"A Michelin Star Chef Travels to Joseon": 'Chef of the Tyrant' Serves Up a Tasty Rom-Com

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"From cooking to romance, this is a show that's truly fun to watch." (Director Jang Tae-yoo)

In a word, this is a drama that will stimulate your taste buds. Chef of the Tyrant sets itself apart from the countless time-slip dramas by focusing on one key element: "cooking."

Director Jang Tae-yoo explained that the drama "started from the imagination of 'what kind of clash would occur if the greatest chef of this era were to meet the greatest tyrant and gourmet of 500 years ago?'"

Chef of the Tyrant uses cooking as a medium to encompass a romance story. Director Jang explained, "We wanted to show the tyrant changing after eating the chef's food. I wanted to show a process of two people transcending time and generations to gradually fall for each other."

The production presentation for the new tvN Saturday-Sunday drama Chef of the Tyrant was held today, August 19th, at The Saint in Sindorim. Director Jang Tae-yoo and actors Lim Yoon-a, Lee Chae-min, Choi Gwi-hwa, Seo Yi-sook, and Oh Eui-sik were in attendance.

From Michelin Star to Royal Kitchen

Chef of the Tyrant is a fantasy romance that begins with a Michelin 3-star French chef being time-slipped 500 years into the past. She clashes with a king who is a true epicurean. The tyrant has a terrifying condition: if his palate isn't satisfied, he'll issue the death penalty. He even possesses an "absolute palate" that can detect the most subtle differences in taste.

Another key star of this drama is the "cuisine" itself. The director emphasized, "We used cooking as the central theme to unfold the relationships in politics and romance. Ultimately, every story is born from the food, the ingredients, and the chef's fingertips."

Lim Yoon-a shared, "Because the story revolves around cooking, my biggest challenge in portraying Ji-young was expressing her sense of responsibility and her dream as a chef. I think that's one of the biggest charms of this drama."

The director put the most effort into the visual presentation of the food. "Since taste can't be conveyed on screen, I focused on designing and expressing the food as visually as possible," he said.

Casting and Characterization

Lim Yoon-a plays Yeon Ji-young, a Michelin 3-star restaurant chef who is sent back to the Joseon era on the very day she wins a French cooking competition. Instead of a Michelin restaurant, she finds herself facing a tyrant. Lim Yoon-a said she chose the project because "I've always been interested in cooking, so I was intrigued by a project with food as its theme."

She also mentioned the charm of her character. Yeon Ji-young is a bright and strong-willed person. Lim Yoon-a added, "Even when she's thrown into a new era, she continuously pursues her dreams. I was drawn to her honest and bold charm."

Director Jang described meeting Lim Yoon-a as "fate." He said, "I wondered if there was an actress who had both experience in historical dramas and the sharp image of a chef. That was Lim Yoon-a."

Lim Yoon-a dedicated herself to practicing cooking for the role. "I went to a cooking academy three months before filming to learn knife skills and how to prepare ingredients. I also worked with a professional consultant." As a result, her cooking skills improved. "Cooking, which I used to do as a hobby, felt like it was becoming a professional skill. It's still hard to use a knife, but I'm definitely better than before," she said with a laugh.

Lee Chae-min plays Lee Heon, the king of Joseon. He is a person with absolute power and an absolute palate who can even sense changes in the taste of food based on the weather.

The director gave a thumbs-up to Lee Chae-min, who was cast after another actor dropped out of the role. "He wasn't the first actor I had in mind, but I am 120% satisfied with the Lee Chae-min I met later," he said.

Lee Chae-min overcame the pressure of joining the project late with hard work. "I had frequent script readings before filming to find the right tone for my character. My senior colleagues also gave me a lot of feedback on my acting, which was very helpful," he said.

Since charisma is a key element of King Lee Heon, Lee Chae-min focused on that aspect. "The script was written to be charismatic, so I tried to express it as written. The director advised me that 'charisma comes from a sense of ease,' so I worked hard to deliver my lines with that in mind," he explained.

Sweet and Fierce Chemistry

The "sweet and fierce" chemistry between Lim Yoon-a and Lee Chae-min is a major highlight. Their on-set synergy was so good it even impressed the director and staff.

Lim Yoon-a recalled, "Our chemistry was as good as I had hoped. When we acted together as Lee Heon and Ji-young, we had a lot of conversations and naturally exchanged ideas about the script." She added, "When he showed up wearing the dragon robe, my first thought was 'Wow, that's Lee Heon.' His voice and concentration were outstanding, which helped me immerse myself in the role as well."

Lee Chae-min said, "It was an honor to work with her as a fan. She was so good with the lines and always actively helped me, so I was able to film comfortably." He also praised her cooking skills, "Yoon-a is a genuinely good cook. She's so quick and precise with her hands that there were hardly any bloopers during the cooking scenes. She was truly amazing."

The director was also pleased with their chemistry. "Their chemistry is so good it makes you forget about their past work," he emphasized. "It's so much fun to watch them together. You have to see it for yourself; no amount of words can explain it."

Director's Passion for Historical Dramas

Director Jang has a reputation for his success with historical dramas, including Deep Rooted Tree, Painter of the Wind, and Lovers of the Red Sky. He explained his reason for choosing a historical drama again. "In the past, when we filmed historical dramas, open sets were built all over the country. Now, we're relying on the remnants of those old sets. It's becoming almost impossible to create new historical dramas, and it's a shame to see them disappear. So, I wanted to make at least one more while I still can."

He concluded, "I prepared this drama with the mindset of serving viewers a 12-course Korean dinner on a weekend evening. Every episode has a different flavor, so you have to watch it all the way through to truly taste it."

Chef of the Tyrant will premiere on September 23rd at 9:10 PM KST.