You might look at this show and think that having been basically an advertisement for a grocery store chain and produced by a cooking focused youtube channel, it would be shallow on character development and short on story. Fortunately, at least in this particular case, you'd be pretty damn wrong. Ingredients oozes charm in every scene, and the slow burn flirting of the characters leads to a bittersweet ending made more bearable with chocolate. It's possibly the most engaging, rewatchable little show where almost nothing actually happens and I love it so much.

Brief premise: Win and Tops are roommates during lockdown, just trying to survive and get to know each other. Win is a student and aspiring musician whose gigs keep getting cancelled due to covid, Tops is a dedicated culinary student who always knows the right meal for any occasion (and the actor is also a Cordon Blue trained chef irl so he actually did all the cooking for real). Each episode is a new recipe for the audience, and a life lesson for the characters. From overcoming vanity and jealousy, to realizing that success means nothing if you have no one to share it with, to taking responsibility for your mistakes, they always (well, usually just Win tbh) come out the other end of the meal just a little better for having known each other. At the climax, Win gets an audition for an international music program, but it comes just as he is finally starting to realize his true feelings for Tops and is conflicted about whether he should risk losing this new love to pursue his dreams.

Production-wise, it's pretty stark and simple but effective. The cooking scenes are well-shot without feeling out of place, and the music is cutesy and charming almost to a fault sometimes (with the exception of Jeff's dulcet tones). You're not really there for the decor, which leaves your focus on the acting and food.

Of course, the biggest selling point is Jeff and Gameplay, who are ridiculously cute and have this very sweet, playful chemistry. When Gameplay's Tops breaks out of his usually reserved frankness to flirt back with Win, it's just magic. And Win claiming to hate everything from vegetables to babies to cats, but then learning to love them by seeing them through Tops' eyes melts my frozen heart every time. Their climactic fist kiss is so wonderfully executed and well-earned, but I think my only quibble with the storytelling/pacing is that I wish it had come sooner so that we had more time to develop their romantic relationship as an actual couple. JeffGame are great but there's only so much they can do with the 2ish episodes they get after the kiss to be together, and I think more time to see them actually be romantic together would have lent more weight to Win's decision on the music program. But that's honestly a pretty small nitpick, and possibly just motivated by my desire to see they make out and cuddle more.

Ingredients is a comfort show, pure and simple, where you can escape to a world where everything can by solved with a homecooked meal and acoustic guitar serenade. Go for a visit, and return any time you need some mealtime inspiration or a warm hug.