Chu
Chu is a highly trained and skilled chef and father of three daughters. He is in the semi-retired stage of life, but still puts as much care and devotion into his craft as he ever did even if the job is simply making a family feast. Amid domestic turbulence and the possibly of losing his touch as a master cook, he is moving closer to an expected engagement to Madame Liang.
Jia-Jen
Jia-Jen’s eldest daughter teaches chemistry and turns to religion in the wake of disappointments in love. Of course, who should happen to enter his life at this prickly moment but the school’s newly hired volleyball coach, Ming-Dao. This relationship is threatened by a student prank intended to convince her that he has been sending her love letters.
Jia-Chien
The “Jan” of this sisterhood triad enjoys a high-powered executive position with an airline company, but she had had always harbored the desire to become a chef like her father. This ambition was doused by Chu’s patriarchal misogynistic view that women are not designed for that job. Afraid that her father will be disappointed at the news that she is moving out and into a new apartment, she is amazed at his unexpected approval of the decision. A double-whammy is experienced is experienced when the apartment deal falls through and she learns that the man she’s been seeing just so happens to be the cause of Jia-Jen’s heartbreak.
Jia-Ning
The baby of the family is memorably introduced behind the counter at a Wendy’s fast food counter overrun with impatient customers. Meanwhile, she also is experiencing romantic difficulties stemming from falling for her friend’s on-and-off boyfriend. Even though the friend insists it is the real thing despite their rocky road, the decision is pretty much made for her when she turns up pregnant with his baby.
Jin-Rong
Jin-Rong is an old family friend dealing with the twin difficulties of an ugly divorce and a daughter, Shan-Shan, who makes less than optimal meals for her. Chu makes a deal to begin preparing meals for her and when the expected announcement of an engagement to Madame Liang comes, everyone is shocked to hear that it is instead Jin-Rong whom he plans to marry.