– Julia Baretto and Lee Sang-heon, stars of VIU’s ‘Secret Ingredient’, talk about the show, each other and Pinoy food
There has never been a more accurate description of Julia Barretto than Lee Sang-heon’s first impression of her. He said that Barretto glowed when they were first introduced.
It was the same the day we met her—the actress was glowing. Her smile almost never left her face, revealing her dimples, except when she was deep in thought.
“Maybe you just had a great hair day. Your makeup was great, but it was good (first impression),” Lee told her.
She responded, “Thank you. I did my own hair and makeup that day, but maybe it was the sunlight.” They laughed and he continued, “She had that consistency of not losing her smile as much as possible. She has this tone. This friendly tone was always there.”
This exchange of familiarity is a sneak peek at their chemistry for their VIU original series “Secret Ingredient” that’s set to come out in April. The show is presented by Unilever Southeast Asia and Indonesia.
Secret Ingredient creator
The energy of Julia Baretto and Lee Sang-heon continued to bounce off each other’s during our interview at the Balara Content Studio in Quezon City last week. The two took a break from shooting the six-episode series to talk to the press.
“He really makes friends with the people that we work with behind the cameras. I think he values that just as much as he values the friendships that he creates with the people that he works with onscreen,” Barretto said.
“Secret Ingredient” is a romantic comedy set in the kitchen. Creator Corinna Vistan said that Lee was the first actor they got onboard. “We wanted a top Korean actor that can speak Korean and English. He’s a natural foodie and ang guwapo pa ng accent niya, ‘di ba? (even his accent is handsome),” Vistan told Super. She was referring to the British accent of the “XO, Kitty” star.
Lee studied in an international school in Hong Kong. The actor has been staying in the country for over a month. He’s been expanding his culinary journey by trying Philippine street food such as kwek-kwek and lechon manok, as seen on his Instagram stories.
Certified foodie
Newsflash, he’s unimpressed by balut and couldn’t understand what made it a must-try.
“It just tasted like hard boiled eggs,” he declared. Obviously, it will take more than a “Fear Factor” favorite to fluster his expanded palate.
If there was one dish that caught his fancy, it was pares. He pronounced it as “puh-rez” in his deep voice and Barretto couldn’t resist repeating how he said it.
He first had it when he saw the crew eating it after filming. He got curious and loved it.
“It had chicken or beef broth with some vegetables and noodles. The noodles were amazing. I told myself that I gotta try this again,” he said. When his friends from Korea came over, their itinerary included the hunt for the best pares in town.
“Where did you find it?” Barretto asked him curiously. The actor said it was in Korea Town in Manila.
Barretto teased him, “Ang layo na naman! (It’s so far!) You really like going [to far] places.” For context, he went with his friends to visit Daranak Falls in Tanay, Rizal.
He continued, “My friend told me the best place that he found on Google Reviews or YouTube. And we went there and there was a huge line. I wondered if it made the journey worth it. But it was really good.”
How was it working in a multicultural, multilanguage series? Did you shoot in other countries besides the Philippines, like Korea and Indonesia?
Julia Barretto: I wish (laughs)! That would have been a really cool and fun experience. I don’t think we really focused on our differences and our different cultures. It was just so nice to build that friendship (with fellow actors).
Lee Sang-heon: It was very exciting to come to the Philippines for the first time. And at the same time, I’m working among brilliant people. So the fact that I get to enjoy the company, the food, the environment, that’s a blessing in disguise. I’m just grateful. How long have you been in the Philippines?
Lee Sang-heon: I flew in on the 13th of January. I stayed for nearly a month. As Julia said before, I am now more Filipino because I’ve tried so much food here. I trusted everything. I really did try almost everything.
Julia Barretto: Whatever is right there.
Lee Sang-heon: The people that took care of me while I was here, they always fed me. They always fed me good food. I ended up eating so much food. At one point, I was just thinking, “Okay, I got to stop. You guys, chill for one second.”
