Seong Si-kyung’s ‘The Dessert’, even a ‘drinker’ is confident in it

Following numerous cooking survival entertainment shows such as 'Korean Food Battle' and 'MasterChef Korea', this time, the number one winner will be decided through dessert. This is ‘The Dessert’, a new entertainment show presented by TVING. Seong Si-kyung, who is gaining attention with YouTube content introducing restaurants, appeared as an MC. The production team asked us to watch the 'quiet competition' in which young pastry chefs with the same dream put their heart and soul into each and every dessert.

On the 24th, a press conference for TVING's original entertainment show 'The Dessert' was held at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Hangang-ro-dong, Seoul. PD Kim Na-hyeon, PD Jeong Jong-chan and MC Sung Si-kyung attended.

'The Dessert' is Korea's first dessert survival reality show where 10 dessert chefs camp together for 10 days and 9 nights. PD Kim Na-hyeon, PD Jeong Jong-chan and MC Sung Si-kyung attended.

Producer Kim Na-hyeon said, "There are many dessert-related survival programs overseas. I thought there was no dessert-related survival program yet in Korea. If there was no one else, I thought I would try it first." He continued, "I met the applicants and came up with the framework for the program. I thought there were many young dessert chefs who were sincere in the field of desserts and were working sincerely toward this dream. I thought it would be a good idea to gather friends with the same dream and do a survival program that incorporates reality, so I started a training camp and “We decided to plan a connected dessert survival,” he explained.

Producer Jeong Jong-chan said that the participants were selected through several processes. Producer Jeong said, “As a pastry chef, I prioritized skills. Our program is not a competition between the best pastry chefs with complete shops, but I want to see the growth of attractive young pastry chefs with their own dreams. Sincerity about dreams and character. We looked at the charm together. In the process, in order to select the best pastry chef as possible, we received a portfolio of desserts in the first round, watched the making process in the second round, and consulted with experts in the third round to select 10 people. Also, "Exactly how many people applied? I can't tell you how many, but quite a lot of people applied. “It was difficult to select 10 people,” he explained.

Seong Si-kyung even obtained a pastry chef's license with his usual high-level baking skills. While operating a YouTube channel with 1.33 million subscribers, the content introducing restaurants, 'I'll Eat', is especially popular. Sung Si-kyung jokingly said, “Since ‘The Dessert’ was heavy, I asked why not do ‘I’ll Bake’.” He continued, "When I'm invited to a program, I don't think, 'How much will the appearance fee be, or how much will it benefit me?' but 'Can I do it?' “I liked eating and the producer was trustworthy, so I participated. It was fun to do something I had never done before, and I thought it was refreshing,” he said about his reason for appearing. He also said, “It may not create the same buzz as ‘The Glory,’ but I think it would be great if a project like this could be fun and create a sensation in a similar market. The two PDs were nervous about doing it, so I said, ‘Don’t worry. It won’t be a big hit.’ I enjoyed it.” “He laughed.

Regarding working as a singer and YouTuber, Sung Si-kyung said, "It may vary depending on the celebrity, but I did not try to become a YouTuber by trying to 'objectify' the product called Sung Si-kyung and give it more of what it lacks, but I became a YouTuber. Originally, my YouTube channel was miserable. Even though I worked hard on cooking shows, it didn't work out. The only thing I did well was boiling ramen. The 'I'll Eat It' explosion just created the image of doing YouTube. I'm a singer and a YouTuber. In the past, if we influenced each other at the same time, now we're on a show that opens tomorrow. “If there is a party here, it seems to be in a similar context as there is a party over there that opens the day after tomorrow,” he said.

Regarding the set, PD Kim explained, "You can think of the set as not being much different from existing cooking programs. It wasn't easy to create a differentiated set because it basically had to include cooking equipment. Instead, we had a training camp right next to it." Seong Si-kyung added, “Ovens are expensive,” and added, “You might be asking why it’s so empty. Cooking shows are supposed to start with fire, right? There will be a change in the quiet busyness.”

PD Jeong said, "I thought what differentiated it from other cooking programs was the 'cooking competition between sensitive artists.' I only ate the dessert, but it was my first time seeing the process of making it. It felt like making an edible work of art. The dessert was initially improved to 0.01g. "It's okay if you start off and make one mistake in the middle. The process of creating a work of art is similar. Everyone is sensitive. I think there were interesting scenes in entertainment that weren't seen before," he explained.

Seong Si-kyung said, "It will be fun to watch while imagining the taste. There are many famous bakeries in our country, but wouldn't there be a feeling of happiness when eating something from those who are still dreaming rather than something from successful chefs?" PD Jeong predicted, “A reversal of rankings will unfold. You will be both moved and saddened.” He also said, “It may feel calm as it is a survival game, but I think we have become accustomed to the crude existing survival games where people openly curse and diss. In the next episodes, instead of pointing guns and knives at each other, at some point in a calm mood with smiling faces. "It's like an underwater battle. I edited it to bring that to life. You can feel the fierce battle between the sensitive bosses. It will be much more dramatic than the existing devil's editing," he said. PD Kim added, “It definitely gets more fun the further you go.”

The judges include Kim Young-hoon, Asia's first confectionery master at the MOF Competition, Lee Jun-beom, CEO of GFFG, a restaurant company that owns Noted and Downtowner, and Lee Eun-ji, former head dessert chef at a two-star Michelin restaurant in New York. The judging panel, which represents the domestic dessert industry, provides detailed feedback and realistic advice from the perspective of dessert chefs and brand owners.

