Define winning. How does one decide who wins, if there is no score-keeping in place? Can it be defined by the prizes that are waiting for the winner? Or does it depend on one's happiness and where it lies?
In the newly-released Thai movie on Netflix, this is something we come across. The movie, entitled Hunger, follows the journey of one woman as she gets introduced to the fine dining industry. Even though Aoy (played by Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) has been cooking for their family noodle business for years, it is nothing like what she experiences in Chef Paul's (played by Nopachai Chaiyanam) kitchen. So when Aoy gets an opportunity to rise in the ranks and face her ex-mentor, she does it with pride. The question is, does she win in the end?
How Do Chef Paul and Aoy Battle in the End?
After getting Mr. Tos (played by Varit Leesavan) as her sponsor, Aoy climbs ups the culinary ladder with her own kitchen. In Flame, she becomes the head chef and unknowingly adapts the questionable leadership traits of her former mentor from Hunger.
So when Mr. Tos tells Aoy that they've been hired to cook at Madam Milky's party, Aoy is excited. Her excitement, however, is short-lived as she learns that Chef Paul will also be cooking at the party. And as it turns out, Aoy wasn't actually personally picked by Madam Milky to cook at the event. Instead, Mr. Tos had to pull some strings to promise an exciting culinary cookoff between Chef Paul and Aoy.
Aoy serves the first dish to guests with a beautiful plating of different seafood dishes. But when Chef Paul's turn comes up, Aoy's efforts are put to waste since the seasoned chef performs a semi-live slaughter of a rack of beef extended from the ceiling.
Aoy then turns to use her family's secret recipe, to show that her dishes are made with love. Her audience seemed to be captivated by the experience of tasting the original noodle dish made by Flame's chefs. But again, this is incomparable to Chef Paul's clear broth that promises to cleanse his audience's palate "from the oil" of the Aoy's noodle dish.
Unbeknownst to the audience, Chef Paul's broth is actually a mixture of two instant ramen packets and boiled water-- a dish that Aoy witnessed her former mentor prepare in a hurry for a previous client of his.
Despite this, the audience seems to be captivated by Chef Paul's creation; and thus, declare him as the winner of the cookoff. Chef Paul gives Aoy a final lesson:
"No matter how good your food is, how sophisticated it looks, or how creative your menu is, prejudice is something you can never overcome. These people know who I am. They've already crowned me the winner because they are hungry for me."
Does Aoy Win in the Cookoff?
A few seconds later, however, the fate of the cookoff changes when police barge into the venue. They arrest Chef Paul for cooking an endangered hornbill, which was revealed in a video released by Tones (played by Gunn Svasti) and Mr. Tos.
Before Chef Paul is taken away by the police, he tells Aoy that the charges against him will be dropped because of who he is. The incident will also bring in more people to his restaurant because it has made him popular.
When he leaves the party, Madam Milky approaches Aoy and says her dish was more superior than what Chef Paul made, even though she treated the young chef as a nobody when she first arrived at the party. Realizing this, Aoy feels defeated. No matter how good her dish is, it will never be enough to satisfy the hunger of the rich.
It also makes her realize that she is not willing to let go of her family's love for her just to pursue her ambition as a special chef.
And true enough, Aoy heads home that night with nothing but a wok in her hand. She arrives home just as her father starts to open their noodle business. He welcomes her home and Aoy is greeted with his loving arms. So yes, even though Aoy decided to return home and continue with their family business, the movie ends with her winning in the end; a win that Chef Paul can never experience for himself.
Watch Aoy's first day at Chef Paul's kitchen in this clip:
You can watch Hunger on Netflix.
RELATED: Hunger Netflix: Why Did Chef Paul Get Arrested?
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