Ahn Hyo-seop portrays a dedicated head chef in JTBC drama Familia

Actor Ahn Hyo-seop stars as the head chef in the JTBC drama Familia, where he uses English lines to control the kitchen's rhythm and attempts to bridge generational gaps by combining Doenjang with ravioli.

Actor Ahn Hyo-seop has portrayed a chef, capturing the tension of the kitchen and the sincerity embedded in cooking. In a video featuring key scenes from the JTBC drama 'Familia', Ahn appears as the head chef of Familia, revealing the agonies and philosophy of a professional cook.

"I am a cooking magician," Ahn Hyo-seop defines the meaning of the kitchen

In the video, Ahn defines himself as a "magician who makes food," revealing his attitude toward cooking. He compares the kitchen to a "battlefield without shells" filled with intense flames and thick smoke, emphasizing that he stands there as an actor, a writer, and a director responsible for everything. His monologue, stating that a magician has no fixed rules and sometimes breaks the laws of nature to create unique works, demonstrates a strong obsession with cooking.

Notably, Ahn created a professional chef atmosphere by mixing English during filming. He stood out as he controlled the rhythm of the kitchen using English lines such as "Everything okay?" and "No sound, no color, no color no taste." The use of English by the chef character played a role in revealing the character's personality and the tension within the drama, to the point where a surrounding character asks, "Can't you stop using English?"

Lacking ingredients and mismatched hearts: comfort delivered through food

In the drama, the kitchen of Familia struggles between perfection and deficiency. Tension rises as situations arise where they must serve customers despite a lack of ingredients. In particular, a scene where he feels sorry for being unable to properly serve a customer who visited for the first time in 10 years to eat the food of their late father shows that cooking is a medium that goes beyond simple food to comfort someone's sorrow.

Ahn portrays an attitude suggesting that "the best medicine for comforting sorrow is food with perfect doneness," depicting the process of sincere cooking being delivered to a customer. The customer's reaction, stating the food felt like what their father used to make, conveys the power of a dish made with the maker's heart even amidst a lack of ingredients.

The meeting of Doenjang and Ravioli: a tool for communication connecting generations

Ahead of the final competition, the theme presented was 'island' and 'communication.' The process of seeking harmony between the Western dish ravioli and Doenjang, a representative Korean ingredient, is captured. The dish is intended to evoke familiarity in the parental generation and stimulate curiosity in the children's generation to encourage conversation between them.

Ahn takes on the role of helping the harmony between Western and Korean ingredients, suggesting that a chef is a being who facilitates communication between two worlds. This scene pierces through the core value of 'Familia,' which is to narrow the distance between people through food beyond the simple cooking process.

Source: DRAMA Voyage (YouTube)