PD Kim said, "Recruiting judges was an area I didn't know much about before planning it, so my goal was to meet as many chefs as possible. I met many famous chefs recommended by my friends who make desserts. Among them, I wanted to hire someone with character. Dessert maker. “Their tendencies themselves are a bit quiet. I think it’s better not to expect shouting or that kind of reaction. There’s a knife hidden in the quiet, calm, and slow tone of speech. There’s a cool-headed evaluation hidden there,” he said.

When asked if he participated in the evaluation, Seong Si-kyung said, "We just ate together and since I have no expertise, I only announced the evaluation results." He also said, "What viewers don't like is when someone without expertise does a professional review. I said I would just proceed. However, there was a topic of 'pairing' with alcohol. I am the best expert on Korea. So I thought I could do it, so I participated. “I have enemies,” he said.

Netflix's entertainment show 'Sex + People', in which Seong Si-kyung serves as MC, will be released the day after 'The Dessert'. ‘Sex + People’ is a talk show that explores sex and characters in the adult culture industry. Seong Si-kyung, who is about to release the program he is in charge of, said, "I think that banquet will be a very provocative banquet. I think this banquet will be a luxurious and sophisticated banquet." He continued, "When the platform was only terrestrial broadcasting, program times and days should not have overlapped, but times have changed. In today's world, such concerns are rare." Also, "I don't do many programs. In the past, I thought it would be a nuisance if similar programs were aired on different stations or at similar times. I'm also an old-fashioned person, so I thought about it for a while. The best thing is for both to be loved. If only one is loved, “I wonder if it’s my fault. I don’t think it’s true,” he said.

When asked about his favorite dessert, Seong Si-kyung said, "Yesterday I drank and had blueberry cheesecake for the first time in a long time, and it was so delicious. I like desserts that make me think 'I'm ruined' the moment I eat it. It goes well with whiskey. I think cheesecake is dangerous. Acidity. “I think I eat better with alcohol because I have it. I think it’s over 2,000 calories,” he said with a laugh.

PD Kim confessed, "I regretted it a lot while doing it. A lot of equipment was involved and a lot of the terminology was French-based. Preparing for filming was difficult, and I'm still worrying about how far I should go in explaining terminology." He continued, "I'm trying to add subtitles so people don't think it's hard to follow because it's such a difficult world. But since it's an entertainment show and you have to follow along lightly, I'm trying to set my own boundaries. It's a new field, not a familiar field like kimchi stew. It's a new field." “Isn’t there something inconvenient about the field? If you watch our program because it’s new, you might be able to watch it smoothly,” he said, expressing his concerns and expectations.

PD Kim, who directed 'Solo Hell', said, "If 'Solo Hell' was a romantic drama about a young man and woman who came to find love, I directed 'The Dessert' thinking that it was a youth drama about young people dreaming the same dream. Basically, it was based on observation. "Because it was based, we tried to stay out and observe. We worked hard in the pre-preparation stage to create conditions so that the dessert chefs could demonstrate their skills in the best conditions," he explained. Seong Si-kyung said, "I've done a lot of home baking. I'm not a beginner. Personally, I hoped PD Kim would cast me on 'Solo Hell' but not on 'The Dessert'. I'm in hell. I'm too old to go out there. “I thought it was too much,” he joked.

Recently, the issue of ‘verification’ has become a hot topic as there has been a lot of controversy over the cast of non-celebrity programs. PD Kim said, "I think it's one of the difficulties of programs featuring ordinary people. The third round of casting was also verification and filtering. Verifying ordinary people is not an easy task. The method we chose was to talk to the cast as much as possible. School We talked about whether there was anything that could be a problem while attending and what kind of life they had led so far, and if there was a chance that it would be a problem, we filtered it out. There were participants who had skills but couldn't join them. We tried not to work with people who had risk factors. “I was confident that I had verified it,” he said.

Seong Si-kyung said, "We can live without luxury goods and desserts. I think it is one of the sophisticated cultures created by humans. It is an area of culture that we can enjoy. In that culture, it may be one of the courses, but in our culture, it can now be enjoyed." “I don’t think it’s possible,” he said. Also, "When a man and a woman meet, they end up going somewhere. They eat something like 24-hour sundae soup and go somewhere with their teeth covered in steam. They make a plan to go to a restaurant, but then they go to a certain dessert shop and buy a piece of cake and champagne. “I don’t even think about whether I’m going to eat it,” he said. He then made everyone laugh by saying, "A man and a woman eat dessert instead of fried rice... I'll stop."

PD Kim said, “We are planning an event where viewers can try it, so please look forward to it.” Sung Si-kyung said, "I'm a dessert lover. Because I'm a drinker. I can live without desserts. But I think it's one of the riches created by humans. I learned about alcohol pairings and bread. It's not a necessity in life, but it's a little better. “I think it will be enriching,” he said. Producer Jeong said, "The cameras were rolling 24 hours a day for 10 days and 9 nights. The cast practiced all night long and talked about recipes. The staff all said they wanted to run away. The pastry chef and production staff made it with sincerity. That sincerity is what makes the editing so special." “It’s been fun to watch, so please look forward to it.”

‘The Dessert’ will be released on TVING on the 26th.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr