The Backpacker Chef () is a South Korean variety program that airs on tvN.

Season 1 aired on Thursdays at 20:40 (KST) from May 26 till October 6, 2022, for 20 episodes. It starred Baek Jong-won, Oh Dae-hwan, Ahn Bo-hyun and DinDin.

Season 2 aired on Sundays at 19:40 (KST) from May 26 to November 10, 2024. For this season, Baek Jong-won and Ahn Bo-hyun returned, together with new cast members Lee Soo-geun, Heo Kyung-hwan and Go Kyung-pyo.

Overview The Backpacker Chef is a cooking entertainment program that challenges the extreme mission of improvising a customized food within a limited time in an unfamiliar place to the customer. Cast members leave with only one backpack containing a variety of kitchen tools and ingredients, and present instant catering for unfamiliar guests at the venue of the day.

In the first season, Backpacker Chefs went on 18 different business trips and cooked for 3078 people, preparing more than 100 different dishes.

Cast

Main Current Baek Jong-won (Seasons 1-2) Ahn Bo-hyun (Seasons 1-2) Lee Soo-geun (Season 2) Heo Kyung-hwan (Season 2) Go Kyung-pyo (Season 2)

Former Oh Dae-hwan (Season 1) DinDin (Season 1)

Guest cast Season 1 Kim Dong-jun (ZE:A) - Episode 5 Young K (Day6) - Episode 8 & 9 Andy (Shinhwa) - Episode 12 Lee Ho-cheol - Episode 13 Yang Se-hyung - Episode 18 Heo Kyung-hwan - Episode 19 Fabrizio Ferrari - Episode 8, 9, 14, 17, 19

Season 2 Lee Do-hyun - Episode 2 Fabrizio Ferrari - Episode 3, 21 Miyeon ((G)I-dle) - Episode 3 DinDin - Episode 4, 5, 18 Bomi (Apink) - Episode 7 Kang Han-na - Episode 8 Hyojung (Oh My Girl) - Episode 9 Seohyun (Girls' Generation) - Episode 11 Yuri (Girls' Generation) - Episode 12 Cho Kyu-hyun (Super Junior) - Episode 13 Soyou (Former member of Sistar) - Episode 17 Jang Ye-won - Episode 18 Kwon Eun-bi - Episode 19 Seok Matthew (Zerobaseone) - Episode 21 Kim Min-jong - Episode 22

Airtime SeasonAir dateAirtime 1 May 26 – October 6, 2022 Thursdays at 20:40 (KST) 2 May 26 – November 10, 2024 Sundays at 19:40 (KST)

Episodes Season 1 + Original broadcast date Location Mission Guest appearance Ref. 1 May 26, 2022 Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province Unlimited fast food to a wrestling club made up of 22 elementary, middle, and high school students rowspan="4" 2 June 2, 2022Byeonsan, North Jeolla Province A vegetarian meal to 20–30 people who visit Wolmyeon-am 3 June 9, 2022 Meteorology 1 in the middle of Yellow Sea Multinational party dishes for 17 employees of the meteorological ship of Korea Meteorological Administration 4 June 16, 2022 Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province A dinner for 300 people of artillery brigade at the Pocheon military base10 lunchboxes for soldiers training the mountains 5 June 23, 2022 Paju, Gyeonggi Province A dinner for 400 members of the 1st Infantry Division, Ilwolseong Battalion Kim Dong-jun (ZE:A) 6 June 30, 2022 Jeju Island Pork course dishes for a group made up of 15 of haenyeo rowspan="2" 7 July 7, 2022 50 servings of healthy course meals for the Jeju United FC football team 8 July 14, 2022 Camp Humphreys Korean snacks for 15 drill instructors of US Army and KATUSA Young K (Day6) & Fabrizio Ferrari 9 July 21, 2022 Korean food for lunch of 500 US and KATUSA soldiers 10 July 28, 2022 Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do A cool summer dinner for 250 trainees at Fire Fighters' Academy rowspan="2" 11 August 4, 2022 A low-sugar, low-salt lunch for 32 children at Seobuk District Police Station day care centerAn afternoon snack for the same children later 12 August 11, 2022 Seoul Grand Park A hot meal for 120 zookeepersA summer snack for 4 elephants Andy (Shinhwa) 13 August 18, 2022 North Gyeongsang Province Correctional Institution High protein, high calorie, and high fat lunch for 200 prison guards Lee Ho-cheol 14 August 25, 2022 Yeongdam, Busan Cheat day meals for 150 athletic students at Busan Sports High School Fabrizio Ferrari 15 September 1, 2022 Jinhae Naval Base Fusion Korean food for 120 sailors of ROKS Hansando rowspan="2" 16 September 8, 2022 Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province MZ food for 27 elderly female painters at Shinpoong-ri Painting School 17 September 15, 2022 Ganghwado Western, Chinese, and Japanese food for 280 students at Chef High School Fabrizio Ferrari 18 September 22, 2022 Goyang, Gyeonggi Province Superfood for 150 staff members of the operation room of National Cancer Hospital Yang Se-hyung 19 September 29, 2022 Yuseong District, Daejeon College food for the 330 cadets at Armed Forces Nursing Academy Fabrizio Ferrari & Heo Kyung-hwan 20 October 6, 2022 Wonju, Gangwon Province Camping food for cast members themselves who go on a healing camping trip as a reward vacation

