tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
‘Undercover Chef’ Sam Kim made a lightning-fast move all the way to the top spot in the kitchen, the burner station.
On the July 9 broadcast of the tvN variety program ‘Undercover Chef’, Chef Sam Kim, who the previous week had completed a successful staff meal challenge with a fish pasta, jumped into the front line of the lunch service.
That day, buoyed by the positive response to the staff meal from the previous week, Sam Kim had been quietly hoping for a move to the burner, but the first task given to him was, unexpectedly, the ‘Pass Zone’.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
The pass is a key station in the kitchen where every finished dish undergoes a final check before going out to guests. Chef Jung Ji-seon marveled, “It is a seat for someone incredibly smart,” and Chef Kwon Sung-jun likewise noted, “It is a role that requires both good sense and a knack for the work.”
Amid an onslaught of orders crashing in like waves, Sam Kim steadily handled the work. Watching him, Head Chef Janpietro offered high praise: “Hee-tae (an alias for Sam Kim) understands well how to move in the kitchen, and while figuring out what needs to be done, he did a really good job.”
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
Having proved his ability, Sam Kim finally got his chance. Chef Janpietro offered him the centerpiece station of the kitchen, the burner, and entrusted him with cooking duck tagliatelle.
For his part, Sam Kim was so busy carrying out a storm of instructions that he did not even realize he had advanced to the burner he wanted, staying absorbed in cooking and drawing laughs.
Amid the envious looks of fellow chefs, Sam Kim completed his burner-station debut dish, duck tagliatelle, with perfect form and deep flavor, drawing admiration from the local kitchen.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
After successfully debuting at the burner, Sam Kim received another twist mission once service ended. Head Chef Janpietro asked, “Are we eating Korean food for lunch tomorrow?” and made a surprise request for a Korean dish from Sam Kim.
Janpietro even suggested going grocery shopping together and personally looked up Korean foods such as tteokbokki and hotteok, unable to hide his anticipation for Korean cuisine.
However, the joy was brief: the next day was also when, as the final mission of ‘Undercover Chef,’ he had to officially present his own ‘new menu’ to the restaurant patrons.
tvN ‘Undercover Chef’ broadcast capture
In the end, in an authentic Italian kitchen and faced with two big tasks at once, a new menu and a Korean dish, Sam Kim appeared very tense.
The results of the ambitious new menu by Chef Sam Kim, designed to capture the taste of local Italians, and of the special Korean staff meal will be unveiled in the broadcast next week.
