Cupid's Kitchen Episode 1 Recap
> Cupid's Kitchen Recap
Jiang Qianfan, a Chinese chef born in London, is the head chef at Yuxuan Restaurant in Shanghai. He gained fame as the "Chinese Cooking God" after winning the Muellers Future Star Culinary Competition, a highly prestigious event in the culinary world. Four years ago, he established the Yuxuan restaurant in London, focusing on trendy fusion cuisine, which has since earned three Michelin stars.
Six months prior to the current events, the Shanghai branch of Yuxuan also achieved a two-star Michelin rating and is now pursuing its third star. He is currently 33 years old. Three months prior, in Hangzhou, 24-year-old Lin Kesong, who had studied hotel management, began an internship at the Liang She Hotel. Her motivation for pursuing this career path and joining Liang She was her long-standing crush on Song Yiran, whose family owned the hotel.
She hoped to find success in both her love life and career there. Her manager, impressed by her progress, assigned her to inspect room 3006 in preparation for a special guest. Unbeknownst to her, this task would lead to a life-altering encounter. After completing her inspection, Lin Kesong accidentally fell asleep in a high-backed chair in the room.
Upon checking into room 3006 at the Liang She Hotel, Jiang Qianfan was shocked to discover he had lost his sense of taste, unable to detect any sweetness in the tea, fruit, or stevia he tried. He immediately called Junbin to report his distressing condition. Lin Kesong, startled awake by the phone call, quickly hid herself in a corner, accidentally leaving her phone on a chair.
Jiang Qianfan noticed the phone and called housekeeping to inquire if the room had been cleaned. Lin Kesong saw this as an opportunity to escape, but just as she reached the door, Jiang Qianfan spotted her. Thinking quickly, she pretended to be room service and expressed apologies for any inconvenience, claiming the hotel would investigate the matter. She then swiftly retrieved her phone and wished him a pleasant stay before departing.
In the lobby, as Lin Kesong looked up Jiang Qianfan's information on her phone, he suddenly appeared before her, accusing her of eavesdropping on his private conversation. She explained that she had accidentally fallen asleep in the room and hadn't intended to listen. The hotel manager, accompanied by Elise, Jiang Qianfan's partner, intervened, profusely apologizing to Jiang Qianfan and offering any desired compensation. Jiang Qianfan declined monetary compensation but requested that Lin Kesong be assigned to re-tidy his room.
After Lin Kesong completed the task, Elise, still unsatisfied, demanded that she sanitize the bathroom three more times, stating she didn't believe the cleaning was thorough. Lin Kesong subtly looked to Jiang Qianfan for help, but he coolly told her to take responsibility for her own mistakes.
In a defiant act to prove her thoroughness and defend the hotel's reputation, Lin Kesong took a cup of water from the toilet and drank it, stating that her actions did not represent the hotel, and that she had indeed cleaned the bathroom properly. After work, Song Yiran called Lin Kesong, inviting her to taste new dishes at a restaurant in South Bay where he had hired a new chef.
Lin Kesong arrived early and, when she asked for Song Yiran's reservation, was mistakenly directed to a VIP room for a food tasting event. She joined other food critics, sampled the dishes, and dutifully wrote down her comments, including her name as "Guess," and contact information. Later, after receiving impatient text messages from Song Yiran, she realized her mistake and met him in the lobby.
During their actual dinner, Song Yiran received a call from his girlfriend, and he informed Lin Kesong that this new girlfriend was his elder brother's business partner's daughter. Jiang Qianfan reviewed the feedback from the tasting event, finding most of it unhelpful. Elise then mentioned a peculiar comment from a participant who had only written "Guess" for their name, stating that the dish had "two herbal flavors that were too strong."
Elise had dismissed this as unprofessional, assuming the person was merely trying to cause trouble. However, Jiang Qianfan was intrigued. He explained that the dish's sauce was made with Sauvignon Blanc, which naturally has an herbal note. He also recalled that the butter used came from cows that exclusively fed on grass, imparting a subtle second herbal flavor. Given the complex preparation of the pan-fried turbot, it was exceptionally difficult to discern these distinct herbal notes.
Recognizing this unique sensitivity, Jiang Qianfan was astonished by the reviewer's advanced palate. He immediately instructed Li Yan to spare no effort in finding this individual. Song Yiran and his girlfriend, Chu Ting, were driving around when they came across Lin Kesong at a street food stall. Song Yiran introduced Lin Kesong to Chu Ting as his childhood friend. After a brief exchange, the couple departed, leaving Lin Kesong feeling dejected.
