Cupid's Kitchen Episode 7 Recap
> Cupid's Kitchen Recap
Victor tasted the abalone prepared by Lin Xiaoyu, noting it was cooked in the most traditional way. He remarked that while her soup was rich, indicating fundamental skills, her timing was off as the flavor hadn't fully seeped into the abalone. He found her pairing with asparagus old-fashioned and lacking imagination. Lin Xiaoyu retorted that her imagination was reserved for the competition, and Victor wasn't worth her best dishes.
Victor taunted her, suggesting she was scared by the ingredient's price and resorted to a safe method. He dismissed her as a "weakling" rather than a "dragon." Realizing he was actually looking for Lin Kesong, Lin Xiaoyu, who introduced herself as Boris's apprentice, challenged him to demonstrate his own skills. Victor accepted, quickly preparing four abalone pastries that left Lin Xiaoyu speechless with their perfect taste and presentation.
For three days, Lin Kesong diligently practiced the same salt-scooping motion for twelve hours daily, gradually accepting her lack of basic culinary knowledge. Despite her frustration and despair, she eventually mastered measuring the precise amount of salt in a single attempt. When she asked Oliver for praise, he curtly replied it wasn't worth it. Oliver was busy in the kitchen developing new dishes for Yuxuan when Nina brought him a dessert from Li Yan.
Lin Kesong, unable to resist, tasted it and enthusiastically declared her love for desserts, detailing the flavors she detected. This unexpected confession angered Oliver, who immediately sent her back to her room to copy basic cooking principles five times without explanation. Oliver then rode his motorcycle to Yuxuan's kitchen, where he discovered sugar. He furiously confronted Elise, who admitted to adding it to make the dishes sweeter, explaining that guests liked it and she hadn't wanted to upset him.
Oliver demanded to know why she hadn't informed him, asserting his authority over the restaurant's dishes. He sternly warned Elise for the last time not to alter his recipes, stating that he, Oliver, was responsible for any mistakes, and that sugar would not be tolerated in his kitchen. Meanwhile, Bru arrived at Lin Xiaoyu’s restaurant.
Lin Feng, Lin Xiaoyu's father, engaged him in conversation, learning that Bru was Canadian, 22 years old, had studied ink painting, and was also a top-eight finalist in the Future Star competition. Impressed by his interest in cooking, Lin Feng directed Bru to the kitchen to find Lin Xiaoyu. Inside, Bru saw the abalone pastries, confirming Victor's visit. He began eating them, praising Victor as a culinary genius known across Europe and North America, who enjoyed showing off his skills.
Bru innocently added that Lin Xiaoyu wasn't as good as Victor "yet". Offended, Lin Xiaoyu, already fuming, angrily kicked him out of the kitchen. Outside, Lin Feng helped Bru understand that he had upset Lin Xiaoyu by having him stay for a meal. Bru then recounted how capricious his mentor, Huang Shi, was; for instance, he would only cook fish he personally caught.
Huang Shi’s Huaiyang cuisine restaurant required reservations six months in advance, and he believed that competitions were less important than learning from fellow chefs. Lin Feng commended Bru for his sensible views. Elsewhere, Song Yiran was enduring the grueling "Fiery Crab Special Forces" training camp, a ticket Oliver had given him. He was pushed to his physical limits by the strict instructors and vowed to get revenge on Oliver once he returned.
That evening, Oliver presented Lin Kesong with a princess dress, instructing her to wear it for dinner at Yuxuan alone. She was to make a reservation under Chu Ting's name and analyze the dishes. At Yuxuan, Lin Kesong ordered a dish called "Beauty is Like a Hook" (Galician-style octopus) and diligently took notes on her phone. Li Yan, noticing this unusual guest, immediately reported it to Elise, who was at an event.
Elise recognized Lin Kesong and rushed back, confronting her at the restaurant. She then accompanied Lin Kesong to meet Oliver, accusing him of using his apprentice to monitor her cooking. Lin Kesong reported that she tasted bell peppers and shallots in the octopus dish, contrary to Oliver's recipe. Elise admitted adding them, explaining that those ingredients were present when she and Oliver first tasted the dish in Spain, and she did it to evoke their memories.
Oliver, however, was furious about the unauthorized changes to his recipe. The argument reignited their past, and both Oliver and Elise were left to reflect on their intense, yet troubled, relationship. Flashbacks showed them celebrating Yuxuan receiving three Michelin stars, but also a heated argument where Elise, frustrated by Oliver's constant devotion to his kitchen and neglect of her, broke dishes and glassware, leading to their breakup.
Later that night, Lin Kesong confided in Nina about the peculiar relationship between Oliver and Elise. Nina explained that they had been lovers when London's Yuxuan earned its three Michelin stars but broke up before the Shanghai branch opened. Oliver initiated the breakup because Elise became overly possessive, wanting to be with him constantly and demanding declarations of love. Oliver, entirely focused on his culinary pursuits, often neglected her feelings, leading to frequent arguments.
The most severe argument ended with Elise smashing the kitchen. Nina described their relationship as draining, preventing Oliver from concentrating on his work. She also shared that she had known Oliver for ten years, ever since her previous employer, Montgomery, discovered him working in a small London Chinatown restaurant and insisted on taking him as an apprentice. After Montgomery's passing four years prior, Nina began working for Oliver.
Lin Kesong pondered the "horrifying" nature of their love and what a truly good relationship might entail. In the dead of night, at 2 AM, Oliver woke Lin Kesong and instructed her to get ready in five minutes for "training." He took her on his motorcycle to an organic farm. Lin Kesong fell asleep on his back, exhausted.
Oliver explained that the first two days of training were merely a warm-up to eliminate her impatience and bring her to a "zero" state, ready to learn. At the farm, Yuxuan's cooks were already harvesting. Oliver made Lin Kesong taste a green pepper, which she was surprised to find sweet rather than spicy. He explained that green peppers are at their sweetest between 3:10 AM and 3:30 AM, but their sweetness rapidly decreases by 15% per hour after being picked.
To preserve this peak flavor for his sauces, he makes them into a nitrogen-sealed paste immediately. Oliver then tasked Lin Kesong with picking the sweetest green peppers, using the one she just tasted as a benchmark, and told her she had to eat any incorrectly chosen ones. Following this, he took her to select snails, explaining that snails sleep for six months and are sensitive to sunlight.
He taught her to choose snails that were about two fingers wide, smooth, undeformed, and heavy, indicating good flesh. As dawn broke, Oliver and Lin Kesong went to the dock to meet Captain Ao Rixin, known as the "Sea Dragon King," who individually caught fish to prevent damage to their skin and texture. To their surprise, Captain Ao informed them that Victor had already purchased his entire catch for the day.
Victor emerged from the boat, revealing he had anticipated Oliver's arrival and had boarded the night before to buy all the fish. He provocatively addressed Lin Kesong as "Princess Evil Dragon," introduced himself as the winner of the current year's Future Star Culinary Competition, and challenged her to a bet. Lin Kesong, stunned by his premature claim to victory, accepted the challenge, asking about the terms of the wager.