Season 2 + This is the first season to have more than 20 episodes and to not have the cast members cooking foods for themselves. Original broadcast date Location Mission Guest appearance Ref. 1 May 26, 2024 Mageum-ri, Taean, South Chungcheong Province Clam cuisine for 150 workers of a clam fishing village, and their families 2 June 2, 2024 Republic of Korea Air Force Headquarter in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province "Dinner Show, Western Food, and Cooking Performance" for 100 peopleLee Do-hyun 3June 9, 2024Jincheon National Training Center"Special meal" and "Paik Jong Won Street" for 500 peopleFabrizio Ferrari & Miyeon ((G)I-dle)4June 16, 2024Gyechon Elementary School"Music is classical" and "Taste is latest style spicy tteokbokki" for 44 people DinDin5June 23, 2024Baegunsan, Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province"Cold Food" and "Quick Delivery" for 120 soldiers at the "1000m above sea level".6June 30, 2024Hwaseong Fire Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province"Taste good even if you eat it later", "Easy to digest", and "Strongest nutritious food" for 110 firefighters during the Merit Reward Month. 7July 7, 2024Incheon International Airport"Feeling good, Tasty and Resort food" from famous holiday place (Hawaii, Ganmun-ri, Jeollanam-do, Bali, Da Nang, Maldives, Okinawa, Hainan, and Boracay) for 300 Airport Workers during the busiest Holiday month. Bomi8July 14, 2024National Institute of Ecology (NIE)"Cities" and "Summer seasonal food" for 200 NIE Staff. Kang Han-na9July 21, 2024Incheon National Maritime High SchoolTurned the bad school foods with Baek Jong-won's magic into good food for 230 Students. Hyojung (Oh My Girl)10July 28, 2024Geumsu Culture and Art VillageCook traditional korean foods for 35 Geumsu village elders. 11August 11, 2024National Archives of KoreaCook the lost dishes that were originally popular in the past to 310 National Archives Korea staff. Seohyun (Girls' Generation)12August 18, 2024Metropolitan Railway Vehicle Maintenance Workshop in Gyeonggi Province, GoyangCook Signature dishes from places that KTX visited for 180 workers. Yuri (Girls' Generation)13August 25, 2024Arisu Water Purification Center, Gangbuk District, South Korea"Rainy season, typhoon, stay away", "Taste that goes through fire and water" and "Number of people for drinking water is 3.5 million" for 100 workers. Cho Kyu-hyun (Super Junior)14September 1, 2024National Forensic Service, Gangwon Province, Wonju"Find a flavor solution" "Endorphin explosion" and "Adrenaline detected at the location" for 140 workers.rowspan="3" 15September 8, 2024Korea Expressway Corporation, Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province"An important stop on the way home", "The flavor that started it, Chestnut, Geobong Wine, Chun Hyang", for 120 employees.16September 15, 2024Midong Elementary School, Seoul,"Tornado Kick, "Knifehand Strike" and "Hammer Smash" for 28 Students of the first children Taekwondo Demonstration team before the National Liberation Day of Korea event.17September 22, 2024National Theater of Korea"Multiple Toppings at once" and "Harmonious Meal" For 170 National Theater Workers.Soyou 18September 29, 2024Korea Aerospace Industries"Stomach Booster", "GO Capacity, GO Calories", and "High Fast Food" for 200 Workers.Jang Ye-won & DinDin 19October 6, 2024Republic of Korea 1st Special Forces Brigade HeadquarterCook the high quality fresh foods to the unit of 200 people before going for the 1,000-Ri March.Kwon Eun-bi20October 13, 2024Gwangju Women's University, Gwangsan District, GwangjuCook the $1 breakfast for 120 college students with just $120.21October 20, 2024Daegu Agricultural Meister High School, Suseong District, Daegu"Harvest Season" and "100% self-sufficient" for 240 People.Seok Matthew (Zerobaseone) & Fabrizio Ferrari22October 27, 2024Cheongju Post Office"Breaking from Eating Alone Today" and "An Order for 4 or More People" for 84 Post Office WorkerKim Min-jong23November 3, 2024Gwanak Police Station, Gwanak District, Seoul"A meal that call for rice" for 140 Police Officerrowspan="2" 24November 10, 2024Youth Meal Mungan, Sinchon-dong, Seoul"House Cook Master Paik" and "Kimchi's Transformation is Innocent" for 100 people.

