Im Yoon-a Attended Cooking Academy for 'The Tyrant's Chef'... "Time-Slip Fusion Historical Drama"

Actress Im Yoon-a revealed that she dedicated herself to cooking classes for the new drama 'The Tyrant's Chef'. On the 19th, at the production presentation of tvN's new Saturday-Sunday drama 'The Tyrant's Chef' held at The Saint Hotel in Sindorim, Seoul, Im Yoon-a responded to a question about her special efforts for the work, saying, "I attended a cooking academy three months before filming, learning basic knife skills and ingredient preparation, and I also went through the process of learning the dishes that appear in the drama." She added, "I can definitely say that I am now familiar with the professional terms."

'The Tyrant's Chef' is a time-slip fusion historical drama that depicts the process of the tyrant and king Yeon Hee-gun Lee Heon (Lee Chae-min) with absolute taste and chef Yeon Ji-young (Im Yoon-a) from the future getting closer through cooking across time and space. It is based on a web novel of the same name.

Im Yoon-a expressed her expectations for collaborating with Director Jang Tae-yu and revealed her reasons for choosing the work. She explained, "I chose it without hesitation because it is a project I can do with Director Jang Tae-yu. On one hand, I found the subject of cooking interesting, and on the other hand, the character Yeon Ji-young, who constantly pioneers and runs toward her dreams in a new environment of the past, was also attractive."

Lee Chae-min, who plays Lee Heon, joined the project urgently due to Park Sung-hoon's departure. He said, "It is true that there was no time, so the pressure and responsibility were great, but the director's meticulous directing was a great help." He also added, "Since I am a rookie with little experience, I tried to find a reason for being given such a big role, and I approached filming with the mindset of analyzing hard, practicing, and pouring everything out."

Director Jang Tae-yu did not hold back his praise for the efforts of Im Yoon-a and Lee Chae-min. He praised, "Im Yoon-a really surprised me by handling many parts of the cooking scenes herself." He continued, "Lee Chae-min also joined late, but he practiced horseback riding, archery, and more without missing a day, and since there are many scenes where he shows his abs, it must be a very challenging role as an actor, but he prepared so that he could shoot those scenes at any time without needing extra preparation time."

Director Jang Tae-yu emphasized that 'The Tyrant's Chef' has distinguishing features compared to existing time-slip dramas. He explained, "Our drama is characterized by being more sincere about 'cooking'. The chef does not just appear as a profession, but the story unfolds around cooking, including politics and romance." He also added, "In this drama, there will always be one or two dishes that Yeon Ji-young makes in each episode, and there is even a food team assistant director dedicated to cooking, so many people worked hard for a long time, and although it was tough, it was fun."

Director Jang expressed his regret over the difficulties of producing historical dramas. He said, "As a director, I feel sorry that historical dramas are disappearing in this era, and even terrestrial broadcasters need national support to create quality historical dramas, but that is no longer the case. It has been a long time since open sets were built. I think about wanting to make at least one more while the historical drama production team is still around."

Meanwhile, 'The Tyrant's Chef' is set to premiere on the 23rd at 9:10 PM.