Shen Zhiyi, a top modern-day food blogger, transmigrates into the past and becomes a low-ranking, bullied kitchen maid in the imperial kitchens. Faced with pigswill-like meals and a spiteful, demanding supervisor, she rolls up her sleeves. “Am I supposed to put up with this? My specialty is saving people’s taste buds!”
With a wok and a cleaver, she uses modern cuisine to make her way up in the palace. But one fragrant bowl of golden fried rice, made late at night, unexpectedly lures in Xiao Yi, the regent who wields power over the court, is cold and strict, and suffers from anorexia.
From then on, her path to promotions and pay raises goes completely off course. The prince grumbles that her cooking is “too sweet” or “too bland,” yet his actions speak louder than words as he clears every plate. Shen Zhiyi complains nonstop about how impossible this boss is to please, all while saving money toward her great dream of “leaving the palace and opening a shop as a rich woman.”
But as she goes from an invisible nobody in the imperial kitchens to the prince’s personal chef, and then to the renowned culinary genius of the capital, the man who once coldly ordered her to “make it again” starts looking at her in a very different way. His rewards change from gold and silver to rare ingredients, and in the end, does he even deliver himself to her doorstep?
Shen Zhiyi: “Your Highness, my dream is to leave the palace and be free!”
Xiao Yi: “Granted. I’ve bought the shop next door to the prince’s residence. It will be very convenient for me to come downstairs for meals from now on.”
A sweet, satisfying story about a kitchen maid who uses her culinary skills to keep leveling up, wins the heart of a top-tier foodie prince along the way, and ultimately finds success in both her career and love life. Healing food, exclusive doting romance, and a triumphant comeback, all set amid the warmth of everyday life and the simple pleasures of good food.
