n 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.

In Edo of the early 1800s, Mio is foretold that while she will live a life of trials and tribulations, there will always be a blue sky waiting for her beyond the clouds. As she tries to find a path for herself amongst the highly competitive world of chefs, she comes to learn first-hand just how many trials and tribulations she will have to endure. Still, with the help of those around her, Mio won't give up searching for her own flavor…

It is the spring of 1814. The restaurant Tsuruka is gaining much popularity after its chef, Mio, won the prestigious cooking competition. One day, the owner of Tsuruka, Taneichi, employed young Fuki to be the attendant for customers' shoes. Mio could fully empathize with young Fuki, who was an orphan and yet was courageous enough to survive on her own. Around the same time, the famous novelist Seiemon started coming to Tsuruka. Even though Seiemon criticized Mio's cooking each time, he always returned to the restaurant daily. Remembering the words spoken by the samurai that had last seen Komatsubara, "Tokei no Ma", Mio was very tempted to ask Seiemon the meaning of the words!