Cupid's Kitchen Episode 23 Recap
> Cupid's Kitchen Recap
Junbin invited Victor to a bar, hoping to help him relax before an upcoming competition. Victor, however, expressed a dislike for alcohol and assured Junbin he wasn't nervous. He also playfully remarked that Junbin sounded like an old man. Slightly irked, Junbin took to the stage to sing, intending to show his youthful spirit. When customers began to leave, Victor quickly intervened, taking the mic to sing a more upbeat song and improve the mood.
Junbin captured Victor's performance on video and sent it to Elise, who was surprised by Victor's singing talent. Junbin promised to take Victor out more often to sing, and Elise expressed her happiness. After leaving the bar, Victor saw a repair shop and remembered a motorcycle he had left there. He messaged Sister K, asking if the motorcycle had been discarded.
Sister K, recognizing the message as from the "spoiled brat," asserted that every vehicle has a life and instructed her apprentices to reply that it had been thrown away. Meanwhile, Boris waited impatiently at Lin Xiaoyu's private kitchen. When she finally arrived, he angrily admonished her for skipping training. He warned her that if her performance in the upcoming competition was poor, "hell awaits for you." Lin Xiaoyu confidently replied that such a scenario was "impossible!"
Lin Kesong was struggling to replicate Elise's dish. Jiang Qianfan explained that Elise's dish contained "many layers of sourness" from ingredients like lemon, fish sauce, white wine, and red wine, with the red wine being key because its flavor "can seep into your heart," unlike Kesong's version, which faded quickly. He compared Elise to an aged red wine—complex, experienced, worldly, kind, generous, and elegant—while Kesong felt like "boiled water."
Jiang Qianfan encouraged her to take her time, set a five to ten-year goal, and find her unique style, rather than imitating Elise. He reminded her of a "rainy night" as a source of her own experience. Kesong privately reflected on that rainy night, a time when she was heartbroken over losing Song Yiran. However, she realized that hearing about Song Yiran's plans to propose to Chu Ting now brought her no pain, signifying a shift in her feelings.
Following a board meeting, Song Yiran's elder brother informed him of a large celebration planned for his 24th birthday, where Chu Ting's father and all board members would be present. He instructed Song Yiran to propose to Chu Ting at the party. Song Yiran resisted, concerned about potential public embarrassment if Chu Ting refused. He suggested a more private and romantic proposal, to which his brother eventually agreed, prioritizing the outcome.
The third round of the Mueller's Future Star Culinary Competition began, with fermentation as the main theme. Chairman Thomas introduced an additional rule: contestants had to include at least one fruit in their dishes. As Kesong felt overwhelmed, she spotted hawthorn berries, which evoked memories of that emotional "rainy night" and the "torn feeling" she had experienced. She resolved to create a dish that captured that profound sentiment. During the competition, Boris noticed Kesong adding sugar to her dish.
He immediately started a live broadcast, highlighting Jiang Qianfan's well-known extreme aversion to sugar, even banning it from his restaurant. Boris dramatically questioned the humiliation Jiang Qianfan would face if his apprentice, Lin Kesong, were to win while using sugar. He then provocatively confronted Jiang Qianfan, asking how he felt about his apprentice "publicly rebelling against you."
Jiang Qianfan calmly retorted that Boris should focus on his own apprentice, Lin Xiaoyu, warning that she would be "defeated" because the temperature of her yogurt fermentation exceeded 43 degrees. As cooking time ended, the host interviewed the chefs. Blu presented a "bird's nest," symbolizing his wish for a specific person to "lay down her burden and get along with me." Victor simply stated his dish had no story.
Kesong's dish, "Crush of Tanghulu," featured candied hawthorn with yogurt, sweet vinegar, and red wine in its outer shell. She explained that the feeling of a crush was like eating Tanghulu: "The first bite is sweet but as you continue, it becomes bitter and tart. As time passes, the flavor changes too." Her parents, watching the broadcast, expressed pride and sorrow, feeling their daughter had "endured more hardship."
The competition results were announced: Victor Quentin took first place, Lin Kesong's "Crush of Tanghulu" earned second, and Lin Xiaoyu came in third. After the announcement, Kesong frantically searched for Jiang Qianfan, who had already left. Boris, enraged by Lin Xiaoyu's third-place finish, harshly reprimanded her, accusing her of "underestimat[ing] your enemy!" Blu attempted to defend Lin Xiaoyu but was roughly pushed away by Boris. Huang Shi then stepped forward to protect his own apprentice, Blu.
Madam Quentin intervened, advising Blu not to interfere with Boris's methods of disciplining his apprentice. Lin Xiaoyu apologized to Boris, who ordered her to report to his Jellyfish Bar in two hours. Song Yiran gave Kesong a ride home and inquired if her "Crush of Tanghulu" dish hinted at a past or present crush, but Kesong deflected the question. She repeatedly tried calling Jiang Qianfan, but his phone was off.
Upon Kesong's arrival at Jiang Qianfan's home, she found her luggage packed. He coldly told her to leave, stating he had nothing more to teach her and no longer wished to see her. A tearful Kesong tried to reason with him, explaining that her dish wouldn't be authentic without sugar, and offered him a sample of her Tanghulu.
In a fit of rage, Jiang Qianfan knocked the dish to the floor, accusing her of being "disgusting" and "childish" for bringing up "love, about Song Yiran." He declared that someone who told such "disgusting stories" was unworthy to "stay in my kitchen, and even more, not by my side." Kesong countered, asking if he, knowing the competition rules, had "never made sweets."
Jiang Qianfan sternly reiterated that "no sweets are allowed wherever I am," defining it as his "bottomline" that "no one, including you, must touch." He demanded she leave immediately. Heartbroken, Kesong lamented that Li Yan and Nina had also left, and now he was driving her away too. She collected her luggage and departed from his home. Shortly after Kesong left, Elise called Jiang Qianfan, who informed her that he had kicked Kesong out.
Elise expressed delight at the news and offered to issue a public announcement of Kesong's withdrawal from the competition under Yuxuan's name. She then advised Jiang Qianfan not to let Kesong upset him. Simultaneously, Madam Quentin, who had evidently predicted Jiang Qianfan's actions, celebrated Kesong's departure with Victor and another family member. Lin Xiaoyu arrived at the Jellyfish Bar on time for her punishment.
Boris presented her with two boxes of fish and commanded her to scale all of them within 15 hours. He warned that if she failed to complete the task by 5 AM the following morning, she would be forced to eat every single fish, "including the tails and bones." Meanwhile, Song Yiran went to Chu Ting's store with flowers to apologize.
However, Chu Ting instructed her employee, Chang Yuan, to close the store and reject his apology, claiming she was allergic to pollen. Chang Yuan, despite his awkwardness, dutifully urged Song Yiran to leave. With nowhere to go, Kesong wandered, contemplating returning home. She worried about how to explain her situation to her parents without speaking ill of Jiang Qianfan, but also knew she couldn't hide being kicked out. She decided to postpone going home for another day, intending to wait until her absence from the next competition round could no longer be concealed.
