From left, actors Lee Ki-taek, Cha Seung-won, Kim Hee-ae and Kim Seon-ho pose at a press conference for Coupang Play's new variety show "Bonjour Bakery" at Community House Masil in Jung District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Coupang Play is serving up a new kind of comfort with "Bonjour Bakery," a "healing" variety show starring screen icons Kim Hee-ae and Cha Seung-won. The program introduces a first-of-its-kind "senior dessert cafe" where celebrity hosts trade life stories and warm pastries with local elders.
The show breaks away from typical trends with a refreshing concept — entry is reserved exclusively for people aged 65 and over and their companions. By flipping the script on youth-centric cafe culture, the series promises a soulful, never-before-seen connection between generations.
Writer Kim Ran-joo, best known for reality TV shows "Infinite Challenge" and "2 Days & 1 Night," explained her inspiration for the show was her late father, who fought a long illness and traveled frequently between hospitals in Yeosu and Seoul.
"One day, while waiting for a train, I saw him try cake for the first time at a coffee shop, and he loved it so much. After that, we started visiting family restaurants together, but he passed away two years ago. Those memories became a great source of strength for me," Kim said during a press conference at Community House Masil in Jung District, Seoul, Wednesday.
"It made me wish there were a space where parents could visit comfortably, and that's how I set the age limit for the cafe in the show.”
Promotional photos for Coupang Play's variety show "Bonjour Bakery" / Courtesy of Coupang Play
When discussing the choice of Gochang County in North Jeolla Province as the filming location, she mentioned that the area has mountains, the sea and fields, which provided every necessary ingredient for a diverse menu. "Bonjour Bakery" uses these local resources to present items like green barley field tarts, black raspberry croissants, blueberry eclairs, camellia tarts and kumquat forsythia tarts.
Veteran actor Cha, known for his impressive cooking skills, takes on the challenge of French baking.
"When they first asked me to join, I felt quite lost," he said, adding that the mixed feelings were due to the pressure. "I had to learn pastry from scratch, and the field is just so vast. I didn't want to do a halfway job and get criticized for it."
Source: Korea Times News
