Chef wa Meitantei (シェフは名探偵 or Chef is a Great Detective) is a 2021 Japanese television drama that previously aired on TV Tokyo with 9 episodes aired. Directed by Hisashi Kimura and Yusuke Taki. The script was written by Shinichi Tanaka, Mitsutoshi Saijo and Fumie Kondo, who adapted the script. The series starred Hidetoshi Nishijima, Gaku Hamada, Yu Kamio, Anna Ishii, Kanta Sato and Manami Hashimoto.
A spinoff show was made, known as Sommelier wa Meitantei (ソムリエは迷探偵 or Sommelier is a Great Detective). Both shows are available online from Japanese streaming sites like Paravi and GYAO!.
The series is based on Kondo's novels Taruto Tatan no Yume”, “Bangsho wo Anata ni” and “Macaron wa Macaron”, published by Tokyo Sogensha.
A French restaurant called Bistro Pas Mal, somewhere in Tokyo, is managed by head chef Shinobu Mifune, who got trained in various French restaurants 10 years ago before he came back to Japan. He's known for cooking excellent French food. However, he sometimes helps out his customers and their personal problems by offering Vin chaud and listening to them. Mifune is assisted by fellow chef Yoji Shimura and sommelier Kaneko Yuki.
Tomoyuki Takatsuki, an ex-Salaryman who got laid off from his last job, decided to eat at the restaurant to cheer himself up. Mifune, observing his Photographic Memory when he made his order, offered him a job on the spot as a waiter (and defacto Maître d) since the last one left. Takatsuki accepted his offer.
As the restaurant continued to serve the community and offer the finest French food, there's a Myth Arc centered on Mifune as he tries to locate his father, who left his life prior to studying cooking to France.
See Midnight Diner for a similar premise, except that the food served is Japanese cuisine.
The series contains examples of the following tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The show's website has official information on the characters and their background.
- Affectionate Nickname: One of the customers in Episode 8 is a professor named Kazuma looking for answers about his old love Julie, who called him "Mister Papillon" because of his bow tie.
- Arc Words: "Pas Mal", meaning "Not Bad".
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Pas Mal's owner, Daisuke Ogura, wears hoodies on the regular and has odd dieting habits. Despite this, he's shown good business tactics.
- Character Tics: Whenever Mifune is about to make his observations, he fixes his tie. He even reaches for his neck out of habit when not in uniform.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: The restaurant's owner is shown to be a skateboarder with rather eccentric tastes in food.
- Cooking Stories: The show centers on the restaurant serving and preparing French food for their guests.
- FlashBack: Most of the guests (and Mifune) experience this after they eat the food they get for dinner when they explore their personal conflict.
- Food Porn: The show centers on having French food cooked and prepared for Bistro Pas Mal's customers.
- Gratuitous English: Some of the restaurant's customers in flashbacks are seen using English when speaking to non-Japanese persons.
- Gratuitous French: The Bistro Pas Mal team use French words/phrases, given that the restaurant serves French food. Not to mention Mifune and Shimura have been trained to cook French food.
- Happily Married: Kasuya and his wife are this, much to Oketani's surprise since the wife always serves him unprepared food. Mifune explains this is because of Kasuya's picky palate: her un prepared food have more nutrients than those that are prepared, so she did it to keep healthy. Upon hearing this, Oketani, who was trying to seduce Kasuya, sighs and says she's just a dish in a restaurant served once in a while compared to the wife who provides meals every day.
- Hope Spot: In the 7th episode, Mifune was able to speak to someone who knows about his father. Except she said that his father's in the countryside and doesn't plan to see him.
- Insistent Terminology: Kaneko sees Mifune's deductions as meddling, but Shimura thinks it's just kindness.
- Loony Fan: In episode 6, Mifune deducts actress Kushimoto's fiance was actually poisoned by someone else. The culprit turns out to be one of her fans, Makiko, who believed Kushimoto was retiring from acting because she was getting married and wanted to prevent that. Kushimoto then says she is retiring by choice.
- Meaningful Name: Bistro Pas Mal, means literally Bistro Not Bad.
- Myth Arc: After the first episode, most of the other episodes have their own subplots while on each episode, Mifune has hired a private detective to find out what happened to his father.
- Nice to the Waiter: The customers show their appreciation to the staff for their service. This extends to Mifune when he tries to help them sort out their life problems.
- Picky Eater: Kasuya is a case of this.
- Photographic Memory: Takatsuki has this, and Mifune hires him for this reason since it's useful when you're a watier.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Shimura also turns out to be a fan of romance novels.
- Running Gag: Kaneko making haiku based on the dishes served at the Bistro.
- Shown Their Work: The food served in Bisto Pas Mal are actual examples of actual French food.
- Mifune serves Vin chaud to some of his customers while it's hot. This is correct as it's done to remove most of the alcoholic content from the red wine used to make it.
- Sherlock Scan: Mifune is shown to be highly observant, which is how he's able to figure out personal problems. For example, he quickly realizes Takatsuki was just let go of his last job from the scuff marks on his suit and the bag of things from his desk he came in with.
- Stating the Simple Solution: With Kazuma having no luck locating Julie, Kaneko offers the simple solution: use the internet to contact her.
- Straight Gay: Kaneko. Takatsuki initially believes she has a boyfriend, but later episodes reveal she actually has a girlfriend.
- Trans Tribulations: In episode 4, Mifune realizes that chef Kishibe is a transgender male-to-female who has had trouble fitting in.
