Korea’s top chefs are leaving their glamorous careers behind to transform into the lowest-ranking rookies in foreign kitchens! tvN’s new variety show ‘Undercover Chef’ is already getting fans excited with a bold premise that flips the script on traditional cooking shows.
Premiering on the 21st, ‘Undercover Chef’ follows star chefs as they hide their identities and get undercover jobs in restaurants in the countries that inspired their culinary styles to complete hidden missions. A teaser released on the 4th has already gone viral, showing the harsh survival stories of renowned chefs like Sam Kim, Jung Ji-sun, and Kwon Sung-jun (Napoli Matfia), the winner of Netflix’s ‘Culinary Class Wars 1’.
Kwon Sung-jun headed to Naples with the bold confidence that he would “conquer the kitchen in three days,” but he instead became a “keyring rookie,” showing off a surprising new side. Meanwhile, Sam Kim infiltrated Parma, Italy, posing as a farmer, but faced the risk of being exposed when his professional pan-handling skills instinctively kicked in.
The one struggling the most is the “Queen of Chinese Cuisine,” Jung Ji-sun. Entering Chengdu, China, under the shocking disguise of a rookie former boxer, her usual charisma vanished, leaving her constantly apologizing. After the humiliation of having her knife taken away by a senior in the chaotic local kitchen, she lamented, “I’m seriously going crazy” and “My pride is really hurt,” showing her pride crumbling before the authentic “spicy taste” of the mainland.
The production team shared, “The main highlight is the conflict between the embarrassment of those at the top becoming ‘incompetent rookies’ and the instincts they cannot hide even when trying to.” You can catch the desperate and spectacular kitchen adaptation of these chefs starting from the bottom in unfamiliar lands on ‘Undercover Chef’, airing the 21st at 8:40 PM on tvN.
