Chapter 105: Cooking Style (4)
Chapter 105: Cooking Style (4)
A table had been placed in front of Lee Hyeseon and Jo Ara. It would have been difficult to call it a traditional five-dish table setting, but at the very least, it resembled a Korean meal.
And they were not the only ones with food before them. Grace and Gemma, as well as Fabio and Amelia, each had their own tables.
What drew the most attention, however, were Kaya’s dishes.
Everything Kaya had made was simple and almost brutally straightforward. The first dish was a stew into which she had thrown all kinds of rare and expensive ingredients. There was also lobster meat ground back into its shell with white sauce and vegetables, topped with mozzarella cheese. A T-bone steak so enormous that several people would have needed to share it to finish it. A huge prawn, an enormous crab, sea mussels with sarcodon mushrooms, oil-based tagliatelle with paprika, and a large strawberry chiffon cake.
(Translator’s Note: Tagliatelle —Long, flat ribbon pasta strongly associated with Emilia-Romagna, especially Bologna. Its modern regional tradition developed over several centuries.)
At first glance, there did not seem to be anything particularly special about the dishes themselves, but one could only laugh after looking at the ingredients. Every single one was expensive, and she had used them in enormous quantities.
It was obvious that Kaya had simply wanted to give her family something a little more expensive and a little more delicious.
Alan forced a laugh.
“Kaya, do you really think your family can eat all of this?”
Kaya avoided Alan’s gaze and fiddled with her apron, seemingly aware that she had gone too far.
She had rarely had the opportunity to serve Grace and Gemma genuinely good food. Kaya had always done her best, but how delicious could a dish become when it was made from cheap or poor-quality ingredients?
That was why she had wanted to make proper use of this opportunity.
She wanted to give them food so delicious that they would remember it for the rest of their lives, and so much of it that their stomachs would feel ready to burst.
Fortunately, those feelings had reached them.
Every time Gemma awkwardly speared some tagliatelle or steak with her fork, a bright smile spread across her face.
Jo Minjoon did not think Kaya’s dishes were excessive.
If anything, he felt as though he had lost.
Not in the mission, but in sincerity.
When she thought of her family with that much warmth, who could possibly call it excessive?
Besides, her cooking scores were not bad. Nothing had scored below seven. The tagliatelle and steak had both received eight points, while the lobster had even received nine.
Her composition score was only seven, but considering the nature of the dishes, Jo Minjoon had no idea how the judges would ultimately evaluate them.
Anderson’s cooking was the exact opposite.
He had prepared a four-course meal.
It began with bean soup accompanied by dark bread he had baked himself, followed by pumpkin gnocchi with salad and cheese, lamb meatloaf, and finally a crêpe with peanut compote.
None of the portions were particularly large, but every dish looked unmistakably refined.
There was nothing especially inventive about the recipes. Anderson had simply stayed faithful to the fundamentals, but combined with his precise technique, there was almost nothing to criticise.
With the exception of the soup, every dish had received eight points.
…This is dangerous.
Jo Minjoon bit his lip.
His own dishes did not fall behind theirs. His average score was lower, but that was only because he had prepared more dishes. All three of his main dishes had received eight points, and except for the rice, nothing had fallen below seven.
But if someone asked whether he had done better than Kaya or Anderson, he could not answer with confidence.
Jo Minjoon held out his fist.
Kaya and Anderson, standing beside him, looked confused before slowly extending theirs as well.
When all three fists touched, Jo Minjoon spoke. “Let’s win. All of us.”
It was impossible.
One of the three would have to walk through the door of elimination.
There was no one among them who did not know that they could not all win.
And yet, for some reason, Anderson and Kaya both nodded.
The word win was not really about this mission. It was directed at something else.
It was not that they had consciously interpreted it that way. Even Jo Minjoon himself had not said it with any deeper meaning in mind.
It was simply a matter of feeling.
The wish that all of them could win.
The wish that they could continue walking forward together.
Anderson and Kaya understood that feeling.
“At least today…” Jo Minjoon spoke again. His voice trembled with unease, fear and determination. “At least today, I want to win. More than ever.”
“…You can. We all can.” Kaya’s voice was far softer than usual.
Normally, Anderson would have made some remark about it, but this time he remained silent.
The judges approached.
Alan’s gaze seemed to linger on Kaya for a moment before turning towards Anderson.
“I’ve tasted your dishes. Before we give you our evaluation, let’s hear from your family first. Fabio, Amelia. How was it?”
“Well… I’m not sure. I could see a few shortcomings…”
“Even though he’s your son, are you really going to be that harsh?”
“There was one principle we agreed on regarding our child’s upbringing when we got married. We criticise what deserves criticism and praise what deserves praise. Well, the dishes were fine. And they tasted good.” Amelia answered calmly.
