Starring Ahn Hyo-seop as Kang Han a chef with the talent and gift to turn food into an art form as well as a culinary delight, Hong Hwa-yeon as the overwhelmed but determined Choi Song-yi, the manager and inheritor of Famiglia, a family style restaurant the merges traditional Italian food sensibilities with Korean culture inherited from her father (Jan Hyung-sung), and Chang Ryul as the head chef and owner of Exception, Chaw Woo-jin who’s position as the best chef in Korea is challenged when the three enter a new competition show “The Table: K Chef 2026.”
As with any Korean drama, Final Table has plenty of subplots of betrayal, mysterious deaths, secrets, troubled family history, and corporate shenanigans for where executives wrestle for control and dominance, to keep audiences entertained and looking forward to seeing what’s to be learned next about the characters, what really sits at the heart of Final Table is the food. Every character has a special connection to food, to the memories connected to eating each carefully prepared and presented dish, the people who prepared them, where they’re served, and the ingredients that make up each one. As demonstrated in the first scene with special judge of the competition Henri Bernier played by Sean Dulake, whose trip to South Korea is incentivised by eating at Familigia, as it is the chance to decide who ‘the best Korean chef’ is.
Currently airing at the time of writing, Final Table is so far a great drama with terrific acting, intriguing characters, carefully timed comedic scenes, and of course beautifully shot food sequences and scenes. Oh, to be on set and in the kitchen. However, there is one small element of the show that I must mention that may seem like a small quibble; the use of GenAI for some visual elements such as the animated version of the competition’s host played by Park Jae-min, and still shots of flashback scenes in the Famiglia kitchen. These elements don’t visually fit with the overall look and feel of the show and as such are quite unexpected and truthfully unnecessary. Though they are brief scenes in the show, I feel it’s important to mention this as the use of GenAI in filmmaking has significant consequences in the filmmaking and arts space across the spectrum of creativity, economics, and environmentally.
Be that as it may, Final Table is proving to be an enjoyable watch and as each episode of the competition stage presents a new challenge for the chefs and the judges. The show demonstrates how taking the time to stop and appreciate a meal however simple or elaborate it may be, is one way we can recenter ourselves and reconnect with each other in today’s modern fast paced social media conscious society where food has become a source of content rather, than physical and emotional sustenance.
And speaking of judges, I had a great conversation with Sean Dulake about developing his character Henri Bernier with Kim Do-hoon, as the original back story for Henri changed during the audition process, and what makes food such an interesting theme and concept to focus a drama around, and how the process of research for the role gained him a new appreciation for fine dining.
Sean and I also discussed his production company Third Culture Content which he co-founded with Janice Chau, and their work in fostering multi-national and multi-cultural film and TV projects across Asia.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12
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