Chef Lee Yeon-bok meets with acquaintances.
On the 7th at 8:10 p.m., Channel A's 'Close Friends Documentary - Dining Table for Four' will feature the episode with Chef 'Lee Yeon-bok.'
The 53-year veteran 'Chinese cuisine master' Lee Yeon-bok invites Kim Kang-woo, Heo Kyung-hwan, and Jang Ye-won to his cooking studio, which serves as both a playground and a gathering spot for celebrities, to fill the dining table for four. Lee Yeon-bok showcases a luxurious Chinese meal, presenting the 'Emperor's Eight Treasures' filled with his signature dishes, including mentao shrimp and Dong Po pork, as well as horse mackerel, abalone, and scallops.
Lee Yeon-bok, known as an 'insider' with more than 30 group chat rooms, introduces his bond with the three invited friends. In particular, the fact that he has participated in as many as 11 programs with his 'official left arm' Heo Kyung-hwan astonishes his close friends. Heo Kyung-hwan noted that Lee Yeon-bok once insisted to the production team, 'I won't appear unless I'm with Heo Kyung-hwan,' and he expresses gratitude for having been trusted and supported.
On that day, the dish 'Dong Po pork' that Lee Yeon-bok presented to his close friends is a fateful dish that changed his chef life, as he was able to become the youngest chef at the Taiwanese embassy thanks to this menu. However, during his tenure at the embassy, he lost his sense of smell after undergoing sinus surgery, which led him to contemplate retirement. He later shared that he overcame this hardship by taking over a failing restaurant in Japan and finding success. Lee Yeon-bok mentioned that during his time in Japan, his wife learned to cook from him and became his 'first apprentice,' expressing gratitude for her support in managing the restaurant and taking on roles including manager and stylist.
The close friends then continue with conversations about their recent activities. Announcer Jang Ye-won, now in her 6th year as a freelancer, surprised her friends by revealing that she invested all her retirement money from SBS into one stock. Recently, Kim Kang-woo, who finished the show 'Red Leaves,' shared that during the two months of performances, he exclusively ate rice, bulgogi, and miso stew, and he recounted a humorous incident where his two sons said in front of the calendar, 'Dad has only five performances left. That means we only have to eat miso stew five more times.'
Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, the four moved to the 'underground karaoke room,' an essential course in Lee Yeon-bok's studio, where they admired the signatures of famous stars filling the karaoke room walls. They leave their signature as a memory for the first visit of Kim Kang-woo to the cooking studio.
A time to glimpse the life of a star with close friends, Channel A's 'Close Friends Documentary - Dining Table for Four' airs every Monday at 8:10 p.m.
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