Unlike Fabio, who had brown hair, she had blonde hair and blue eyes just like Anderson. It was not merely the colouring that was similar. Their overall air was much the same.
Neither of them came across as particularly endearing, and both had a stubborn quality about them.
Her haughty, cat-like eyes turned towards Fabio.
“What do you think, Fabio? Would you entrust our restaurant to that boy?”
“…I’m not sure. I think it might be all right to let him handle breakfast, when people’s palates aren’t fully awake yet.”
“So he says.” Alan shrugged helplessly before looking at Anderson with sympathy. “Don’t worry too much. Your family’s evaluation is only secondary. …I honestly didn’t expect them to say something like that. I’m almost worried you’ll lose confidence because of your own parents.”
“I’m used to it.” Anderson answered calmly.
It did not sound as though he was saying it merely to reassure them. The fact that he genuinely looked accustomed to it somehow made him seem even more pitiful.
Alan looked towards Fabio and Amelia. “If I’d been born as your son, I don’t think I would’ve become a chef.”
Fabio and Amelia merely exchanged glances instead of answering.
They were truly a difficult couple to deal with.
Joseph gave an awkward cough. “Anderson, in a sense, you had the greatest advantage in this mission. Rather than taking familiar food and making it luxurious, it’s much easier to take food that is already luxurious and elevate it further. But naturally, that also meant we expected more from you.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Do you think you lived up to those expectations?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever cooked below them.”
Jo Minjoon unconsciously nodded.
Anderson certainly did not possess an explosive kind of brilliance, but he was a cook who consistently met expectations.
Perhaps that was actually the more valuable quality.
In a restaurant, where one had to prepare many dishes over and over again, being able to produce food of consistently high quality had enormous value in itself.
Joseph nodded. “…That’s good confidence. Fortunately, we also think your dishes justify it. There were no obvious flaws in your cooking, and the menu design was solid as well. I thought this composition might lack acidity, but because none of the individual flavours were excessive, even after finishing with the peanut crêpe, my palate doesn’t feel weighed down. Your experience and strong fundamentals were evident.”
Emily followed. “If someone regularly served food like this at home, half the reason for going out to a restaurant would disappear. It was that kind of meal. Thank you, Anderson.”
Anderson smiled faintly.
Judging from the comments alone, it felt as though he had already stepped halfway off the path to elimination.
Next was Kaya.
Alan spoke with a bittersweet smile. “Kaya. Honestly, I think your feelings for your family were expressed most clearly through your cooking. The desire to give them a little more food, something a little more delicious, something a little more expensive. This meal felt so sincere that it made me wonder whether, rather than focusing on the mission, you placed more importance on your family.”
Kaya kept her mouth closed and briefly glanced towards her family behind the judges.
Joseph continued. “The important thing is that although it looks as though you simply grabbed huge handfuls of ingredients and threw them together, that abundance actually deepened the flavours. The more ingredients you use, the more unpredictable the result usually becomes. In Chinese cooking, for example, many different vegetables are often stir-fried together with oil and sauce. Kaya, perhaps your pasta and stew reflect some of those habits. Were you influenced by Chloe?”
“…I didn’t consciously think about it that way. But I probably was influenced. We spent a lot of time together.”
“I think it was a good influence. The dishes feel familiar and look almost like a hotchpotch, but you’ve shown us what a genuinely abundant family table can look like. It may sound strange saying this to someone who’s still single, but… this really tastes like a mother’s cooking.”
At those words, Jo Minjoon frowned for a moment.
Then he caught Lee Hyeseon glaring at him and promptly lowered his head.
After the praise for Kaya continued for a while, the judges finally turned towards Jo Minjoon.
He tried to stand firmly and maintain a confident expression.
But his heart was pounding harder than ever.
Alan grinned. “Minjoon. You thought a lot about this, didn’t you?”
“…Thank you for noticing.” Jo Minjoon answered with a half-laugh.
There had never been another mission where he had thought this much.
Alan continued calmly. “Actually, I never expected you to make it this far. I felt the same even after your absolute sense of taste was revealed. Your skills themselves weren’t impressive enough at the time to make me think you belonged in the top three. Joseph rated your potential very highly, but… potential is still only potential. There are plenty of geniuses in this world who never bloom.”
Even without him saying anything more, Alan’s normally bright eyes seemed to shine more clearly than ever.
Jo Minjoon watched his eyes and mouth in silence.
And listened.
“It’s foreign and familiar at the same time, yet still good enough to meet our standards. The person who should have struggled most with today’s mission was you. As for your family’s reaction…”
Alan turned around.
Lee Hyeseon and Jo Ara were both smiling with satisfaction.
