The Gourmet Gamer (Please Have A Meal in Korean) is a Korean Webcomic by Im Key-Young. It has been licensed in English by Lezhin and can be found here
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Lee Rim was a rising pro chef until a car accident took away his ability to smell and taste. A year lost in depression after, he saw a commercial for [Real], a VR Game that promised that it would let users experience all five senses. Desperate to be able to actually enjoy food again, he tries it, and to his joy, it works. Now he’s making a name for himself in the game as legendary chef Rice… and slowly gaining confidence in the real world to continue cooking.
The Gourmet Gamer contains examples of:
- Acquainted in Real Life: Two people Rice meets in game, Melina and Korean Cuisine King, are actually his co-workers Mirae and Daewon.
- The Bard: Sing King/Ha Dang-Wook is this.
- The Blacksmith: Aether/Go Ji-Woong is a manufacturer and makes several pieces of Rice's gear in game.
- Break the Haughty: After Rim beats Dawoon in a cooking duel and learning about his handicap, he accepts that he still has a long way to go in cooking.
- Cute Kitten: Meow, Lee Rim’s pet cat
- Food Porn: Let's say the food descriptions are lovingly created in this.
- Heroic BSoD: Lee Rim took losing his senses hard.
- Hidden Purpose Test: During the cooking contest, the first task is to gather a fish and prepare it. Rice, however, notices some fish are spoiled and realizes the real purpose is for a chef to check the quality on their ingredients, so he deliberately waits his turn to get a fish. Sure enough, he's right and eight contestants are eliminated for not choosing fresh fish.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: When Devil Ryden appeared, he stole away people who knew about the continent and left behind those who only knew little. He also erased their memories in the process.
- Not Disabled in VR: Lee starts trying Real to be able to smell and taste in game.
- Supreme Chef: Despite losing his smell and taste, Lee Rim's skills as a chef still remain. Recently, his sense of smell have returned.
- Survivor's Guilt: Leticia/Oh Hayoung lost her parents in a car accident, and the PTSD from it caused her to lose her appetite.
- Title Drop: Lee Rim’s decides to name his new restaurant the title of the Webcomic.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Rice mentions that samgyupsal (grilled pork belly) used to be his favorite food when he could still taste
