Bon Appetit Your Majesty- Episodes 3-4

Episode 3 Recap: “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty”

Episode 3 starts with Yi Heon telling Ji-young she’s being sent somewhere “special,” which turns out to be a makeshift prison right inside the palace. Meanwhile, Consort Kang Mok-ja is scheming as usual, she watches the palace doctor remove an arrow from Yi Heon and sneaks it away to send to Prince Jesan, keeping her secret plots in motion. At the same time, Yi Heon realizes just how much Ji-young saved him when she stopped the bleeding on his wound.

Back in the royal kitchen, Ji-young meets Chef Eom and Chef Maeng, who are both competing for the top royal cook position. The palace politics are heating up too, Dowager Queen In-ju is wondering if Yi Heon is acting out of revenge for his mother, while Consort Kang is already plotting to manipulate Ji-young for her own gain.

That night, a mysterious masked man lets Ji-young and Gil-geum out of their prison. They’re led into a bizarre arena filled with singing and dancing masked men, only to find Yi Heon himself behind the trick. He introduces them to Gong-gil, a jester, who is secretly acting on the king’s orders to uncover who tried to kill him in the woods.

Tensions rise when Yi Heon threatens Gil-geum for Ji-young’s outspokenness, forcing Ji-young to promise she won’t try to escape again. Then, as expected, he demands she cook him a meal. In the royal kitchen, the male cooks are flabbergasted that a woman will be in charge, and they leave in protest. But Ji-young doesn’t let that stop her, using deer meat from the king’s recent hunt, she prepares a three-course meal that introduces Yi Heon to Haute French cuisine. He loves every dish, even reminiscing about childhood meals with his mother when tasting grilled deer tongue.

Consort Kang arrives to check on the king, but Yi Heon keeps her waiting, a first for her, and later personally chooses Ji-young as his royal chef. Meanwhile, Song-jae sees an opportunity to exploit Ji-young’s position, asking her to share insights from her meals with the king in exchange for protection from Consort Kang. Ji-young agrees, but also asks him to find her bag, which Yi Heon had thrown over the cliff.

Of course, palace sabotage doesn’t stop. Consort Kang instructs Cook Maeng to bully Ji-young and Gil-geum with snakes, cockroaches, and general kitchen chaos. Even Yi Heon’s ministers are upset about Governor Hong’s exile and Ji-young’s growing influence, threatening to resign. But Yi Heon turns the tables, he officially names Ji-young the chief royal cook, with strict rules: she must never repeat a dish or displease him, or she’ll face death.

Ji-young and Gil-geum get proper rooms and new kitchen uniforms, only to face more sabotage from the male cooks, dull knives and salty flour, classic tricks. But Ji-young outsmarts them, claiming she’s only observing while the men are responsible for the food the king eats.

Consort Kang then tries to convince Dowager Queen In-ju that Ji-young is a threat. The queen calls Ji-young to prove her skills in a high-stakes competition against the senior cooks, failure means losing an arm. Yi Heon, knowing his grandmother doesn’t truly care about food, intervenes, demanding the competition be fair: if any senior chef fails, they face the same consequence.

Episode 3 ends with Ji-young facing her toughest test yet, not just her cooking skills, but surviving the treacherous palace politics, all while keeping Yi Heon intrigued and guessing.

Episode 4 Recap: “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty”

Episode 4 kicks off with the long-awaited cooking competition between Ji-young, Chef Eom, and Chef Maeng. Dowager Queen In-ju sets the theme: filial piety, with tofu and doenjang (soybean paste) as the key ingredients. Ji-young decides to honor her father by making the doenjang pasta he used to make for her.

As the competition starts, the other cooks grab most of the ingredients, leaving Ji-young with crushed tofu, very little doenjang, and some newly introduced spinach. Eunuch Yoon gives her a bit of extra doenjang and shares a story about how Queen In-ju’s mother once had a final meal of doenjang soup before going to the palace, a flavor no cook has been able to replicate. Inspired, Ji-young switches her plan from pasta to soup, realizing a special ingredient could recreate that unique, refreshing taste. Time is running out, so she sends Gil-geum to fetch it. She faces some obstacles along the way, but Gil-geum manages to bring it back in time.

The other cooks present their dishes first: Chef Maeng’s fish-wrapped dumplings are tasty but underuse the key ingredient, and Chef Eom’s pan-fried tofu soup is decent. Then it’s Ji-young’s turn. She serves her doenjang soup, and the royals are immediately impressed. The Dowager Queen is moved to tears, recalling her mother’s last meal, while the secret ingredient, clams, perfectly replicates that nostalgic flavor. Ji-young even wins points for cleverly introducing spinach, which surprises everyone with its health benefits. She’s declared the winner!

True to his promise, Yi Heon initially orders the other cooks’ arms to be cut off. Ji-young interrupts, pointing out that would be murder, and even the Dowager Queen admits she only organized the competition to make Ji-young suffer. Yi Heon has a dizzy spell but regains control and spares the chefs, telling them to learn from Ji-young.

Later, we get some political intrigue: Queen In-ju and the consorts discuss Yi Heon’s mother, who was deposed and poisoned. Ji-young learns Gong-gil saved Gil-geum when she was knocked out, allowing her to get back to the competition. Song-jae hints that Yi Heon’s influence helped her survive, but doesn’t explain fully.

Meanwhile, Yi Heon confronts Consort Kang about going after Ji-young. His dizzy spells continue, and Prince Jesan uncovers that a rogue official hired an assassin against the king, the masked man is hinted to be none other than Gong-gil.

Back in the kitchen, Ji-young prepares doenjang pasta to calm the king during one of his dangerous fits. Serving the dish, she tells him it’s what her father used to make for her when she was upset. The king enjoys the meal, letting Ji-young into a rare personal moment. She tries to explain she’s from the future and needs the book in her bag to go home, but hesitates to reveal the dark future he faces, including the Gapshin Literati Purge and his eventual deposition.

In a touching twist, Yi Heon titles his diary Mangunrok, the same name Ji-young gave her book, and the original Mangunrok mysteriously disappears. The episode closes with Yi Heon receiving news of an assassination connected to his mother’s past, drinking to cope and then, in a surprising turn, drunkenly pulling Ji-young closer and kissing her, leaving viewers on a cliffhanger.

DramaZen's Opinion

After four episodes, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty has completely hooked me! Ji-young’s time-traveling chef adventures are equal parts hilarious, heartwarming, and high-stakes. From improvising French haute cuisine in the Joseon era to navigating palace politics and surviving sabotage, she’s proving that brains and cooking skills go hand in hand.

Yi Heon is such an intriguing character; part king, part foodie, and full of surprises. Their dynamic is endlessly entertaining, mixing tension, humor, and unexpected warmth. The cooking competitions are not only exciting but also carry emotional weight, revealing memories, family ties, and the king’s complicated past.

Add in scheming consorts, political intrigue, and a jester with secret connections, and you’ve got a show that’s equal parts drama and deliciousness. If you love historical K-dramas with clever twists and mouthwatering food, this is one to binge.