In ‘Pook Daehang’, Lee Yeon-bok, Raymond Kim, and Jeong Ho-young gifted the guests of the desert island restaurant with the taste of life.
On the 14th, the MBC entertainment program ‘Pook Daehang’ featured the original desert island chef, Chinese cuisine master Lee Yeon-bok, Western cuisine master Raymond Kim, and Japanese cuisine master Jeong Ho-young, who created an unprecedented feast. As a result, the broadcast achieved the highest ratings among all entertainment programs aired on Monday, maintaining its position as the ‘Monday Entertainment King’.
On this day, Lee Yeon-bok, Raymond Kim, Jeong Ho-young, and their assistant chefs Han Ji-hye, Yoo Hee-kwan, and Kang Jae-jun arrived at the desert island. The three chefs confidently declared, “Many chefs have come before, but we are the best on the island.” Upon arriving at the desert island, they immediately took out their equipment and prepared themselves. Various knife shapes and unique tools appeared, capturing attention according to their specialties.
The goal of the fishing expedition was the ‘king of squid’, the patterned squid. The first net caught various large fish such as cuttlefish, sea bream, and bass, but the patterned squid was nowhere to be found, causing anxiety. During this process, a mishap occurred when Han Ji-hye got her finger bitten by a cuttlefish.
Before raising the second net, Han Ji-hye earnestly shouted, “Patterned squid, let’s meet!” As if responding to her call, the patterned squid finally appeared. To commemorate this, the captain immediately served a dish of patterned squid sashimi. In the studio, Kim Ji-woo playfully pouted at her husband Raymond Kim, saying, “You ate it all by yourself, that’s unfair,” while Michelin chef Fabri expressed envy, saying, “Food eaten straight from the boat is more precious than Michelin food.”
After returning with a bountiful supply of ingredients from the fishing, the chefs immediately began preparing. With Jeong Ho-young having 26 years of experience, Raymond Kim 29 years, and Lee Yeon-bok 53 years, the ‘Chef Trio’ boasted a combined experience of over 100 years. While reminiscing about their early days, the chefs discussed their starting salaries. At this point, Lee Yeon-bok surprised everyone by saying, “My salary was 3,000 won. Back then, accommodation and meals were provided as a given, and there were no days off. The boss locked the door to keep us from going home, so I secretly jumped out of the second floor to escape.”
While the chefs were preparing, the assistant chefs went out to gather additional ingredients. However, Han Ji-hye only managed to catch one conch. In response, Chef Lee Yeon-bok took charge of the gathering, and following his instructions, Yoo Hee-kwan and Kang Jae-jun successfully obtained abalone, further enriching their ingredients.
As the cooking time began, Jeong Ho-young was the first to present a platter of five types of premium sashimi, including sea bream, bass, abalone, mullet, and patterned squid. Utilizing Japanese culinary techniques such as matsukawa, arai, and wavy sashimi, Jeong Ho-young’s sashimi platter was a composition rarely seen even in sashimi restaurants. Seeing this, Raymond Kim remarked, “I’m going to compete with quantity,” while Lee Yeon-bok added, “A true master should be able to create flavor without ingredients.”
However, in striving for perfection, it took a long time, and Raymond Kim’s pizza, which was supposed to be the second dish, was the first to be served to the guests. Using a cauldron to create an oven, Raymond Kim made the first pizza on the desert island. The tomato sauce and aged cheese he brought from home enhanced the pizza's flavor, and the expensive grilled patterned squid served as a topping, completing the dish.
Thanks to Raymond Kim saving time, Jeong Ho-young was able to make a pork belly katsu using the bass. The combination of the five types of sashimi and the pork belly katsu was perfectly harmonious.
Finally, Lee Yeon-bok decided to make a dish called ‘Gyeongjangyuksal’ by stir-frying sliced pork in black bean sauce. Instead of pork, he used sea bream and mullet, and instead of black bean sauce, he created a desert island version using a stir-fried soybean paste sauce, which amazed everyone. Additionally, assistant chef Han Ji-hye prepared a refreshing onion salad as a side dish, creating an even more perfect meal.
The perfect three-course meal made possible by the original desert island chefs gifted the guests with the taste of a lifetime.
Meanwhile, the preview released at the end of the broadcast teased a new desert island restaurant featuring Boom, Young-tak, Mimi, and Park Jun-hyung, raising expectations. It can be seen on MBC’s ‘Pook Daehang’ airing on Monday at 9 PM.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
