New show reveals ordinary family's dinner
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Lee Geyong-gyu, second from left, and Kang Ho-dong right, take a photograph with residents of Mangwon-dong in Mapo, western Seoul, during the first episode of “Please Give Me a Meal.” / Courtesy of JTBC
By Kim Jae-heun
“Please Give Me a Meal,” a new cooking show on JTBC, has grabbed attention for showing what an ordinary family dinner table looks like in an ordinary neighborhood, in contrast to the flamboyant restaurant meals prepared by top chefs.
The first episode recorded a 2.8 percent rating, according to Nielson Korea, Wednesday.
TV cooking shows became a trend when JTBC presented “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator” in 2014 and many similar programs swept the small screen. But the genre’s popularity began to wane because too many shows featuring the same chefs introduced similar dishes, just on different channels. However, “Please Give Me a Meal” seems to have won viewers back with its different approach.
The program features veteran TV personalities Lee Gyeong-gyu and Kang Ho-dong who visit neighborhoods to ask for a meal.
Previous cooking shows would invite famous chefs to cook fancy dishes and present them to guest celebrities, who would give positive reviews on how excellent the food tastes.
Instead, the new cooking series shows what people really eat.
“We started from imagining what an ordinary dinner table would look like these days,” said chief producer Yun Hyun-joon during a press conference at the JTBC building in Mapo, western Seoul, Wednesday. “We were curious how many times people have dinner with their families and what they eat.”
In the first episode, Lee sought to eat a meal with a family chosen at random. The comedian said he had lived in Mangwon-dong, western Seoul, and knew the neighborhood well. He thought it shouldn’t be too difficult asking to join a family for dinner. But he failed to persuade any of the families he visited despite revealing he is a TV personality.
In the end, Lee and Kang both failed to get a family to invite them in but joined two students eating instant noodles at a convenience store around 8:30 p.m., during their break from studying at a hagwon.
The show airs on JTBC at 10:50 p.m. Wednesdays.