinary

Episodes: 24 + 1 Special

Broadcast network: Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)

Broadcast period: June 17, 2008 to September 9, 2008

Characters

• Lee Sung Chan (Kim Rae Won)
• Oh Bong Joo (Kwon Oh Joong)
• Kim Jin Soo (Nam Sang Mi)
• Head Chef Oh Seung Geun (Choi Bool Am)
• Yoo Joo Hee (Kim So Yun)

Extended Characters

• Min Woo (Won Ki Joon)
• Ja Woon (Jung Jin)
• Director Han [Jin Soo’s boss] (Kang Nam Gil)
• Director Yoon [Joo Hee’s father] (Shim Yang Hong)
• Madam Jo (Kim Ae Kyung)
• Jong Goo (Lee Won Yong)
• Dal Pyung (Lee Won Jong)
• Lee Ki Jung (Hoon Ki)
• Sang Ki (Kim Sun Hyuk)
• Suk Dong (Choi Jae Hwan)
• General Manager (Do Yoon Joo)
• Manager Kang (Kim Hye Jung)
• President Seo (Yang Taek Jo)
• President Jang (Kim Sung Kyum) 
• Matsumoto Junichi (Lee Ki Young)
• Soon Boon [Seung Geun's friend] (Jung Young Sook)
• legendary butcher Kang Pyun Soo (Jo Sang Goo)
• Cooking contest MC (Choi Song Hyun)
• towing truck driver (Jang Moon Suk)
• young Sung Chan (No Young Hak)
• young Bong Joo (Ahn Yong Joon)

Gourmet Original Soundtrack 

Gourmet Original Soundtrack Volume 1

  

Gourmet Soundtrack OST Volume 1

01. oon ahm jung eh ah chim
02. sun mool (Lee Juk)
03. Dream Time (Tei)
04. chut sarang [Drama Version] (Lee So Ra)
05. noon ee ha neun mal (Shin Hye Sung)
06. Love me (Sweetpea)
07. but ggot ji da [Drama Version] (Malo)
08. sarang gwa byul
09. nuh eh ge (Casker)
10. Gourmet
11. bi mil (Zitten & Han Hee Jung)
12. Heyday (Fanny Fink)
13. nae ggoom eul hyang hae suh (Lemon Tree)
14. gyung hab
15. oon myung

Gourmet Soundtrack OST Volume 2

01 . 세상 밖으로
02 . 그대 좋아하는 계절이 와요
03 . 새로운 세상
04 . 그대를 듣죠
05 . 친구
06 . 바라보는 사랑
07 . 도마와 칼
08 . 늘 푸른 풍경처럼
09 . Moonrise (Drama ver.)
10 . 아파도
11 . 불꽃
12 . 내일을 향해
13 . 부족한 사랑
14 . Love Me
15 . 회상
16 . 잃어버린 나
17 . 사랑일까요
18 . 햇살
19 . 트럭에 몸을 싣고
20 . 사랑

Dream Time

by Tei

I didn’t know what to do,

But now I do

This is my destiny.

I might lose my way,

But you know me,

I won’t give up

I can’t say anything,

I can’t promise anything

I have a lot of work to do

But I know in my heart

People don’t accept me

Some are against me

But my time has come

It’ll be a sweet success

I slip up a lot,

But I always get up on my feet

I’ll do it for you, my friend,

So please wait

I can’t say anything,

I can’t promise anything

I’m just not ready yet

But I know this much

I have been born again,

With you at my side

I won’t let go

I’m doing this for you

Nothing can stop me from flying high

Let’s go

I’m not afraid of anything

As long as you’re with me

My time is now

It’ll be a sweet success.

Recommended Items:

The Grand Chef (DVD) (End) (SBS TV Drama) (Multi-audio) (English Subtitled) (Singapore Version)

The Grand Chef Vol. 1 of 2 (DVD) (English Subtitled) (SBS TV Drama) (US Version)

The Grand Chef Vol. 2 of 2 (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (SBS TV Drama) (US Version)

Korean TV Drama 2-pack: The Grand Chef Vol 1 + Vol 2

Gourmet / Sik Gaek - Korean Drama (6 DVD Digipak) All Region with English Subtitles

Le Grand Chef Volume 1

Le Grand Chef Volume 2