She reflected on her long-standing crush on Song Yiran, acknowledging that she had never confessed her feelings. He consistently had beautiful and capable girlfriends, making her feel like an "ugly duckling" with no distinguishing qualities other than her passion for food. She feared that confessing her feelings would jeopardize their friendship. Despite this, she harbored a persistent dream of one day ascending to the management ranks of the Song Group, hoping to become indispensable to Song Yiran.
The following day, Lin Kesong was dismissed from the Liang She Hotel due to the previous day's customer complaint, despite her apologies. As she sat crying over breakfast, Jiang Qianfan approached her. When he questioned her tears, she snapped back that his cooking was terrible, a comment that shocked him as he had never received such direct criticism. Realizing that she was the highly sensitive "Guess" reviewer he had been searching for, Jiang Qianfan immediately offered her a job.
He asked her to be his personal tour guide for three days, exploring all the local delicacies, and offered her 1,000 RMB per day. He explained that he preferred her over traditional chefs, whom he found too rigid and rule-bound, noting her genuine love for food and her current availability. Lin Kesong, now unexpectedly free, readily accepted his offer, agreeing to meet him at Liang She Hotel the next morning at 8 a. m.
, with a stern warning from Jiang Qianfan not to be late. Back at the hotel, Jiang Qianfan informed Elise and Li Yan that he had found the individual with the remarkable sense of taste. Li Yan, who had failed to locate her despite numerous attempts, was surprised when Jiang Qianfan revealed it was Lin Kesong—the intern who had fallen asleep in his room and subsequently drank the toilet water.
Elise vehemently opposed Jiang Qianfan's decision to hire her, arguing that Lin Kesong was undisciplined and disrespectful of rules, making her unsuitable regardless of her unique palate. However, Jiang Qianfan was resolute, asserting that while other skills could be taught, an exceptional sense of taste was a rare, innate talent that he could not afford to overlook.
On their first day together, Lin Kesong arrived eight minutes late, earning a stern warning from Jiang Qianfan about punctuality, though he let it pass for the day. Lin Kesong later realized that these three days were, in fact, an unannounced assessment that would shape her destiny. She bought Dingsheng cake, a traditional sweet, hoping to share it, but Jiang Qianfan refused, stating he hated sweets. They then went for morning tea.
Lin Kesong ordered a cold fruit and lemon tea for him, explaining that green tea would be too strong on an empty stomach, and a tangerine and Pu'er tea for herself to cut the richness from the Dingsheng cake so she could eat more later. While Lin Kesong stepped away to get more desserts, Jiang Qianfan subtly dipped a toothpick into her tea, introducing a new flavor.
Upon her return, she took a sip and immediately identified a salted egg yolk flavor in her tea, prompting her to order a fresh cup. While driving, Lin Kesong shared the story of how her sensitive palate developed. During her first year of junior high, she entered a chili-eating competition, hoping to win the 200 RMB prize to buy a gift for her mother.
She bravely ate 14 of the spiciest peppers, winning the competition but ultimately collapsing and being hospitalized. Song Yiran was the friend who took her to the hospital. Upon her recovery, she found her sense of taste had become twice as sensitive as before, allowing her to identify almost any flavor. However, there was one exception: a particular grilled fish dish at a local restaurant, whose unique seasoning she could never quite pinpoint.
Intrigued, Jiang Qianfan requested she take him to that restaurant for dinner, as it only operated at night. Earlier, Song Yiran's elder brother mentioned that Chu Ting was opening a branch in Shanghai and pondered if Song Yiran would consider joining her there. While Lin Kesong and Jiang Qianfan were sampling street food, Song Yiran called, inquiring about Lin Kesong's interview and suggesting he join them for grilled fish that evening.
Jiang Qianfan initially refused, but after Lin Kesong's persistent pleas, reminding him that Song Yiran was her close friend and had taken her to the hospital after the chili contest, Jiang Qianfan reluctantly agreed, asking if Song Yiran was very important to her. When they met, Song Yiran offered Lin Kesong a ride in his sports car, but she declined, explaining that as Jiang Qianfan was her boss for the day, she had to ride with him.
Inside Jiang Qianfan's car, Lin Kesong, finding the silence oppressive, turned on some music. However, seeing his icy, preoccupied expression, she quickly turned it off. After a tense silence, she cautiously asked if he would prefer some music to alleviate the quiet, to which he coldly replied, "No."
