MY LITTLE CHEF

Summer 2002

Another past favorite of mine is this drama called "My Little Chef" starring Yada Akiko as Kamosawa Seri. Seri is a young woman who has a talent for cooking. She dreamed of taking on after her father who was a famous chef. One day, she gets an opportunity to work for Etoile, a popular French restaurant. With her step sister, Kamosawa Nazuna (Ueto Aya) tagging along, they find out the restaurant's former manager, Tachibana Kensaku (Abe Hiroshi) who they were supposed to meet no longer worked at Etoile. Kensaku accidentally discovers that Seri has a unique talent as a cook and gambles on her skills by opening a small restaurant called Petit Etoile. Thinking that he can pay off his debts and establish himself as a highly skilled manager again, Kensaku hires other members to work at the restaurant. Little does he know that his bet will drastically change his life forever.

Recommendation: This drama was quite good. I enjoyed the characters even though they didn't develop or grow in a sense, but through their situations, I caught myself rooting for them as they tried to succeed in the food business. The story was unique in that Seri had to meet her customers directly in order to create delicious meals. This was a double edged sword as it was a great selling point, but she could not handle a large amount of customers per day. The directing was formulaic but it had a good if not safe mix of comedy and drama. I understood how food could make people happy and alter the minds of customers, but sometimes I felt it was a bit extreme. Overall, my stomach growled after each episode and the settings in the restaurant and of Nasu looked like something out of a dream. Would I recommend this drama? Ouie!

Story: 1.0
Acting: 1.0
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 0.5
Emotional Factor: 1.0

4.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns