Post by TheBo on Nov 2, 2010 13:31:38 GMT -5
10/28/10 (second episode)
Grand Chef recap Ep23—an overview, but with everything included, not necessarily in the order it happened. If you have any specific questions, ask me.
Chef Oh’s funeral. All very sad. (That sounds sarcastic but it’s not.) Elfin man drinks heavily at the side of the room, chivvying the deceased for leaving them alone. When Joo-hee’s dad shows up, Elfin man physically attacks him and is removed from the area. Dad doesn’t seem to see any connection between his behavior and Chef’s death, though. In comes Matsumoto, who expresses condolences. Sung-chan tells him to bugger off, and Bong-ju pulls S-C away. B-J apologizes but asks Mat and his pet chef to leave. They have one of those beautiful old-style funeral processions, with the traditional bells and singers and everybody walking. S-C remembers more happy times with his father, and B-J remembers the clashes they had. [In fact, he remembers two scenes where he (B-J) wasn’t even there—when Chef broke the sauce jar and when Chef was sitting alone in his room being upset, all by his lonesome.] Mat watches the procession from a side road, from his car.
Commiseration. Later, Joo-hee tries to comfort Bong-ju, who blames himself for everything. [Kwon O-joong (B-J) is not very convincing in this scene.] Later, Sung-chan tells B-J he’ll do anything B-J wants to get U-A-J back, but B-J says S-C’s a fool. There’s nothing they can do, everything has been taken, give up already.
Deluded Min-woo. M-W campaigns with Mat’s pet chef, Kimura. He wants to be the U-A-J CEO. Kimura breaks the news to him that Sung-chan is supposed to get the job. [Watching this again, it occurs to me that Kimura might have had aspirations of his own about the CEO job. He’s spent years in Korea becoming a top “Korean” chef, and now Mat is passing him over, too.]
Yard confrontation. Joo-hee’s dad proudly shows Kimura all over the grounds. Dad announces to a skeptical staff that U-A-J can now roar forward “with a new engine.” Elfin man derides this sentiment, predicting Dad will be the cause of U-A-J’s failure. They argue, as usual (hilariously). Sung-chan and Joo-hee interfere with Elfin man’s forcible removal and argue with Dad, who tells S-C to get lost too [apparently not realizing he’s addressing the new CEO]. Bong-ju comes by and S-C tries to arouse his ire, but he is too dispirited.
Mystery solved. Sung-chan shows Jin-soo the Mat/Chef photo, which Chef had, too. She tells him she heard Mat used to work at U-A-J. They ask Elfin man, who says yeah, and Mat was “a lunatic.” But Chef loved him because he was so passionate about Korean food. He was so passionate, in fact, that he started putting small amounts of poison into it to enhance the flavor and someone nearly died. [Remember the contest with Min-woo and his blowfish sushi?] Chef tried to defend him, but he ended up leaving. S-C asks if it involved sebang (the freshwater shrimp dish), and Elfin man says, how’d ya know?
Competitive spirit. Mr. Han tells his girl reporters that Mat became famous for challenging other world-renowned chefs (and winning), not for being a great businessman. The Korean chef he challenged was Chef Oh, but Han doesn’t know the details. Then, Kimura calls J-S to fetch Sung-chan for Mat. Min-woo, who is trying to convince Mat that he’s the man for the CEO job, trashtalks S-C. He’s sent away with a bug in his ear [“You’re not loyal”—I always love that one]. In the hall, M-W accuses S-C of engineering the whole Mat takeover, but S-C only snorts at him and goes in. Mat demands his shrimp soup from S-C. When he gets it, he does his magic air analysis and then lectures S-C on how he has to feel while he’s cooking the soup. S-C remakes the soup; another attitude lecture; they have further words and then Mat challenges S-C / U-A-J to…wait for it…a cooking competition.
Babies sulk. Bong-ju, of course, is running away. Joo-hee tries to keep him there, and he apologizes to her for being such a jerk. [Finally.] He says a silent goodbye to the empty kitchen. Min-woo comes in and poisons B-J’s mind against Sung-chan.
