Bon Appetit Your Majesty- Episodes 7-8
Episode 7 dives right back into the chaos of the upcoming cooking competition, and Ji-young is absolutely in strategist mode. She introduces the kitchen crew to the idea of a pressure cooker, explaining how it can help them plan all three rounds in advance. For the soup finale, she’s dreaming big: ogolgye samgyetang, a rich, comforting dish made with stuffed chicken cooked under pressure.
But to pull this off, she needs someone who can actually make a pressure cooker in the Joseon era. Since the great Jang Yeong-sil is long gone, she convinces Yi Heon to let her visit his descendant, Jang Chun-saeng. Yi Heon allows it, but the moment he sees Ji-young and Song-jae heading into town together, he can’t help himself, he follows in disguise, dragging Gong-gil and Su-hyeok along for the ride.
Things get complicated fast. While Yi Heon is busy pretending to be a commoner, word spreads that the king is “sick,” which reaches Prince Jesan. Sensing a chance to strike, Jesan tests his secretly trained soldiers and orders them to assassinate Ji-young.
Meanwhile, Ji-young finally meets Chun-saeng, but he wants nothing to do with royals. It’s only after she shares one of her clever cooking tricks that he softens a little, though not enough to help. Back at the palace, tensions flare as Chef Maeng’s tough teaching style leaves Gil-geum in tears and Ya Feixiu quietly strikes a deal with Prince Jesan.
Then nature lends a hand. When rain begins to fall, Ji-young seizes the perfect moment to make dongnae pajeon, crispy savory pancakes that Chun-saeng associates with home. The smell pulls him right out the door, and after hearing Ji-young speak so passionately about his ancestor’s future legacy, he finally agrees to build the pressure cooker.
As Chun-saeng gets to work, Ji-young, Yi Heon, and Su-hyeok spend days gathering the freshest ingredients. But trouble is brewing in the palace. Lord Sung hints that the competition may never happen because Ji-young’s life is in danger. Tang Bailong overhears this and secretly warns Chef Eom and Chef Maeng, setting off a chain that sends Song-jae racing to her aid.
On the morning of the competition, Ji-young and Yi Heon return to Chun-saeng’s workshop to find the pressure cooker finished, only for Jesan’s assassins to surround the house. Chun-saeng’s clever inventions give them a head start, but during the fight, Ji-young loses the pressure cooker lid. Chun-saeng promises to recover it and urges them to escape.
The chase becomes a fight for survival until Song-jae arrives just in time. Even with an injured hand, Ji-young refuses to quit. She wakes up insisting they return to the palace immediately. Thanks to Tang Bailong’s quick thinking, the Ming envoy delays the competition long enough for Ji-young and the others to make it back, bruised, exhausted, but determined.
Episode 7 ends with everyone bracing for the moment they’ve been preparing for: the high-stakes cooking showdown that could change everything for Joseon.
Episode 8 jumps straight into the high-stakes cooking competition between the Joseon and Ming teams, and the first round’s theme is as intense as it sounds: create a brand-new meat dish the world has never seen. Ji-young and her team begin preparing braised pork ribs, confident and ready, until they discover their gochugaru has mysteriously vanished.
Without the key ingredient, Ji-young makes a quick but bold pivot, switching the dish to a beef bourguignon. Meanwhile, the Ming chefs continue with their diced chicken creation, led by Ya Feixiu, who eventually reveals a new sauce she’s calling layu. Ji-young immediately senses trouble.
When it’s time for Yi Heon and Yu Kun to taste the dishes, Ji-young’s beef bourguignon is a hit. She explains its emotional meaning too, how it’s a classic French dish made by mothers for their children, something she never got to experience since she lost her mother long ago. It’s a rare vulnerable moment that hits hard.
The Ming dish is unveiled as kung pao chicken, and the royals love it as well, with Yu Kun especially impressed by the new layu sauce. But before the scores can be announced, Ji-young asks to taste their dish. Once she does, she immediately recognizes her missing chilli powder.
Ya Feixiu claims she acquired it legitimately, through a trade with Prince Jesan. Jesan pretends ignorance, but Tang Bailong is furious, calling it unfair. In a surprising moment, he admits defeat on behalf of the Ming for this round. Yu Kun pushes back, so Yi Heon compromises by declaring the round a tie, but gives the Ming an advantage: if all three rounds end in ties, Ming automatically wins. Later, Ya Feixiu apologizes to Ji-young for taking the chilli powder at all.
With the next round approaching and no chilli powder left, Ji-young suggests something bold: Peking Duck, a Ming imperial dish she hopes will impress Yu Kun. While everyone gets to work, Yi Heon confronts Jesan about his shady deal, and Consort Kang pressures Chef Maeng to sabotage Joseon’s chances. She even threatens his mother, making it clear how ruthless she’s willing to be.
When Round Two begins, the Joseon team roasts the duck, but Chef Maeng, shaken by Consort Kang’s threat, intentionally slips and cuts his own hand. With Ji-young still injured, Gil-geum steps up. It turns out Maeng has been training her relentlessly for exactly this moment, and Ji-young had already pieced together that Consort Kang was manipulating him.
Both teams complete their dishes, and the tasting begins. Tang Bailong presents a dish inspired by temple food made from Golden Lotus, and the royals are impressed. He even reveals that he once spent five years in Joseon in search of the “ultimate taste,” which he found in temple cuisine.
Then it’s time for Ji-young’s Peking Duck. Yu Kun openly mocks her, calling it too difficult to recreate properly, only to fall silent the moment he tries it. Both he and Yi Heon are overwhelmed by how perfectly executed it is, and Yu Kun even tears up.
As both royals write down their scores, the episode ends on a cliffhanger, leaving us waiting to see whether Joseon can turn the tables in this culinary showdown.
DramaZen's Opinion
Episodes 7 and 8 were such a wild, exciting ride. I loved seeing Ji-young step into full mastermind mode, juggling recipes, pressure cookers, and royal politics like it’s all just another day in the kitchen. Her scenes with Yi Heon in disguise were especially fun, and their little countryside adventure added a nice warm touch before everything went chaotic again.
The competition itself has gotten so intense. Between missing ingredients, secret alliances, sabotage, and surprise talent reveals, every round feels like it could completely change Joseon’s fate. Ji-young’s resourcefulness really shines, and watching her fight back with pure skill and heart never gets old.
Both episodes balanced tension, emotion, and humor so well. And now that we’re heading into the final moments of the competition, I’m more hooked than ever.
