Peruvian chef Chris Kay recalls past hardships while eating kimchi jjigae

During an episode of the JTBC drama 'Final Table', Peruvian chef Chris Kay shared memories of living on the streets in Lima, where he once relied on a single banknote for a meal and found comfort in the taste of kimchi jjigae.

While his culinary techniques follow South American styles, his roots lie in South Korea. In an episode of the JTBC drama 'Final Table', Peruvian chef Chris Kay shed tears while facing a bowl of kimchi jjigae, sharing stories of his identity and memories of his mother embedded in his cooking.

"Kimchi jjigae is my mother"... Peruvian chef confesses his roots and past hardships

Chris Kay revealed that the source of his cooking is South Korea. He explained that while Peru is a country with well-developed freshwater seafood cuisine, his culinary roots are in South Korea due to having a South Korean mother.

He recalled the difficult life he experienced after leaving for Lima. He remembered a time when he had been betrayed by people he trusted and lost both his job and his home to live on the streets, where a single banknote handed to him allowed him to buy a single meal. He confessed that he shed tears while eating kimchi jjigae at that time. He expressed his sincerity, stating that he felt his mother in that kimchi jjigae and that the taste was both his mother and South Korea.

'The Table K', a new competition to restore the honor of 'Familia'

The background of this competition involves the events surrounding star chef Choi Seung-hee and the restaurant she operated, 'Familia'. Following the death of chef Choi Seung-hee, the honor of Familia has been at risk due to controversies regarding the plate system and suspicions of a staged incident. In response, Pyeongyeong Group plans to abolish the existing plate system and organize a new competition to select South Korea's best chef, titled 'The Table K Chef 2016'.

This competition will be conducted in a survival format that goes beyond simply making delicious food, comprehensively judging creativity, the ability to interpret missions, and artistry. In particular, Familia will participate in the competition on the condition that they drop their lawsuit against Pyeongyeong Group, building a lineup that includes chef Cha Woo-jin to work toward restoring their honor.

Questioning intergenerational communication... the challenge toward elimination and victory

Victory or defeat in the competition is determined by how the given missions are interpreted. In this round, participants were faced with the task of simultaneously satisfying both the parent and child generations. In this process, Isbel Dduminges was eliminated after receiving evaluations that her method of arranging the tastes of the parent and child generations on a single plate merely listed generational preferences rather than meeting the message of communication.

Chris Kay mentioned his goal of opening a restaurant in Seoul if he wins this competition. Revealing that he is a fan of BTS, he expressed his ambition to definitely serve his food to BTS after winning.

Source: DRAMA Voyage (YouTube)