Cupid's Kitchen Episode 24 Recap
> Cupid's Kitchen Recap
Song Yiran called his older brother, expressing his desire to give up on reconciling with Chu Ting, who had blocked him on all communication platforms. His brother immediately threatened to confiscate his car and house and freeze his credit card if he quit. Song Yiran protested, recounting how Chu Ting had kicked him out of her store and blocked his contacts, asking his brother for help.
His brother retorted that Song Yiran, who only ever had girls "hanging around him," should know how to coax a girl. Under pressure, Song Yiran returned to Chu Ting's store and put up handwritten apology notes that read, "Chu Ting, I'm wrong. You are my goddess. I swear that I'll never upset you anymore." Chu Ting dismissed his efforts as "stupid" and remained angry. Feeling at a loss, Song Yiran then noticed an available billboard space across the street.
Madam Quentin met Huang Shi, who was going to take her to a zither master. Huang Shi explained they were meeting at his shop first because the master lived in a hard-to-find alley. He apologized for being distracted, confessing he was advising his apprentice, Blue, on how to date Lin Xiaoyu while avoiding Boris, noting that Lin Xiaoyu had completely "conquered" his apprentice.
Madam Quentin commented that Huang Shi himself was still single, suggesting he hadn't met his own "conqueror" yet, to which he playfully responded that his 90-year-old mother was his conqueror, always criticizing his cooking and clothes. Madam Quentin, however, liked his attire and expressed a desire for a custom-made Chinese-style qipao to wear for zither playing, even though she hadn't started learning yet.
When Huang Shi offered to take her to a tailor, she declined, instead giving him her measurements—97, 72, 94—and entrusted him with making the qipao, relying on his aesthetic judgment. Huang Shi felt the pressure, comparing it to taking a test, and Madam Quentin encouraged him to do his best. The Yuxuan manager found himself unable to clock in with his fingerprints. He then noticed Xiao Pa wearing his manager's uniform, which Xiao Pa said Elise had given him.
The manager immediately went to Elise's office, asking her to check on the fingerprint issue. Elise calmly informed him that she had erased his record. She then confronted him about secretly signing with another restaurant and planning to wait for his payday before submitting a sick note and leaving, calling it "a good plan." Despite the manager's denial, Elise stated that the restaurant circle was small and that he had violated his contract by not giving three months' notice.
She informed him that a lawyer would contact him regarding the breach before dismissing him. Afterward, Elise assigned two other staff members to cover the manager's former duties by rotating their shifts. On his first day as manager, Xiao Pa welcomed food critic Marco, who ordered the five new dishes for the season. Xiao Pa informed him that the Wagyu Sirloin and Red Crayfish main entrée had been temporarily suspended because Jiang Qianfan felt there was room for improvement.
Marco expressed surprise, noting that Jiang Qianfan’s test dishes had always been the final version and he had never changed his mind before, no matter who criticized them. Marco initially agreed to try the four other new dishes, but then insisted on trying the Wagyu Sirloin and Red Crayfish out of curiosity. Xiao Pa relayed this request to Jiang Qianfan, who prepared the dish for him. Marco was satisfied and subsequently wrote a positive review titled "Yuxuan's New Dishes Review."
Later, Da Mai saw the article and was furious, feeling that the credit for identifying the dish's flaws was his. He complained that he was the one who had deemed the dish bad and forced its removal, yet now Jiang Qianfan was taking all the credit for himself, implying that Jiang Qianfan wouldn't be where he was without Da Mai's input.
That evening, Lin Kesong received a call from her parents, who congratulated her on achieving second place in the competition. Her mother then hesitantly asked if the heartfelt words Lin Kesong spoke during the competition were about herself. Her mother expressed concern, recalling how they had been strict with Lin Kesong growing up and always thought she was an innocent, carefree girl, never realizing she carried so many worries silently.
Her father sympathized with Lin Kesong for enduring so many upsetting things on her own, a realization that made both parents feel relieved and sad. Despite silently shedding tears, Lin Kesong maintained a cheerful facade and confessed that she did like someone and had for a long time, but he was proposing to his girlfriend the next day. She quickly added that she felt no sadness and was happy for him, signaling that she had moved past it.
Her mother, shocked, immediately wanted to know who it was so she could "talk to him," but Lin Kesong explained that this was precisely why she hadn't told them sooner. She assured them that since she was telling them now, it meant the matter was in the past and she was happy they were understanding. She then ended the call, claiming she needed to get back to practicing. Jiang Qianfan accompanied Elise to a bar to unwind.
Elise thanked him for Yuxuan's success and happily mentioned she had a great time. While there, Jiang Qianfan found himself lost in memories of Lin Kesong—their conversations about her aspiration to become a chef, his promise to help her achieve that dream, and their shared moments. Elise took a photo of them and posted it online, which Junbin playfully commented on, telling them not to go out while he was working, to which both Elise and Jiang Qianfan replied, "Obeyed!"
