In 1802, 8-year-old Mio lost her parents in a river flood in Osaka and feels all alone after she is also separated from her childhood friend Noe. She is saved by Yoshi, the proprietress of ‘Tenman Icchoan', one of Osaka's famous restaurants, whom she happened to meet. Mio begins training as a cook because of her gift for taste in a time when females were still banned from the kitchen. However, the restaurant was burnt down in a fire and she sets off for Edo with Yoshi and her husband Kahei. By some lucky coincidence, they are invited by Taneichi, the owner of ‘Tsurya', to work at his soba shop. Mio is bewildered by the contrasting flavors of the Kansai region and Edo, and also has to deal with the obstructions of a rival shop and a status difference in her love with the samurai Komatsubara. She overcomes these difficulties and eventually becomes a top female cook.