dinner

This drama follows the staff of an Italian restaurant and their everyday struggles. “Roccabianca” is a famous and popular Italian restaurant, but their head chef and owner Tatsumi suddenly collapses and the restaurant loses its unique flavor. The number of customers rapidly declines, but the owner’s daughter and deputy manager Saori happens to find another chef named Ezaki through an online job market who learned cooking at the same place her father did. Ezaki becomes the new head chef of this restaurant and while nobody can deny that he is a gifted chef, it’s his extreme rationalism that doesn’t exactly go well with the restaurants attempt to save its traditional flavor.

Directed by Masato Hijikata, Hidenori Joho, Mamoru Hoshi, dinner leans on a strong ensemble — Yosuke Eguchi, Kana Kurashina, Yusuke Santamaria — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2013.