Contest details. Jin-soo thrills Mr. Han with news of the possible cooking competition. J-S advises Sung-chan to do it, and he goes to tell Bong-ju--who refuses to participate. The contest goes forward, with Ted Oh and others as judges. The topic: “Korean Cuisine Goes Global.” After S-C accepts the challenge, B-J runs off, but S-C promises to fight until B-J returns to help him win. J-S tells B-J (a) S-C is too naive to win without B-J; and (b) she knows B-J will soon realize he’s misunderstood S-C. She then gives B-J a flyer for the contest. (J-S’s friend Mi-ran suspects another publicity stunt by Mat, but that seems like a red herring.)
Get ready. Sung-chan, Joo-hee, Chef Choi and Bong-ju’s old sidekick work madly on dishes for the contest. The day before, S-C calls B-J’s cellphone and leaves a message begging him to help. Then, S-C goes to a bar and tries to convince Min-woo to “make it up to Chef Oh” by joining the contest and putting aside their differences. [While Anita Baker drones on. Is it that Babyface thing? So dull.]
Set. At the contest, comment is made on Min-woo’s appearance and Bong-ju’s absence. Sung-chan gets Mat to agree B-J can switch in “when he shows up.” [U-A-J’s team is blown away by “airtight containers”—wow. We’re in trouble here.] The contest starts with appetizers.
Bong-ju reconsiders. B-J recalls his conversation at his father’s grave with Elfin man, who lectured him about his responsibilities and pointed out that he was the one who wanted to spread Korean cuisine worldwide; B-J needs to step up to the plate. Also, B-J remembers the desperate phone call from S-C.
Go. For appetizers, Sung-chan’s team prepare a jelly salad plate and some soup with spinach. Mat’s team prepare rice crust porridge and a flatfish plate. [These look better than they sound.] Mat has used some pickled Korean shrimp which he “upgraded” with Japanese natto (a fermented bean paste product). The judges (actually, Ted Oh) are introduced, and an announcement is made that the “ambassadors” present will be given food, too. Commentary on the food, and S-C realizes how Bong-ju could have helped if he was there. [There seems to be an implication that Joo-hee’s dad told Mat about some rare vinegar B-J had used in one of the earlier contests, but this is not developed.] U-A-J loses by one point for taste, and Ted Oh explains this was because their dishes were “plain.”
The main dish. Sung-chan panics and seems ready to faint. Bong-ju rides to the rescue. Mat looks a little concerned; S-C relieved. [end]
Grand Chef recap Ep23—an overview, but with everything included, not necessarily in the order it happened. If you have any specific questions, ask me.
Chef Oh’s funeral. All very sad. (That sounds sarcastic but it’s not.) Elfin man drinks heavily at the side of the room, chivvying the deceased for leaving them alone. When Joo-hee’s dad shows up, Elfin man physically attacks him and is removed from the area. Dad doesn’t seem to see any connection between his behavior and Chef’s death, though. In comes Matsumoto, who expresses condolences. Sung-chan tells him to bugger off, and Bong-ju pulls S-C away. B-J apologizes but asks Mat and his pet chef to leave. They have one of those beautiful old-style funeral processions, with the traditional bells and singers and everybody walking. S-C remembers more happy times with his father, and B-J remembers the clashes they had. [In fact, he remembers two scenes where he (B-J) wasn’t even there—when Chef broke the sauce jar and when Chef was sitting alone in his room being upset, all by his lonesome.] Mat watches the procession from a side road, from his car.
Commiseration. Later, Joo-hee tries to comfort Bong-ju, who blames himself for everything. [Kwon O-joong (B-J) is not very convincing in this scene.] Later, Sung-chan tells B-J he’ll do anything B-J wants to get U-A-J back, but B-J says S-C’s a fool. There’s nothing they can do, everything has been taken, give up already.
Deluded Min-woo. M-W campaigns with Mat’s pet chef, Kimura. He wants to be the U-A-J CEO. Kimura breaks the news to him that Sung-chan is supposed to get the job. [Watching this again, it occurs to me that Kimura might have had aspirations of his own about the CEO job. He’s spent years in Korea becoming a top “Korean” chef, and now Mat is passing him over, too.]
Yard confrontation. Joo-hee’s dad proudly shows Kimura all over the grounds. Dad announces to a skeptical staff that U-A-J can now roar forward “with a new engine.” Elfin man derides this sentiment, predicting Dad will be the cause of U-A-J’s failure. They argue, as usual (hilariously). Sung-chan and Joo-hee interfere with Elfin man’s forcible removal and argue with Dad, who tells S-C to get lost too [apparently not realizing he’s addressing the new CEO]. Bong-ju comes by and S-C tries to arouse his ire, but he is too dispirited.
