'The Tyrant's Chef' Im Yoon-a captivated King Lee Chae-min with her gentle magic.
In the second episode of the tvN weekend drama 'The Tyrant's Chef' (directed by Jang Tae-yu, written by fGRD), which aired on the 24th, Yeon Ji-young (played by Im Yoon-a) was transported to the palace after winning the favor of the tyrant Lee Heon (played by Lee Chae-min) with her culinary skills, foreshadowing difficult days ahead.
The second episode recorded an average rating of 6.5% in the metropolitan area, peaking at 8.7%, and an average of 6.6% nationwide, peaking at 8.6%, showing a significant increase compared to the first broadcast and ranking first in the same time slot among cable and general programming channels. In the target demographic of tvN, the 2049 male and female viewership ratings also ranked first in the same time slot across all channels, including terrestrial broadcasting nationwide, and ranked first among cable and general programming channels in the metropolitan area, continuing its upward trend (based on Nielsen Korea paid platform).
Captured by the royal guards and dragged to the government office, Yeon Ji-young began preparing for a grand banquet to entertain the father-son duo of Chae Hong-sa, Im Song-jae (played by Oh Ui-sik), who were taking women away. With limited ingredients and the only meat found being tough and sinewy, she realized that she couldn't serve the food in this state and thought of using the sous-vide technique to tenderize the meat.
Yeon Ji-young passionately immersed her hands in hot water to achieve the perfect cooking temperature for the meat. Following her instructions, the kitchen staff also prepared sauces using ingredients sourced from various places, and with everyone's efforts, a beautifully colored sous-vide steak was completed.
However, even before tasting the food, Im Song-jae began nitpicking, infuriating Yeon Ji-young. Their true intention was not to enjoy the banquet but to take the granddaughter of the observer to the palace. If things continued this way, both the observer's granddaughter and Yeon Ji-young, who had completed the dish, would be in danger.
The situation began to change dramatically with the arrival of Lee Heon. He expressed his desire to taste Yeon Ji-young's food himself. Confident that Lee Heon, who possessed an absolute palate capable of detecting subtle flavor differences, would recognize her intentions, Yeon Ji-young confidently presented the sous-vide steak.
As Yeon Ji-young had anticipated, Lee Heon sensed all the hidden flavors in the dish and, with the praise of "the best in the world," unexpectedly ordered to take Yeon Ji-young to the palace, shocking everyone. While Yeon Ji-young panicked at the sudden turn of events, Im Song-jae wore a mysterious smile as if plotting a new scheme, leaving a significant curiosity.
Yeon Ji-young, who was transported to the palace with a noose around her neck for offending the king's taste, brought a new wave to the palace. The king's favored concubine, Kang Mok-joo (played by Kang Han-na), shot a deadly glare at Yeon Ji-young, whom Lee Heon had taken an interest in, heightening the tension.
As if that weren't enough, Lee Heon ominously remarked that he didn't want to kill her gently, saying, "When the time comes, she'll beg for her life," causing Yeon Ji-young to tremble in fear. Attention is focused on what kind of fate Lee Heon will decide for Yeon Ji-young and the unpredictable actions of the tyrant Lee Heon.
'The Tyrant's Chef' episode 3 will air on the 30th at 9:10 PM.
[Yang So-young, Star Today Reporter]
