Growing appetite for 'Cook TV'

Seen above are the actors appearing in tvN's "Three Meals a Day." From left are Yoo Hae-jin, Jung Woo, Son Ho-joon and Cha Seung-won.
/ Courtesy of CJ E&M

By Kwon Ji-youn

There isn't much Cha Seung-won says or does on tvN's "Three Meals a Day," but he's attracting viewers like moths to a flame.

All the same, it seems there isn't much the 44-year-old actor can't do ― he broils the eels and seasons the vegetables while fellow actor Yoo Hae-jin hooks the fish and gets the fire going. In episode five, which aired on Feb. 20, Cha took some flour and eggs, kneaded it into dough and threw it into the kiln. With some mandarins and oranges, he whipped up some jam to go with the bread.

This very "Three Meals" episode reaped record viewership with 14.2 percent, the broadcaster's best thus far. In episode seven, which aired on March 6, Cha fricasseed some stir-fried spicy pork, after which he was given the task of serving fresh sushi on a circulating conveyer-belt or train. This episode recorded 13.9 percent viewership.

Cha has been enchanting audiences with a maternal charm hidden behind a 188-centimeter lithe, muscular body and rugged mask, on top of skills in the kitchen that even he found surprising. The look on Cha's face when he pulled the loaf of browned bread from the kiln was priceless.

Other cable channels are seeing similar results with their own cooking programs.

Olive TV's "What Shall We Eat Today?" features comedian Shin Dong-yup and singer Sung Si-kyung, who both learn how to cook dishes and compete against each other with meals of their own. Shin and Sung aren't crackerjack cooks and their kitchens resemble that of any average household, but with the help of experts, they provide viewers with stacks of all-purpose recipes.

The verdict is in _ if last year's trend featured quests to discover piquant but hidden restaurants across the country, cooking is without a doubt the newest wrinkle on television.

It is a combination of young men, easy-to-follow recipes and some laughs that pleases viewers so. And it helps that these men seem to know what they're doing in front of the stove.

"We casted Cha because he seemed to know a lot about cooking, and about food in general," Na Young-seok, producer of "Three Meals," said.

Likewise, Shin and Sung experienced little difficulty preparing challenging dishes like braised short ribs and sticky rice.

JTBC's new show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" brings together "cooking" and "reality." Notable chefs like Sam Kim, Choi Hyun-seok and Michael, joined by celebrities like Hong Seok-cheon, take easy-to-find ingredients, like over-fermented kimchi, from a fridge to brew up new dishes. But these aren't the overdone, outrageous dishes that are found on menus at the finest restaurants.

"The idea began with the fridge," said Sung Hee-sung, producer of "Refrigerator Please." "I wanted to give viewers a peek into one of the most personal spaces of a celebrity's home, and this became ‘Refrigerator Please.'"

She stressed that while Korea is home to millions of enticing restaurants and audiences still seek vicarious pleasure in watching others eat, they, in truth, find it difficult to find time to sit down for a decent meal.

"These cooking programs are giving the food we eat at the kitchen table meaning and value," she said. "And by ‘we' I mean the ‘sampo' generation that has put courtship, marriage and childbirth on the backburner."

Culture critic Ha Jae-keun says the "cook TV" trend is not new, but as the desire for food is the greatest human weakness, audiences still find such programs vitalizing.

"Further, cooking is no longer considered women's turf," Ha said. "Clumsy men cooking on television brings out homely sides, which viewers find engaging."

Another culture critic Kim Hern-sik agrees it is men in the kitchen that viewers find eye-catching.

"And in the past, dishes and meals needed to be remarkable to attract attention," Kim added. "But now it's about cooking food that anyone can stir up in their own kitchen."

But as "cook TV" climbs charts, so will the potential for damage by produce placement advertisements (PPL), Kim said.

"And it'll only get worse as demand increases," he said. "Producers need to be mindful not to let PPL push viewers away."

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