Actor Lee Hyo-jeong, who became the owner of a galbi restaurant, reveals his unexpected daily life as the "ambitious king" owner who made the kitchen staff nervous.
Today (27th) at 8 p.m., the TV CHOSUN entertainment program PerfecT Life will feature the distinguished actor Lee Hyo-jeong and his wife appearing together to showcase a new challenge toward a "real second act" of life.
Lee Hyo-jeong, who has boasted exceptional cooking skills to the point of being nicknamed "Ilsan Lee Yeon-bok," shares the sweet news through the show that he opened a galbi restaurant for his wife. On the restaurant exterior, a large sign with his face photo and the phrase "I will serve with sincerity, the great servant Lee Hyo-jeong" hung prominently, capturing the cast's attention.
In a recent shoot, Lee Hyo-jeong said of his reason for opening the restaurant, "The children are all raised and last year my wife turned 60. I have long wanted to serve delicious food to people." In fact, he personally carried lump charcoal to customer tables, did the serving and even carefully grilled the meat himself, presenting himself as the perfect "servant," which drew attention.
Seeing this, MC Oh Jiho marveled, "It's like a company chairman in a drama personally grilling the meat." Lee Hyo-jeong is currently playing the role of chairman "Ma Dae-chang" in the popular drama First Man. When panelist Shin Seung-hwan worried, "Aren't you too busy with both drama filming and running a restaurant?" Lee Hyo-jeong replied, "It's busy because I'm taking on work I didn't do before, but it's fun. Previously, aside from monitoring myself, I didn't know viewers' reactions, but by running a restaurant customers immediately talk about the drama, so the real-time feedback is great," expressing satisfaction.
But behind the heartwarming anecdote, there are kitchen staff's unspoken hardships (?), which are expected to bring big laughs.
Lee Hyo-jeong said, "I am working hard with the head chef to develop new menu items," showing burning enthusiasm, but the head chef's thoughts were completely different. In an interview with producers, the head chef surprisingly revealed, "(When Lee Hyo-jeong) comes into the kitchen, we try to avoid it if possible." He added, "The owner loves cooking so much that he keeps coming into the kitchen, and honestly the staff get tired," a blunt confession that set the studio roaring with laughter.
Meanwhile, in that episode Lee Hyo-jeong quietly slipped away from restaurant duties to do things like secondhand transactions or tend a vegetable patch, showing strange acts of deviation (?), and received the sharp remark from panelist Lee Seong-mi, "It seems he just hangs his own photo in the restaurant and his wife does all the work,".
[Photo] TV CHOSUN
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