But yeah, I enjoyed every moment I was on set and off set because there were so many people taking good care of me. So I was very thankful.
That is such a Pinoy thing to do. That’s our love language as a nation.
Lee Sang-heon: I heard that so many times. Yes. I was like, “Okay, that’s great but I need to work out more.”
What was your impression when you first read the script? What made you want to work on this project?
Julia Barretto: There’s just so much heart in the script. I love a script that has so much heart in it because it gives it that depth. LSH: Yeah, I think for me, it was just a new concept that I never thought I would be in. I enjoyed watching this type of films and series because it’s always so interesting to watch. Now I got to experience it. I could definitely check one of those boxes.
I know Julia had to cook for this series, but did you have to?
Lee Sang-heon: It wasn’t about me cooking because I was just a supporting chef. So I just had to dice a few ingredients, but I still get to see everything. I got to see the actual chefs who were there as background. I’m also with Chef Mae (Montalban from Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts or Mihca) who guided us through the dishes.
How about you Julia? Did you learn anything new from this show? Do you like to cook?
Julia Barretto: I do like to cook. But [I learned how to] prepare the ingredients needed for the dish. So it was so exciting for me because it was the first time for me to dress an entire chicken and debone a fish. I learned how to scrape and cut like I’m operating on meat. So now I have insane appreciation for everybody in the kitchen. You know, when you’re in a restaurant and you order something and you notice that oh, it’s taking a bit long. I’m gonna wait, because it’s not easy there.
What was the most challenging dish I guess to prepare if that’s what you had to do for the show?
Julia Barretto: Oh, well, we had Chef Mae. She was really the one who did the preparing, consulting and doing the plating. She deserves all the credit for all the beautiful food that you’ll see in the series. But I think the most challenging part was when really she taught me how to just work on these meats.
Lee Sang-heon: But also the fact that you had to face your allergy problem. It was itself quite impressive, I’d say. Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely not easy because you’re risking life a little bit, literally.
Julia Barretto: Peeling off the shrimp shells (laughs).
Lee Sang-heon: After this, I am done with shrimps. I was quite interested at first because I never knew how to peel shrimp properly and even devein it.
Julia Barretto: Yeah, yeah. It’s not that hard.
Lee Sang-heon: I thought it would be much harder. I thought it would be more complex but it was alright. You’re allergic to shrimp? Did you take a lot of antihistamine?
Julia Barretto: A lot. (laughs) But you seem to enjoy your time with the shrimp.JB: It’s a lot like facing your fears. So I did enjoy it. I did. It’s like, okay, now I don’t have a traumatic experience with shrimp.
Have you tried our seafood, Sang-heon?
Julia Barretto: He’s tried everything!
Lee Sang-heon: I had oysters, but I had to lay down in bed for a few days because I had food poisoning. It was a day or two. I was not fine. But it was definitely fresh oysters. And they were quite amazing. I would do it again.
Julia Barretto: Really? It must be that good.
What was your favorite scene to shoot?
Julia Barretto: I miss Mihca where we shot our kitchen scenes. I don’t know why I have such an attachment to that location. I think it’s because it’s the heart of the show. And maybe aside from the fact that that’s also where I have our cooking lessons.
Lee Sang-heon: My favorite thing was when I was playing with dogs.
Julia Barretto: The dog café? Really?
Lee Sang-heon: Yeah, they were so cute! They didn’t care if you were carrying them. They were always the best. It was so cute.
What would you say is the secret ingredient to a happy life?
Julia Barretto: : Contentment and with a grateful heart for sure. Always.
Lee Sang-heon: Happy life?
Julia Barretto: Happy wife, happy life. (laughs)
Lee Sang-heon: I’m gonna say this quote I always say, since I was in high school. I’m not exploring because I’m happy. I’m happy because I’m exploring.
“Secret Ingredient” is coming out exclusively on VIU Philippines in April.
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