Recap: How Are You Bread? Episode 1
It’s finally here! How Are You Bread? has been languishing on a shelf somewhere waiting for distribution for years. If you’ve been waiting for it (like I have), but already have a full drama plate (like I do), you might find this episode 1 recap helpful for deciding whether or not to heap on another slice of drama.
How Are You Bread? Episode 1 Recap
The drama starts with our lead, Han Do Woo (played by EXO’s Suho), riding his motorcycle. He stops it and watches as a girl rides by on a bicycle. He smiles as he watches her and then turns back to admire the slice of cake he’s carrying.
The scene jumps to Do Woo in a chef’s uniform baking desserts in a kitchen. Bakeries exist for one purpose, he tells us in a monologue, and that purpose is to make people happy.
Mi Rae’s Bedroom
It’s morning and the girl from the bicycle is laying in bed debating getting up to eat breakfast. The girl, Noh Mi Rae (played by Lee Se Young,) begins to get notification alerts on her phone and discovers that a morning meeting has been moved up at work. She has only 20 minutes to get to work on time. She hops out of bed in a rush.
On her bicycle, Mi Rae passes by a bakery with a long line outside. She’s told that the owner of the bakery makes a limited quantity item each day called “how are you bread?”. The “how are you bread” item changes each day, but rumour has it that no matter what it is if you make a wish as you take your first bite, that wish will come true. Rumour has it that the “how are you bread” item is baked with all the owner’s love and longing for his long lost first love.
The Office
Mi Rae arrives at her broadcast company with just seconds to spare. Her boss is angrily talking on the phone. The baking competition they are meant to be hosting is trying to get pastry chef Han Do Woo to come to be a competitor on the show. Mi Rae’s co-worker shows her an online news show about the bakery who’s bread grants wishes. She realizes that it’s the same bakery from her own neighbourhood.
The Bakery
Do Woo is in the process of removing a reporter from his premises. His employee arrives and watches the proceedings with interest. The reporter babbles on and on at Do Woo, trying to convince him to do an interview. Meanwhile, Do Woo chats with his employee, completely ignoring the reporter. After he finally expels the reporter, they go inside and get ready to open for the day. The “how are you bread?” item today is souffle puffs labeled “Empty Greeting” which seem as if they will suddenly disappear.
The Office
In the morning meeting, Mi Rae is ‘awarded’ the job of being in charge of the new cooking competition program. The previous head writer for the show became pregnant and decided to leave before the show began. Now the problem of getting Do Woo to do the competition has become Mi Rae’s responsibility. When Mi Rae leaves the scene, we learn that her co-workers have a little something going on.
The Bakery
Mi Rae stops by the bakery on her way home and bumps into Do Woo (literally… she lands on top of him when they fall). She tries to stand but puts her weight on something unsteady and they fall again.
They sit down at a table and have a warm drink. Mi Rae thanks him for not kicking her out even though she came in after closing hours. She then introduces herself as the writer for “Supreme Taste! Bakery Three Admiral”. Do Woo flatly rejects the offer without even looking at Mi Rae’s storyboard. He leaves the bakery telling his employee Patrick to lock up after the customer leaves.
Mi Rae’s Neighbourhood
On her way home, Mi Rae stops to have a beer with the local shop owner. The shop owner’s husband is sick and Mi Rae has been refusing to take her change lately, hoping the little extra will help. The shop owner pulls out a surprise as they talk.
She tells Mi Rae to make a wish and they will share the “how are you bread” together. The shop owner wishes that her cranky husband would become well again. Mi Rae makes her wish silently. When she takes her bite of the dessert, tears spring into her eyes and she has no idea why she is crying.
The Bakery
In the morning, Mi Rae arrives at the bakery bright and early. She is determined to convince Do Woo to join her show. He once again rejects her, refusing to even look at the script she has spent all night creating. The next morning, she is there again.
She’s in the same clothes from the day before. Do Woo realizes that Mi Rae has spent the night sitting outside of his shop. He shows an angry concern over how dangerous that is. Mi Rae says that she got a great idea for the show and just had to get it all down before she lost it. She assures Do Woo that the show she has created won’t be like other variety shows, that it is perfectly suited to his character.
Do Woo appears to be listening, but then Mi Rae’s phone rings and the moment is broken. Listening to Mi Rae’s side of the conversation, Do Woo hears that Mi Rae will lose her job on this show if she can’t convince him to join the cast. She leaves the bakery as another man arrives.
The new man is named Damon and he calls Do Woo his roommate. Do Woo seems surprised and a little upset to see Damon at the bakery. Inside the bakery, Damon looks at today’s “how are you bread?”, a frozen strawberry mousse. Damon tells Do Woo that he will be taking part in the new baking show. When Do Woo tells Damon that he has already rejected the offer, Damon retorts with two cryptic remarks. The first is to say that Do Woo is just like his father. The second one has to do with the choice of a frozen dessert.
Outside the Bakery
Patrick arrives on the prettiest scooter ever, just as Damon is leaving.
Inside, Patrick teases Do Woo that he has male admirers as well as female. Do Woo tells Patrick that Damon is a hater, not an admirer, and then leaves.
Han Family Home
Do Woo goes to visit his father. It’s the day of his mother’s memorial. We learn that Do Woo’s father kicked him out of the house when he decided to be a western-style baker instead of following the family business of making rice cakes. His father smashes the cakes that Do Woo brought for the memorial refusing to use them. Once again, Do Woo is kicked out of his family home.
Hyesong Bakery Company
We learn that the Hyesong company is in trouble due to harmful ingredients being revealed in their products. The new bakery competition is meant to redeem Hyesong’s good name and save the company. The CEO is frustrated that one baker is keeping her from her goal.
The Broadcasting Office
Back at the office, Mi Rae’s co-worker commiserates with her over the potential loss of this new show. If she can’t get Do Woo to sign, Mi Rae will have to go back to being an assistant on her old show. We get introduced to a new character, Park Bong Gu. He is the son of a director who jumps from job to job, getting his father to pull strings for him whenever he messes up.
Later That Night
That night, the team goes out for chicken and beer together. Mi Rae’s co-worker friend is certain that there is a reason why their boss saddled them with the useless Park Bong Gu.
Mi Rae decides to walk home. She passes the closed bakery and wonders where her bicycle is. On her way home, Mi Rae’s mother calls to congratulate her on getting her own show. Do Woo, who is walking behind her with her bike. He has put a dessert to go in her bike basket and is trying to return the bike to Mi Rae. He overhears her talking to her mother about how well things are going at work but knows from the previous conversation he heard, that this isn’t entirely true. When Do Woo reaches Mi Rae, he tells her that he is willing to at least look at her script.
Final Thoughts:
This drama is very cute. The characters are quirky and fun to watch. It is clearly a webdrama, and the production values reflect that. And while I think the writing is pretty solid, the continuity seems jumpy with scenes flipping from day to night and back again quickly and without context. Usually, the conversation in the scene will quickly make it clear that you are looking at the next day now, but I think the director could have done a better job making it clear that a day has passed. The time Mi Rae spent the night outside the bakery felt like they had just shown one morning’s scenes out of order and I was confused for a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed watching How Are You Bread? The episodes are on the shorter side and there are only 10 of them. It would make a great weekend binge. I definitely think that I have room on my drama plate for this slice of bread.
More First Episode Recaps:
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made through these links help us to keep running and are much appreciated. Thank you!
