Cupid’s Kitchen 2022

Lin Ke-Song, Song Zuer, is a young woman gifted with an extraordinary sense of taste, and she harbors a quiet crush on her classmate, Song Yi-Ran, Liu Dongqin. While working at a hotel in Hangzhou, she unexpectedly crosses paths with Jiang Qian-Fan, Ethan Juan, a celebrated Michelin-starred chef who has somehow lost his sense of taste. When Song Yi-Ran invites Lin to dinner, she finds herself mistaken for a participant in a private taste-testing session in a room where Jiang is preparing a dish to gather feedback. Realizing she’s in the wrong place, she slips out and re-joins Song Yi-Ran at the proper table, only to witness him receive a call from his current girlfriend.

Jiang Qian-Fan spends time sifting through the feedback from the taste-test and dismisses all 14 comments, only to discover there was a 15th input that was discarded because it described a double grassy taste and carried no name. Fueled by the mystery, he orders a search for the girl with the rare gift of taste. Their fates collide again when Lin Ke-Song is crying and distraught after being fired from her hotel job; he spots her and, recognizing her talent, hires her for three days to escort him to the best eateries around Hangzhou. As they travel, he tests her palate and gradually confirms the authenticity of her gift, while Lin Ke-Song learns to trust in her own abilities.

Meanwhile, Lin Ke-Song learns that Song Yi-Ran plans to move to Shanghai to live with his new girlfriend, with a more stable position awaiting him there through his older brother. She follows the plan, staying with her uncle, and her cousin Lin Xiao-Yu enters the culinary arena by competing in the Future Culinary Star contest. Lin Ke-Song accompanies Lin Xiao-Yu as support, but isn’t allowed to compete unless she registers as a contestant herself. In the preliminaries, Lin Ke-Song falters, turning in a disastrous dish and earning the nickname “Evil Dragon Princess” from the film crew covering the event.

Jiang Qian-Fan learns that Elise Quentin, his former girlfriend, has information about the contest that could affect his involvement as a mentor. He decides to join the competition and search for a worthy disciple. He ultimately chooses Lin Ke-Song as his apprentice, vowing to teach her the fundamentals of cooking and to guide her through the forthcoming main event, three months away. Although Lin Ke-Song begins with little cooking knowledge, his rigorous training and precise techniques shape her into a cook with a unique set of skills, and she begins to blossom into a more confident, capable version of herself.

The culinary contest heats up as Lin Ke-Song advances to the semi-finals and then the finals, facing Lin Xiao-Yu along the way. Dirty tricks from Lin Xiao-Yu and Victor Quentin, Elise’s younger brother and a culinary prodigy, test Lin Ke-Song’s resolve. Despite the setbacks, Lin Ke-Song earns a place in the finals, and in the semi-finals a critical moment leaves Lin Xiao-Yu badly burned while attempting a dramatic blow-torch finish. In the finals, Jiang Qian-Fan and Lin Ke-Song cook side by side, and the mentor’s presence is felt as Lin Ke-Song decks out a remarkable demonstration of skill. Tragically, Jiang Qian-Fan loses his sight due to an overdose of a medication intended to counteract a slow-acting poison Elise had given him to force his dependence on her, but he chooses to continue the finals with Lin Ke-Song by his side. Lin Ke-Song ultimately secures second place, besting Victor Quentin, and even his mother, the so-called Queen of Desserts, while the two mentors realize they have fallen in love with each other.

Meanwhile, Song Yi-Ran gradually falls for Lin Ke-Song, even though his heart remains with Chu Ting. He comes to see that his life has value beyond his current stagnation and draws inspiration from Lin Ke-Song to strive for a better version of himself. As the story unfolds, Jiang Qian-Fan’s taste and sight begin to return after he takes an illegal experimental drug procured by Elise, a risky effort intended to reactivate the nerves that have deteriorated. The drug brings intense pain and dangers to internal organs, and Lin Ke-Song discovers him in a forest in grave danger. She rushes him to a hospital, saving his life and triggering a tense, emotional reckoning about trust, ambition, and the power of shared meals to heal old wounds.

Throughout these intertwined journeys, the kitchen becomes a stage for transformation: Lin Ke-Song learns to trust her palate and her instincts, Jiang Qian-Fan confronts his vulnerabilities and his past, and together they explore what it means to cook with honesty, courage, and love. The narrative threads of ambition, romance, rivalry, and redemption weave a tapestry that asks what happens when a gifted palate meets a stubborn, wounded mentor—and what they can become when they finally dare to taste life again.