Are you craving a K-drama that serves royal romance with a side of sizzling dishes? Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is the feast you didn’t know you were hungry for. This Netflix series mixes time-travel, palace politics and mouth-watering dishes. The story follows Yeon Ji-yeong (Im Yoon-ah), a modern French-trained chef who lands in the Joseon royal court and has to cook for a picky, powerful king Yi Heon (Lee Chae-min). So grab your chopsticks (and maybe some ramyeon), because this K-drama is about to become your new comfort binge.
Why the food matters
In Bon Appétit, Your Majesty, food is not just decoration. Every dish is packed with culture, emotion, and conflict. Yeon Ji-yeong’s modern cooking techniques clash with old Joseon recipes, creating tension at the royal table but also heartwarming moments of connection.
Key Dishes in Bon Appétit, Your Majesty
1. Butter Gochujang Bibimbap
This dish is one of the first fusion hits in the show. Instead of sesame oil, Yeon uses hazelnut brown butter together with gochujang (Korean chili paste), rice, and seasonal vegetables. The brown butter helps tame the spiciness and adds a nutty richness. It’s a bold mix: traditional bibimbap + modern twist.
The King and Seo Gil-geum are shocked by the fiery taste because bibimbap with gochujang is new for them. But once they try it, they can’t stop. It quickly becomes a symbol of change, showing how Yeon brings fresh flavors into old royal traditions.
2. Korean French Haute Cuisine
This meal is presented in a multi-course style: hors d’oeuvre, soup, main, and dessert, styled like French haute cuisine but made with Korean ingredients and traditions. Yukhoe (raw meat tartare) comes with crispy seaweed chips, there is a bright pea soup, and then grilled venison tongue prepared with Korean BBQ flavors.
This elegant but controversial course meal raises the question of how far tradition can bend.
3. Doenjang Pasta
Yeon takes doenjang (fermented soybean paste), one of the most traditional Korean ingredients, and transforms it into a pasta sauce with buckwheat noodles, clam broth, garlic, and spinach. The flavor is bold and earthy, and in some recipes outside the show, a creamy version is used to soften the taste.
She reshaped the spirit of Korean ingredients into forms unknown in the Joseon era. It sparks curiosity and surprises, a statement of fusion done right.
4. Joseon-style Schnitzel
Crispy fried meat (similar to schnitzel or donkatsu) with burdock garnish and tangy sauces. Crunchy outside and soft inside, it is a dish of delicious metaphor for palace politics.
5. Joseon-style Macarons
A creative reinterpretation of macarons with a Joseon twist. Fillings use ingredients like black sesame, mugwort, jujube, gardenia, and rice. Even the shells are partly made with traditional techniques such as steaming or adapted baking instead of fully modern ovens.
Making its appearance in diplomacy scenes, the sweet and delicate taste, along with the elegant look, become tools of power plays and impression management.
Try These Bon Appétit, Your Majesty Dishes at Home
Many of the dishes are surprisingly accessible with the right ingredients. If you want to try:
Butter Gochujang Bibimbap — you just need gochujang, butter, rice, vegetables, optionally an egg.
Doenjang Pasta — for pasta lovers who want to taste Korea’s bold flavor.
Macarons with Korean-flavoured fillings — swap fillings with sesame or jujube for a fun twist.
The Real King Yeonsangun Behind Netflix’s Fantasy Foodie Rom-Com
King Yi Heon is loosely based on King Yeonsangun, one of Joseon’s most infamous rulers. His late 1400s reign was marked by purges and chaos, but here, food and romance rewrite his story into something deliciously irresistible.
Conclusion
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty isn’t winning hearts just for its swoony romance or wild time-travel twist; it’s because the real star is the food! It’s no surprise the drama shot up Netflix’s trending chart and became one of August 2025’s hottest K-dramas. And the best part? You don’t have to just drool on your screen, thanks to DK Shop, you can whip up a taste of that royal magic right in your own kitchen.
