The series is adapted from the novel 'Surviving as the Chef of King Yeonsangun' (연산군의 셰프로 살아남기) written by Park Kook-jae, which is inspired by the end of King Yeonsangun of Joseon's reign and the Kapja Sahwa purge of 1504.

Park Sung-hoon was initially considered for the male lead role, but his script reading was cancelled after a controversial social media post, and he officially withdrew from the project; Lee Chae-min replaced him.

The main cast (Lim Yoona, Lee Chae-min, Kang Han-na, and Choi Gwi-hwa) was finalized and confirmed on January 24, 2025, and it was Lim Yoona's first collaboration with director Jang Tae-yoo.

Seo Yi-sook, Shin Eun-jung, and Son Jong-hak were brought together for this casting eight years after working together on the MBC drama 'Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People'.

Kim Hyun-mok and Lee Chae-min reunite just four months after acting together in the MBC drama 'Bunny and Her Boys'.

Kim Kwang-kyu and Hong Jin-ki reunite four years after their collaboration in the SBS drama 'Hong Cheon-gi'.

Filming of the series began on January 23, 2025, according to media outlet IZE.

The restaurant reservation platform Catch Table organized a free event allowing the public to taste in advance certain dishes featured in the series.

The overall culinary supervision of the series was overseen by chefs Shin Jong-cheol and Lee Jung-min, while chefs Oh Se-deuk and Choi Kang-rok advised on the creation of the fusion cuisine dishes appearing on screen.

The series is considered the first live-action adaptation of a Korean web novel of alternative history from the 2020s, a genre previously adapted mainly as classical historical romances; however, all names of real historical figures have been fictionalized, downplaying the alternate history aspect of the original work.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of the 5 reviews recorded are positive, and according to FlixPatrol the series ranked third worldwide, reaching first place on Netflix in 23 countries.

During its first week of broadcast, the series accumulated 9.4 million hours viewed by 3.5 million viewers on Netflix, a figure that rose to 43 million hours for 8.1 million viewers in the second week, before reaching first place in the non-English-language worldwide ranking for two consecutive weeks.

On October 21, 2025, Netflix designated the series as one of its flagship titles in its third quarter 2025 earnings report, and the production team celebrated this success with a vacation in Da Nang, Vietnam.

On November 6, 2025, Studio Dragon cited the series among the works that contributed to its return to profitability in the third quarter of 2025.