"Bon Appetit, Your Majesty" Im Yoon-ah faced the danger of becoming a tribute woman after a cooking contest.
On the 14th episode of the tvN weekend drama "Bon Appetit, Your Majesty" (directed by Jang Tae-yu, written by fGRD, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Filmgrida, Jung Universe), cooks from Joseon and chefs from Ming staged a cooking contest.
The theme of the first day of the cooking contest was "muyu," requiring contestants to present a meat dish never seen before. Accordingly, Yeon Ji-young (Im Yoon-ah) planned to present a spicy uded galbijjim but, after both gochujang and red pepper powder were stolen, she changed plans and presented beef bourguignon. In response, the Ming side's Abisu (Moon Seung-yu) made "rāyu" with red pepper powder obtained from Je-sandae-gun (Choi Gwi-hwa) and presented kung pao chicken-like court dish that would normally appear in the Qing era.
Just as the judging results were about to be announced, Yeon Ji-young raised an objection. Dang Baek-ryong (Jo Jae-yoon) declared that Abisu had stolen Joseon's secret seasoning and, therefore, he was not qualified as a chef, declaring the first round a loss for the Ming. But opinions differed, and instead of declaring a winner, they ruled a draw and gave an advantage that if all three contests ended in draws, Ming would be the winner.
The theme of the second day's cooking contest was "region," requiring contestants to present a dish from the opposing country. Yeon Ji-young chose Peking duck, and Dang Baek-ryong chose lotus leaf rice. Dang Baek-ryong's lotus leaf rice evoked healthy temple food, and it was revealed that he had spoken Joseon language because he had learned cooking in Joseon for five years.
In the preview revealed at the end of the broadcast, Lee Heon looks at Yeon Ji-young's injured hand and says, "This is my fault. To stake a nation's important matter on a cooking contest—" Yeon Ji-young replies, "No. Even if we lose, shouldn't we keep trying until we can't?" and prepares for the third contest.
Although Yeon Ji-young prepared Ogolgae samgyetang, she had left the pressure cooker lid behind after an earlier assassination attempt, and Jang Chun-saeng (Go Chang-seok) hoped someone would keep his promise. Meanwhile, those who wished Joseon to lose the cooking contest, including Kang Mok-ju, proposed a plot involving Je-sandae-gunexse, saying, "Now's our chance. If we can eliminate the royal head chef and trigger His Majesty's rage, then..."
In particular, during the cooking contest, with both sides' guards facing each other with swords drawn, Lee Heon's angry line "You want the royal head chef to be given as a tribute woman?" heightened the tension.
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