A similar smile appeared on Alan’s face.
“It’s exactly as you can see.”
“Was it all right? No… was it good?” Jo Minjoon could no longer hold himself back and finally asked.
His chest felt unbearably restless. He could not help it.
It was Emily who answered instead of Alan. “Yes. It was good. You may be the person who has grown the most throughout this competition, and this meal showed that growth very clearly. Korean… no, perhaps I should say Asian. An Asian-style composition, with dishes created by combining elements from different cuisines. If this were a Korean fusion restaurant, I think this entire table could comfortably be placed on the menu.”
Joseph continued. “To be honest, our understanding of Asian cuisine isn’t especially deep. Perhaps it’s even shallower than yours. But the dishes you made today would probably avoid strong divisions in preference even if they were served in the United States. The fact that you chose gochujang stew rather than doenjang jjigae was probably because gochujang is more approachable to unfamiliar diners. That was a good decision. If you want to remain a cook, it’s enough to prepare whatever is in front of you well. But if you want to become a chef, you need the ability to consider the tastes of the people eating your food.”
Emily nodded. “The combination was good as well. If we examine every dish individually, there are some shortcomings, but taken as a whole, the balance is very strong. The flavours don’t overlap, and there isn’t any single dish so dominant that it overwhelms the others. The radish soup was a little strong, but… the flavour didn’t linger too long on the palate. You did well, Minjoon.”
He had received praise from all three judges.
Now that things had turned out this way, the judges seemed more conflicted than ever.
But eventually, there still had to be a result.
“Minjoon, could you come forward?” The judges called him over.
Jo Minjoon took several steps towards them, unease written across his face.
Alan looked at him expressionlessly.
“In your cooking… Ah, I’m not only talking about today. If you had to name one thing your cooking lacks overall, what do you think it would be?”
Jo Minjoon hesitated.
At first, he thought of fundamentals, but honestly, his fundamentals had already been polished as much as they reasonably could be at this stage.
If there was one thing he still lacked, perhaps it was the indistinctness of his own colour.
Kaya had told him that was one of his strengths, but…
“That I lack… a colour of my own?”
“I’m not sure. A chef’s colour is ultimately perceived differently by every person who eats their food. Besides, expecting someone your age to already have a completely defined identity as a chef would be unreasonable, unless you were one of the handful of true geniuses in the world.”
“Then what am I lacking?”
“You don’t lack anything.” Alan answered briefly. “Rather, the problem is that you have too much.”
Jo Minjoon remained silent.
“Too many thoughts, I mean.” Alan pointed towards the half-empty dishes. “I have to satisfy my family. I have to remove the unfamiliarity. I have to satisfy the judges. All of those thoughts are visible in your cooking. But because of that, you forgot what should lie at the centre of it all—the simplest essence. I want the people eating this to think it’s delicious. During the vegetarian mission, you made a Korean table setting. Back then, we told you it would have been good if it had felt more familiar. We also said it was regrettable that there wasn’t a clear main dish.”
“Yes. You did.”
“Today, you had several dishes that could be called mains. It was delicious, and the composition was good. But do you know why I’m bringing this up now?”
“…I’m not sure. Please tell me.”
“I’ll say it again. There were too many thoughts behind the food. Your nervousness showed clearly. You were cooking for your family. Of course, we also told you to keep us in mind. But all those thoughts left this meal feeling as though it was neither completely for your family nor completely for the mission.”
Alan paused. “And naturally, I understand how difficult that situation was. You might think I’m being unfair. But that was still a handicap you had to overcome. Every time we lifted our forks, what we should have tasted was consideration, not anxiety. Do you understand the difference?”
The explanation was complicated and somewhat indirect, but Jo Minjoon thought he understood what Alan was trying to say.
Then Joseph spoke.
His voice was gentle and warm, but low.
“There are many people who can make delicious food. Even in Chicago, there are probably quite a few chefs with skills comparable to Alan’s or mine. But there are very few people capable of making good food. Even I find that difficult sometimes.”
Joseph looked directly at him.
“Minjoon, can I believe that you’ll become that kind of chef?”
Jo Minjoon’s face reddened.
Partly from embarrassment, and partly because he felt himself on the verge of tears.
When he spoke, his voice was thick. “…Yes. I will definitely become that kind of chef.”
“Now that you’ve said that, I can say this a little more easily.” Joseph’s expression softened. “Minjoon. You didn’t fail because you were lacking. But engrave this in your heart: you still aren’t complete. Keep moving forward.”
The final destination.
Every novel and every film had an ending.
Jo Minjoon had hoped that his ending would be the ending of Grand Chef.
However—
“You’ve done well. Leave your Grand Chef badge behind and go.”
His final destination was here.