It's Stomp with a hint of Blast! and a dash of "Yan Can Cook." Sounds appetizing? For awhile, this Korean import, conceived by Seung Whan Song and now a world-wide touring phenomenon, promises to be both light on the funny bone and tempting to the salivary glands, as Cookin' shows a group of young "chefs" ordered to prepare a multi-course meal in exactly one hour. Along the way, the group do a lot of welcome horsing around (including a fun bit in which two audience members are drafted into making dumplings) and too much not-so-welcome drumming, banging and bashing to music.
Ultimately, Cookin' loses our good will, not just for long outstaying its welcome, but for cheating: only one or two dishes are even close to being truly prepared. All the rest are props and gimmicks (worse, real vegetables are used as props and then disposed of -- and I thought Americans were the only ones who wasted food by the ton!). How much better Cookin' would be if it really cooked!
