Summary
Tastefully Yours continues its team-building exercises in Episode 4, but it also makes some unexpectedly bold strides in its core romance.
Tastefully Yours is still in that early team-building stage, as evidenced by Episode 4, which uses the tried and tested technique of a bit of competition to solidify the core dynamics. But it’s also pulling double duty as a romantic tease, with sprinkles of chemistry and connection peppered all over the place. You’d think we’d be a ways away from that aspect coming to fruition just yet, but I’m reminded of how The Potato Lab consistently used its general adherence to genre and expectation to occasionally sneak in little tweaks to and subversions of the formula.
Anyway, at this early stage, it’s safe to say that the most crucial aspect has already been taken care of. I like these characters and I’m invested in their relationships, which in a K-Drama like this is the main thing. All the loving framing and detailing of the food itself is a nice addition, but it’d be for naught if the characters were tasteless. And there I go again with the culinary puns! I’ll have to stop that.
You recall where we left off, right? Young-hye had just turned up, and Beom-woo had pretended she was his ex-girlfriend so she didn’t give away his plan to defraud Yeon-joo, who he confesses is a more talented cook than she is. But, as ever, I’m pretty sceptical of Beom-woo’s commitment to ripping Yeon-joo off. He already can’t stop thinking about her.
The awesome foursome all rally together for the food truck competition, which constitutes the bulk of Tastefully Yours Episode 4. It’s always helpful when a show has something like this to work as a frame for an episode, and it’s surprising how much is bundled up in the whole thing. We get to see the core cast all working together, the revelation that Hansang has sponsored the event adds bigger stakes, especially when Sun-woo increases the prize pot, and there’s obviously the rivalrous element that his presence brings as well – not to mention Young-hye trying to prove the point that she’s a better chef than Yeon-joo, aided by Yu-jin.
You can pretty much predict all the main beats, to be fair. Beom-woo’s thinking outside the box clashes with Yeon-joo’s stubbornness, but she eventually relents and tries out his ideas, which leads to more success and a jubilant hug of celebration that quickly turns awkward. Young-hye is underwhelming, which Sun-woo isn’t thrilled about. Even Chan-seung has a valuable brainwave, suggesting selling moju alongside the traditional gimbap.
Ultimately, though – and, again, predictably – it isn’t enough to swing what is quite obviously a rigged result in favour of Young-hye’s truck. Sun-woo plays innocent in both this and potentially burning down Yeon-joo’s restaurant, but Young-hye nonetheless takes the opportunity to stick the boot in and taunt Beom-woo. We know who the real winner is, though, since Yeon-joo’s cooking proves Beom-woo’s point that she’s the superior chef.
Tastefully Yours Episode 4 ends with a bit of an unexpected cliffhanger. This is a little early for any major moves on the romantic front, but in the episode’s climax, a frustrated Beom-woo overshares about his crush on Yeon-joo and plants a smooch on her. Pump the brakes there, champ! There’s still an entire season to get through!
I’m sure there will be a couple of episodes of deliberation about whether that really meant anything – spoiler alert: it definitely did – next week. But I reckon plenty of people will tune in to find out.
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