Mystery solved. Sung-chan shows Jin-soo the Mat/Chef photo, which Chef had, too. She tells him she heard Mat used to work at U-A-J. They ask Elfin man, who says yeah, and Mat was “a lunatic.” But Chef loved him because he was so passionate about Korean food. He was so passionate, in fact, that he started putting small amounts of poison into it to enhance the flavor and someone nearly died. [Remember the contest with Min-woo and his blowfish sushi?] Chef tried to defend him, but he ended up leaving. S-C asks if it involved sebang (the freshwater shrimp dish), and Elfin man says, how’d ya know?
Competitive spirit. Mr. Han tells his girl reporters that Mat became famous for challenging other world-renowned chefs (and winning), not for being a great businessman. The Korean chef he challenged was Chef Oh, but Han doesn’t know the details. Then, Kimura calls J-S to fetch Sung-chan for Mat. Min-woo, who is trying to convince Mat that he’s the man for the CEO job, trashtalks S-C. He’s sent away with a bug in his ear [“You’re not loyal”—I always love that one]. In the hall, M-W accuses S-C of engineering the whole Mat takeover, but S-C only snorts at him and goes in. Mat demands his shrimp soup from S-C. When he gets it, he does his magic air analysis and then lectures S-C on how he has to feel while he’s cooking the soup. S-C remakes the soup; another attitude lecture; they have further words and then Mat challenges S-C / U-A-J to…wait for it…a cooking competition.
Babies sulk. Bong-ju, of course, is running away. Joo-hee tries to keep him there, and he apologizes to her for being such a jerk. [Finally.] He says a silent goodbye to the empty kitchen. Min-woo comes in and poisons B-J’s mind against Sung-chan.
Contest details. Jin-soo thrills Mr. Han with news of the possible cooking competition. J-S advises Sung-chan to do it, and he goes to tell Bong-ju--who refuses to participate. The contest goes forward, with Ted Oh and others as judges. The topic: “Korean Cuisine Goes Global.” After S-C accepts the challenge, B-J runs off, but S-C promises to fight until B-J returns to help him win. J-S tells B-J (a) S-C is too naive to win without B-J; and (b) she knows B-J will soon realize he’s misunderstood S-C. She then gives B-J a flyer for the contest. (J-S’s friend Mi-ran suspects another publicity stunt by Mat, but that seems like a red herring.)
Get ready. Sung-chan, Joo-hee, Chef Choi and Bong-ju’s old sidekick work madly on dishes for the contest. The day before, S-C calls B-J’s cellphone and leaves a message begging him to help. Then, S-C goes to a bar and tries to convince Min-woo to “make it up to Chef Oh” by joining the contest and putting aside their differences. [While Anita Baker drones on. Is it that Babyface thing? So dull.]
Set. At the contest, comment is made on Min-woo’s appearance and Bong-ju’s absence. Sung-chan gets Mat to agree B-J can switch in “when he shows up.” [U-A-J’s team is blown away by “airtight containers”—wow. We’re in trouble here.] The contest starts with appetizers.
Bong-ju reconsiders. B-J recalls his conversation at his father’s grave with Elfin man, who lectured him about his responsibilities and pointed out that he was the one who wanted to spread Korean cuisine worldwide; B-J needs to step up to the plate. Also, B-J remembers the desperate phone call from S-C.
Go. For appetizers, Sung-chan’s team prepare a jelly salad plate and some soup with spinach. Mat’s team prepare rice crust porridge and a flatfish plate. [These look better than they sound.] Mat has used some pickled Korean shrimp which he “upgraded” with Japanese natto (a fermented bean paste product). The judges (actually, Ted Oh) are introduced, and an announcement is made that the “ambassadors” present will be given food, too. Commentary on the food, and S-C realizes how Bong-ju could have helped if he was there. [There seems to be an implication that Joo-hee’s dad told Mat about some rare vinegar B-J had used in one of the earlier contests, but this is not developed.] U-A-J loses by one point for taste, and Ted Oh explains this was because their dishes were “plain.”
The main dish. Sung-chan panics and seems ready to faint. Bong-ju rides to the rescue. Mat looks a little concerned; S-C relieved. [end]
Perhaps it's due to my eye problems but sometimes I have to rerun an episode So I can read all the subs - 
