tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
‘Celebrity chef’ Jung Ji-seon completely won over the palates of local staff in Chengdu, China on the third attempt.
On the tvN variety program ‘Undercover Chef’ that aired on the 9th, the show depicted Chef Jung Ji-seon’s struggles and touching success on the fourth day of her undercover employment at Yeonhwajang in Chengdu, China.
That day, Jung Ji-seon was finally recognized for her skills as she took on the kitchen’s key role of running a stove station solo. But the joy was brief, as she soon faced an extreme situation of having to cook as many as 11 dishes at once using unfamiliar local methods.
In particular, when she first cooked twice-cooked pork, she focused so much on the cautions that she made the mistake of stir-frying the meat for too long. After tasting the twice-cooked pork she had made, Owner Nam quietly slipped out of the kitchen.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
Afterward, Owner Nam quietly called in the mentor of Jung Ji-seon, ‘Glasses Senior’ Guo Lihong, and warned, “You must strictly observe cooking times.” When a nervous Jung gently asked the returning Guo, “Is the boss angry?”, Guo kindly reassured the junior, “No. He said nothing,” creating a warm moment.
The crisis continued. The grandmother owner of Yeonhwajang also looked at the twice-cooked pork stir-fried by Jung and sharply pointed out, “Who cooked this twice-cooked pork?” In the end, Guo was summoned once more in place of Jung and had to endure the reprimand directed at the person in charge.
However, Jung quickly internalized the methods and soon earned recognition from Owner Nam and the owner grandmother. The owner grandmother praised her cooking, saying, “The color has become prettier. What looks good is good to eat.”
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
The highlight of the episode was the ‘staff meal,’ with Jung’s pride on the line. Having earlier presented bulgogi for the first staff meal only to be told, “It’s too sweet,” Jung set her sights on a second attempt with an ambitious Korean-style jjajangbap.
While the nutty aroma of chunjang drew cheers from younger employees, she again had to accept a disappointing assessment as the older generation in Sichuan found black-colored dishes unfamiliar.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
Deeply discouraged by two failures, Jung soon rallied and took on a third staff-meal challenge. Her trump-card choice was sweet-and-sour eggplant, applying a ppas sauce that had drawn hot buzz on Netflix’s ‘Culinary Class Wars’.
When Jung explained it would be sweet-and-tangy, her supervisor Guo, concerned, suggested, “How about changing it to the spicy flavor people in Sichuan like?” However, Jung showed resolve as a chef and pushed ahead in her own style.
The result was a resounding success. After tasting the finished sweet-and-sour eggplant, Guo widened their eyes and raved, “This is really delicious!”, and the kitchen staff kept exclaiming “Beautiful” in admiration.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
As the meal got underway, praise for Jung poured through the kitchen. In particular, Xu Jiankai, the senior at the knife station, saw the sweet-and-sour eggplant at his table vanish in an instant, then even moved to a neighboring table to keep devouring it, showing he was completely captivated by Jung’s dish.
In an unfamiliar Chengdu kitchen, Jung overcame spicy-palate gatekeeping and, on the third try, succeeded in hitting the mark with sweet-and-sour eggplant for the demanding Sichuan palate. Having begun to earn the full trust of the kitchen, anticipation is rising over whether Jung can complete the final undercover employment mission perfectly without her identity being exposed.
