In the latest episodes of the popular Netflix series Bon Appétit Your Majesty, the main character Ji Young faces big challenges during a cooking competition. The show is a time travel story about a chef from modern day South Korea who goes back to the Joseon Dynasty. She must cook for a strict king.
Episodes 7 and 8 show the start of a high stakes cooking contest between Joseon and Ming chefs. Ji Young deals with missing ingredients, sabotage, and personal danger. These episodes mix cooking creativity with drama and historical setting.
Pressure Cooker Mission and Assassin Attack
Episode 7 starts with Ji Young planning her dishes for the competition. For the third round, she needs to make a special soup called samgyetang. This requires a pressure cooker, which does not exist in the Joseon era.
She decides to find Jang Yeong Sil, a famous inventor from history. She learns he has passed away but has a descendant named Jang Chun Saeng. King Yi Heon agrees to go with her to find Chun Saeng, disguising himself as a commoner. Prince Je San learns about their trip and sends assassins to target Ji Young.
Chun Saeng initially refuses to help because he dislikes the royal family. Ji Young wins him over by cooking Dongnae Pajeon, a scallion pancake from his hometown. He agrees to build the pressure cooker. The assassins attack, leading to a fight. Ji Young gets injured but escapes with the king’s help. Chun Saeng promises to deliver the cooker lid to the palace later.
The scene where Ji Young cooks pajeon in the rain is a turning point. Food connects people across different backgrounds.
Back at the palace, the Ming chef Ya Fei Xiu trades Sichuan peppercorns for Korean chili powder with Prince Je San. This chili powder is a key ingredient for Ji Young’s dish.
Cooking Competition Begins with Setbacks
Episode 8 begins with the first round of the cooking competition. The theme is to create a meat dish that has never been seen before. Just as the round starts, Ji Young discovers her chili powder is missing.
She quickly changes her plan and decides to make beef bourguignon. She uses wild grape rice wine instead of red wine. The Ming chefs use the stolen chili powder to make a spicy sauce they call layu. They present a dish similar to kung pao chicken.
King Yi Heon and the Ming envoy Yu Gun taste both dishes. Ji Young’s dish makes them feel nostalgic. She explains it is a French dish mothers make for their children. She shares that she lost her own mother long ago.
Ji Young suspects the Ming dish uses her stolen chili powder. She tastes it and confirms her suspicion. An investigation reveals Prince Je San gave the powder to the Ming chefs. The Ming head chef Tang Bai Long admits the unfairness and accepts defeat for this round. However, King Yi Heon declares the round a tie. He warns that if all rounds end in ties, the Ming side will win.
Second Round and Internal Sabotage
For the second round, both teams must recreate dishes from each other’s cultures. Ji Young chooses to make Peking duck, a famous Ming dish. Meanwhile, Consort Kang pressures Chef Maeng to ensure Joseon loses. She threatens his family.
During preparation, Chef Maeng deliberately cuts his hand to sabotage the team. Gil Geum, his trainee, steps in to cut the duck. Flashbacks show Chef Maeng had been training her rigorously for such situations. Ji Young realizes Consort Kang is behind the sabotage.
The Ming chefs present a dish made with golden lotus, resembling Joseon temple food. Tang Bai Long reveals he spent five years in Joseon learning to cook. Ji Young’s team serves Peking duck. The judges are impressed by both dishes. The episode ends before revealing the scores for the second round.
Behind the Scenes of the Food Drama
The show Bon Appétit Your Majesty has become very popular globally. It reached Netflix’s Top 10 in 73 countries. The food is a central part of the show’s appeal.
A team of culinary experts worked on the series. They made sure the food was both historically accurate and visually appealing. Professor Lee Jung Min, a researcher of royal court cuisine, advised the production. Chef Shin Jong Cheol led the menu development.
Many ingredients used in modern Korean cooking were not available in the Joseon era. Chili peppers, potatoes, and carrots had not yet been introduced. Ji Young’s character uses creative solutions to overcome these limitations.
The experts did extensive research to create dishes that were both authentic and innovative for the drama.
The drama is based on a web novel called Surviving as Yeonsangun’s Chef. The novel uses the real historical figure King Yeonsan. The Netflix series changes the king’s name to Lee Heon to distance the story from the real tyrant.
Also Read: Bon Appétit Your Majesty Episodes 3 and 4 Release Schedule and what to expect