Viewership <onlyinclude>

+ Average TV viewership ratings Ep. (2022 & 2024) Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea)Nielsen Korea ratings:

Nationwide Seoul 1 May 26, 2022 3.853% 3.810% 2 June 2, 2022 3 June 9, 2022 3.223% 3.238% 4 June 16, 2022 4.727% 4.435% 5 June 23, 2022 5.333% 5.266% 6 June 30, 2022 4.236% 4.295% 7 July 7, 2022 3.707% 4.146% 8 July 14, 2022 4.171% 4.111% 9 July 21, 2022 4.275% 4.331% 10 July 28, 2022 4.056% 3.985% 11 August 4, 2022 3.319% 3.564% 12 August 11, 2022 3.275% 3.246% 13 August 18, 2022 3.879% 4.146% 14 August 25, 2022 4.636% 4.766% 15 September 1, 2022 4.839% 4.598% 16 September 8, 2022 3.748% 3.697% 17 September 15, 2022 4.539% 4.757% 18 September 22, 2022 4.175% 4.094% 19 September 29, 2022 4.979% 4.786% 20 October 6, 2022 3.946% 4.068% 1 May 26, 2024 4.895% 5.435% 2 June 2, 2024 4.621% 5.075% 3 June 9, 2024 4.839% 5.473% 4 June 16, 2024 4.790% 5.950% 5 June 23, 2024 5.192% 4.843% 6 June 30, 2024 4.291% 4.631% 7 July 7, 2024 5.320% 5.785% 8 July 14, 2024 4.790% 4.807% 9 July 21, 2024 4.857% 5.509% 10 July 28, 2024 5.312% 6.117% 11 August 11, 2024 3.742% 4.112% 12 August 18, 2024 4.298% 4.693% 13 August 25, 2024 4.533% 4.879% 14 September 1, 2024 4.949% 4.952% 15 September 8, 2024 5.251% 5.897% 16 September 15, 2024 4.012% 4.174% 17 September 22, 2024 4.885% 5.643% 18 September 29, 2024 5.270% 5.476% 19 October 6, 2024 6.109% 6.674% 20 October 13, 2024 5.561% 6.674% 21 October 20, 2024 6.125% 22 October 27, 2024 5.341% 5.903% 23 November 3, 2024 5.383% 5.908% 24 November 10, 2024 6.714% In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings. This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Notes

References

External links

The Backpacker Chef at Naver The Backpacker Chef at Daum