Cooking Crush (Thai BL) – Episode 12 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Dish 12 Fish & Rice Romance: A Dish Made Of Love

Episode 12 of Cooking Crush starts with Ten taking Prem home to meet his father and stepmom. They find them having breakfast, and ten invite Prem to join. After they settle down, Ten tells his father that Prem is his boyfriend, and he brings up the issue of Prem being a scammer, giving Ten the note he found in his bedroom. 

What happens to Ten and Prem?

After rejection by Ten’s father, Prem is not fazed but instead decides to do everything to prove to Ten’s father that he deserves to be with Ten. Prem’s grandmother encourages him after receiving punishment for taking money from Ten and not telling her that his sister lost the tuition money. She tells him that the turning point in someone’s life does not come often. Therefore, he should give each opportunity his all with no regrets when he looks back.

Before the final battle of the super monster chef competition, Prem is very nervous and does not know how to calm down his heart, which is almost beating out of his chest, but Ten is beside him to calm him down or to increase the heart rate a thousand fold but this time from endless little kisses. 

After Prem fails to win the competition, Ten is still with him as the three-must-eat-eers run Prem’s grandmother’s restaurant, which is now bustling with activity due to the team’s popularity after the competition. Prem shares with Ten that he still dreams of starting a Chef’s table and promises to be with him every step of the way. Years later, Prem and Ten graduated from the university and married. Prem has his Chef’s table restaurant called “I’m Prem”, while Ten is a doctor. 

What happens To Dynamite and Fire?

Fire’s mother storms the competition and pulls him aside to show him a clip sent by her friends. It is the video of Fire giving Dynamite smooches after the three-must-eat-eers won the second round of the competition. Dynamite joins them, and Fire’s mother blames him for deceiving Fire and leading him astray.

Surprisingly, Fire stands up for himself and tells his mother that he was not fooled and that he knew that Dynamite approached him with the motive of being more than friends. He says he has been living in fear of speaking up or following his feelings because he was afraid he would let her down, but with Dynamite, he only followed his feelings. His mother does not accept their relationship, which saddens Fire, but Dynamite comforts him.

In a flashback during Fire’s graduation, we see that Fire’s mother finally apologises to Fire for being strict and hindering him from following his feelings. She accepts their relationship and tells Fire that he should feel free to follow his feelings and love whomever he wants, as his mother will always support him. 

Who wins the Super Monster Chef Competition?

The three-must-eat-eers are super nervous before the competition, but their boyfriends, friends, and family are there to support them. The dish they make is the one they had made at the beginning of the series, which the professor failed to taste since they were late in submission, and Prem gave it to Ten. They call it the “Triumphant Tom Kha Gai.”

The dish taught them about the importance of time management and motivated them to improve and become better. Prem says the dish is meaningful to him since it brought him someone special. Someone who can make him smile, laugh and is willing to do anything for him without hesitation. He builds confidence in Prem when he starts to doubt himself, making him feel that an ordinary person like him can make an extraordinary dish. In the end, the Bs win the competition. 

Do Ten and his Father mend their relationship?

When Ten takes Prem home to introduce his boyfriend to his father, the introduction does not go well since Charlotte has snooped through Ten’s room and given his father the note about Prem scamming Ten. He confronts Prem about it, and even though Prem explains the situation, he insists that Prem needs to pay them back the money in full to show he can take responsibility. Prem fulfils his end of the deal. He visits Ten’s father with the money and says he will do everything to show him he is good enough to be Ten’s boyfriend.

Later, Ten’s father visits his late wife’s favourite restaurant, Prem’s grandmother’s restaurant, and he gives Prem back the money. He acknowledges that he is responsible and understands why Ten likes him. 

Ten and his father talk before he makes him a meal. His father tells him he can never bring Charlotte to that restaurant since he knows it is their favourite place, and he will only marry Ten’s mother. He also opens up about the death of Ten’s mother, saying that it might seem that he did nothing when she got sick, but the fact is that he did everything he could, and his only regret is that he was not able to save her in the end. Ten makes his father a meal, and as he and Prem watch him eat from afar, it signifies that the father and son have finally made up. 

What happens to the Bs?

After the Bs win the Super Monster Chef competition, we do not see them again and have no idea what happens to them after. 

When did Unky and Prem’s sister get into a relationship?

Towards the end of the episode, we discover that Prem’s sister has had a long-time crush on Unky, so she always avoids spending time with the group when she sees him. After the final battle with the Super Monster Chef, Unky runs after her to find out why she is always avoiding him, and she opens up about liking him, which marks the start of their relationship. 

What happens at the end?

All the friends and couples, including Fire, Dynamite, Samsi, Prem’s sister, Metha, and Prem’s grandmother, gather for a meal at Prem’s restaurant. Ten shows up after leaving work and heads to the kitchen to help Prem prepare a meal for their friends.

After everyone goes, Ten makes Prem the Super My Boyfriend Chef dish, “Fish & Rice Romance.” Ten refuses to disclose the dish’s ingredients and recipe since it is a secret dish he will only make for Prem. The episode ends with a hungry Ten kissing Prem since, as he says, “he can never get enough of the delicious chef.” 

The Episode Review

Although the final episode of Cooking Crush gives us a last dose of OffGun’s adorable moments, I feel it falls short of resolving some issues, especially regarding the parents and sons. Ten’s father has been annoying throughout the series and has undergone zero character development in the 12 episodes. He constantly tries to push his will on Ten regarding his relationship and is stuck on Prem and the issue of the overpriced cooking classes, even though Prem and Ten resolved that ages ago in episode 5. 

It was probably important for him to fixate on the money so Prem can pay it back and get over the guilt of his ill intentions towards Ten in the beginning. However, giving Ten’s father a few minutes to walk into Prem’s restaurant, giving back the money, and offering some explanation regarding the death of his wife does not make up for the pain he has caused throughout the episodes. Probably, he and Ten did not make up, given that he is not in the photos hung in Prem’s Chef Table.

However, I liked that the issue with Fire’s mother was handled differently. She apologises to Fire and explains that she only did what she thought was best for him and did not intend to smother him. I especially liked that she invited Dynamite into the family photo during Fire’s graduation. 

The most disappointing part was how the script handled the issue with the Bs. Even after deliberately dragging Prem and his friends over the internet, they do not get any retribution but are rewarded with winning the Super Monster Chef competition. Regardless, it is good to see that even after losing the competition, the three-must-eat-eers are doing good for themselves, and Prem achieves his dream of owning a Chef’s Table restaurant.