Cooking Crush – Series Review & Episode Guide

Prem and his younger sister, Pang, live with their grandmother. Their family runs a small restaurant by the canal. Prem's grandmother has inspired him to follow in her career footsteps. He aspires to become a professional chef and open a restaurant. Despite not having much money, Prem's grandma pays his tuition at a fancy culinary school. He wants to make her proud by taking his studies seriously.

Prem is a third-year student at his culinary school. Contrary to his expectations, the first two years included few practical cooking lessons. He must learn classroom theories and take prerequisite courses before earning access to the kitchen. He finally gets to cook at the start of this semester. Prem attends the lectures with his friends, Dynamite and Unky. However, they are bullied by another trio of students. Known as the 3Bs, Boon, Ball, and Babe often taunt their classmates for lacking talent. Boon is the group's ringleader and initiates the hostility.

Nearby, Ten is a medical student who attends the same university as Prem. He comes from a wealthy family. Years ago, Ten's mother passed away due to illness. Since then, he has maintained a poor relationship with his strict father. Ten defies his overbearing parent, who wants to control his son's life. Recently, they argued over breakfast. Ten skips the meal to prove a point. He spends the rest of the physically strenuous day without eating, almost causing him to collapse.

While wandering campus in a daze, Ten almost faints due to hunger. Prem takes pity on the stranger and prepares him a bowl of soup. Ten feels amazed by how delicious the food tastes. Later, he approaches Prem with a job offer. Ten wants to hire this talented chef as a private cooking teacher. Prem wasn't interested initially. However, he changed his mind due to the astronomically high compensation. Ten is willing to pay a lot of money! The pair begins their one-on-one cooking lessons. As Prem understands his client better, he designs each tutorial thoughtfully.

Ten is friends with Fire and Metha. Like Ten, Fire has a strict family. His mom runs a pharmacy and expects perfection from her son. Despite trying to please his parents, Fire goes behind their backs with cheeky mischief. Fire is fond of his classmate, Jane, and wants to ask her for a date. Before doing so, he gets interrupted. Dy gives his contact information to Fire and starts flirting with him. However, Fire claims he isn't attracted to guys. Despite the rejection, Dy persists in his pursuit. He wants Fire to take his affections seriously.

Each episode of Cooking Crush begins with cheerful opening credits. My mood lifts as I nod enthusiastically to the catchy music and quirky dances. The segment captures the lighthearted vibe of this BL drama, which doesn't take itself too seriously. The series likes to tell jokes, enjoy mischief, and exaggerate playfully. Even if the humour doesn't always make me laugh, its silliness still feels relaxing. Cooking Crush offers cheeky comedy and casual romance for BL fans who want to decompress. 

While Cooking Crush tries to be amusing, some misfired jokes fall flat and come across as cringy. The zany characters prolong embarrassing gags. Also, the childish humour is reflected in the plot. Many storylines seem too goofy and frivolous, potentially turning off viewers who want a mature drama. You won't find complex themes or substantial messages in this ditzy series. As the narrative progresses, several moments seem particularly foolish. I'm dumbfounded by the bizarre arc with Ten's mother in Episode 8. What a hilariously absurd turn of events!

As the lead couple navigates their feelings, they form a charming romance. From sweet exchanges to bashful flirting, the series conveys the bubbliness of developing a crush on someone. I enjoy Prem & Ten enough to ship them. With that said, their cutesy rapport struggles to hold my interest over twelve episodes. Several frustrating subplots drag out the relationship's momentum. Oh, we can't be boyfriends yet! Ah, we should stay apart from each other! Besides the needless drama, I like Ten's character less due to his jealousy toward his love rival, Chang Ma.

Sorry, but I despise the secondary couple. Their repetitive scenes get on my nerves. Fire rejects his love interest not once, not twice, but in every early episode. Dy continues the romantic pursuit, never taking a blatant no for an answer. From the creepy stalking to the constant harassment, his behaviour is a turn-off. I also don't understand the basis of their attraction. What do they like about each other!? Dy's energetic actor (Aungpao) performs well. However, this teenager seems too young to portray Neo's love interest. The real-life age gap reduces the pair's shipping potential.

I adore Prem's grandmother! Her cozy scenes bring a heartwarming touch of sentimentality. Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast is so damn aggravating. I hate Ten's dad and Fire's mom, both overbearing parents who treat others disrespectfully. I wish someone would call them out on their unacceptable behaviour. Likewise, the school bullies are one-dimensional villains who get away with too much cruelty. Nobody ever holds them accountable. These infuriating antagonists drain my enjoyment in a series where I don't find many characters likeable.

Every Cooking Crush episode has a few entertaining moments. For the rest of the time, I'm either bored with the uninspiring plots or annoyed by the detestable characters. The series doesn't improve much after a clumsy start. It maintains a consistent mediocrity from beginning to end. I lost interest before midway and had to motivate myself to finish the remaining drama. Despite being almost eleven hours long, the meandering story has a lot of pointlessness. Overall, Cooking Crush leaves a poor taste. This undercooked series doesn't satisfy my BL appetite.