Upon returning home, Jiang Qianfan was overwhelmed by Lin Kesong's lingering presence. Seeing a pig toy reminded him of her vulnerable moments, her endearing jokes, her blushing, and her determination to become a chef. He missed her smile, her cuteness, and her spirited nature, but her absence in the house was palpable. He attempted to cook in the kitchen but found himself unable to focus, ultimately abandoning the effort.
Li Yan sent Elise another message, demanding money and asking to meet. Terrified, Elise called Xie Junbin, who, despite the late hour, rushed to accompany her. Elise only had 20,000 yuan, which Junbin realized wouldn't be enough, so he added his own 30,000 yuan to the amount. They found Li Yan selling snacks by the river. Li Yan, seeing the paltry sum, refused to believe Elise couldn't secure more money, citing her "friends and connections."
He brazenly declared that since he had been her "scapegoat," she should be making money for him for the rest of his life. Enraged by his greed, Elise impulsively reached for a knife at his stall. Junbin quickly intervened, stepping forward to shield her. He told Li Yan to stop bothering Elise and to come to him directly for any future demands, claiming Elise's money had been "emptied out."
Li Yan accused them of faking it and threatened to expose Elise to Jiang Qianfan, playing a recording of a past phone call where Elise discussed gathering money for him. Junbin tried to snatch the phone to destroy the recording, but in the ensuing struggle, Li Yan accidentally splashed hot soup on Junbin's leg before fleeing. Elise was distraught and took him back to his home to tend to his burn.
She repeatedly apologized, overwhelmed with guilt, but Junbin, downplaying his injury with a joke about not wearing skirts, assured her it wasn't a big deal. Lin Xiaoyu spent a grueling fifteen hours descaling fish under Boris's harsh supervision. Finally, Boris appeared, cynically remarking that she could go home and if she still wasn't satisfied with her punishment, she could "lose again in the next competition." Lin Xiaoyu defiantly responded, "No. I won't."
Utterly exhausted, she staggered out of the jellyfish bar and barely made it home, where her father was waiting, worried about her absence. Upon learning she had been "killing fish" all night as a punishment from Boris, her father was outraged, calling Boris a "monster" for treating his daughter so harshly. Lin Xiaoyu defended Boris, claiming he was pushing her "for my own good" because she didn't want to keep losing.
Her father urged her to quit the grueling competition, but Lin Xiaoyu vehemently refused, declaring that she would never give up and lose to her cousin, Lin Kesong. Song Yiran's older brother visited him early in the morning, having arranged the expensive billboard space. He informed Song Yiran that the billboard would be displayed for only one hour, from noon to 1 PM, due to its high cost.
Song Yiran worried about Chu Ting not seeing it, but his brother dismissed his concerns, pushing him to think of what to write. When Song Yiran suggested a simple apology, his brother scorned the idea, advising him to propose on the billboard instead. Song Yiran was hesitant, arguing that proposing would be too abrupt given their current estranged status. However, his brother was unyielding, emphasizing his lack of faith in Song Yiran to fix things on his own.
Song Yiran reluctantly agreed to the proposal idea. His brother then set a strict deadline of 11 AM for him to finalize the proposal text. Immediately after, Song Yiran's brother called Chu Ting, falsely claiming he intended to visit her store that afternoon to buy clothes, ensuring she would be there. The next morning, Jiang Qianfan called Elise to the kitchen, eager to work on a new Chinese dish he was developing.
Elise, however, was preoccupied with news of Lin Kesong. She informed him that Lin Kesong's withdrawal application had been sent to Thomas, and she had forwarded the official withdrawal announcement from Yuxuan's site to his phone. Jiang Qianfan, focused on his cooking, said he would look at it later. After he presented his new dish for her to taste, Elise, despite initially praising it, was prompted by Jiang Qianfan to be more professional.
She then critiqued it, noting the savory oyster flavor and good layering but concluding that, overall, it "lacked a bit," pinpointing the seasoning as the likely issue. A frustrated Jiang Qianfan gave her a complex taste dimension chart and asked her to fill it out. Elise recognized it as the chart Lin Kesong had previously filled out for his orange-stuffed crab dish.
Apologizing, Elise confessed she couldn't accurately quantify the flavors, explaining she couldn't measure how much more savory it was compared to a boiled egg, and thus couldn't complete the chart. Jiang Qianfan grew visibly agitated by her inability to help him in the way Lin Kesong could, declaring they should stop for the day. Elise again tried to get him to read the announcement, even offering to read it to him, but he dismissed it. Finally, Elise expressed her desire to "give it another shot" with him, but only under one condition: that she be allowed to post the official withdrawal announcement herself.
