Chapter 117: Hunger Trip (2)
Chapter 117: Hunger Trip (2)
The Passion Behind an Absolute Sense of Taste: Jo Minjoon
Most people have at least one dream. But few can pursue that dream while throwing away everything they already have. Because of that, my heart was restless the entire way to meet this young man. How many people would travel all the way to the United States for a competition based solely on their passion for cooking?
Although he failed to win, he gained a level of popularity that many chefs in Korea could not achieve even after ten or twenty years of effort. Korean viewers may not generally be particularly interested in cooking programmes, but among Korean cooks, he is probably one of the most famous names at the moment. Simply searching his name online brings up hundreds of thousands of related articles, so there is little point debating his fame any further.
Some might think it unrealistic for someone without professional experience to become so famous. I disagree. Jo Minjoon has more than enough qualifications to justify that popularity. The first is the passion that drove him all the way to the United States. The second is his absolute sense of taste, an ability no one else in the world appears to possess.
We drove all the way here to interview him, and I nearly crashed into a streetlamp because I was so distracted by anticipation and excitement. After surviving that little danger, we finally met Jo Minjoon, who greeted us with the same vivid, gentle smile we had seen on television.
You’ve had a better start than most chefs in Korea. How do you feel about that?
“Cooking is like that. Even if you cook something well, season it properly, and plate it beautifully, if you trip while carrying it to the customer, everything is ruined. I still haven’t completed that cooking process yet. That’s why I’m even more cautious right now. If I’d already ruined everything, maybe I could be more carefree. But at least my first step was good.”
Why weren’t you aware that you possessed an absolute sense of taste?
“Mm…… Actually, it’s a little difficult for me to say that this really is an absolute sense of taste. I’m simply good at identifying ingredients. And when I assign scores……well, I’m mostly judging the state of the cooking.”
Even so, I got goosebumps watching you identify twenty ingredients in succession. Honestly, that seems impossible for anyone else in the world. More than anything, you even identified the type of meat—no, even the specific cut.
(At this, he merely responded with a smile.)
I heard you’re planning to drop out of university. Do you think you’ll regret it later?
“I won’t. If anything, I’d regret spending time on a path that wasn’t right for me even more. Life is short, and you only get to be in your twenties once. Since this is such an important period of my life, I want to spend it doing what I love most.”
When you said ‘what I love most’, something occurred to me…… During Grand Chef, there was someone who became associated with that word.
“Ah……” (He made an expression that seemed to say, So this finally came up.)
May I ask what your actual relationship with Kaya Lotus is?
“Actually, I thought the same thing when I watched the edited footage. It really did look like a drama. But one thing is certain: we aren’t a couple. We’re friends.”
Even if you remove the romantic interpretation, the two of you seem quite similar in some ways. Especially when it comes to cooking. Miss Kaya tends to cook internationally, and you do as well. What do you think about that?
“To be honest, I’ve thought about that a lot too. Kaya can express the cuisine of practically any country as though it were her own. But I can’t do that as naturally as she can. It’s not because Kaya formally studied all those cuisines. She became familiar with them through what she experienced while growing up.”
And?
“When I look at people who are called masters, they often spend decades studying and refining a single dish. Things like seolleongtang, kalguksu, kongnamul-gukbap, or sushi. Honestly, even if I have some talent, could I really make better seolleongtang or kalguksu than people who have devoted their entire lives to them?”
(Translator’s Note: Seolleongtang —A Korean soup made by simmering beef bones and other beef parts for many hours until the broth becomes cloudy and milky-white. It is particularly associated with Seoul and has documented roots extending back to the Joseon period)
(Translator’s Note: Kalguksu —Literally “knife noodles,” a Korean dish of wheat-flour noodles cut by hand with a knife and usually served in broth. Written references to similar noodle preparations appear in Korean culinary texts from the Joseon era)
(Translator’s Note: Kongnamul-gukbap — A Korean soup-and-rice dish centred on soybean sprouts. It is especially associated with Jeonju in North Jeolla Province and is traditionally eaten as an inexpensive, warming meal)
It would be difficult.
“I don’t think it would merely be difficult. I think it would be impossible. No, when I consider their dedication and effort, it should be impossible. That’s why I used to worry about it a lot. If I kept making so many different kinds of food, wouldn’t I end up sacrificing depth?”
You said ‘used to’. Does that mean you’ve overcome that concern?
“Rather than overcoming it, I think I found my own answer. In the end, everyone has different strengths. Whether you stay inside boundaries or not…… If you mix red and blue carelessly at first, you might only get a muddy mixture of red and blue. But if you keep blending them properly, eventually you get purple. Then you can take elements from both colours and make something that belongs to you.”
As our conversation continued, I could not help being impressed.
The main reasons I had wanted to meet him were his international popularity and his absolute sense of taste. But after speaking with him, I simply found myself wanting to know more about his approach to cooking.
For ordinary chefs—more precisely, young chefs—it is difficult to possess a genuine philosophy of cooking unless they are exceptionally gifted. But perhaps Jo Minjoon’s unusual circumstances forced him to think more deeply than most people his age. He has wrestled with many questions until now, and through that process he seems to have formed his own philosophy.
And just as a chef’s concerns deepen, perhaps the flavours they create deepen as well.
Soon, Jo Minjoon will appear in Hunger Trip, a food-tasting travel programme that will follow Grand Chef. People who hear the news will probably focus on the fact that a Korean will be appearing on an American television programme, but I would rather focus elsewhere.
If this young and talented cook experiences a wide variety of foreign cultures and manages to make them his own, just how remarkable might the food he eventually creates become?
Jo Minjoon said that his ultimate goal was to make food that made people happy.
I think his dream will probably come true.
Because merely imagining the food he might make has already made me half happy.
Song Mingi: Jo Minjoon, you’re cool.
Ahn YaeSeul: Definitely my man.
NopeMan: Nope.
Ahn YaeSeul: @NopeMan ??
Yakult: Hunger Trip isn’t going to air nationally here, right?
DumbNDumber: I heard it won’t. I don’t know about cooking competitions, but if that aired in Korea, I think it would get quite a lot of viewers……
Yakult: @DumbNDumber There are already similar programmes here. I think that might actually be why it won’t be popular. Not many people are going to go out of their way to watch something foreign with dubbing or subtitles.
Lee JungSeok: Look how incompetent that reporter is. Is that really all she could ask? At the very least, she should’ve asked when they’re getting married.
MJ: I’ve actually seen Jo Minjoon in person. He looks better than he does on screen.
NopeMan: Nope.
Jo Minjoon read through all the comments.
His popularity in Korea could roughly be described as, “Ah, I’ve heard of him. He’s the guy with the absolute sense of taste, right?”
There were not many people who recognised him on the street, and even when someone did, it was rarely to the point of asking for an autograph. A very small number of people had asked to take photographs with him, though.
But here, there was no sense of that interest whatsoever.
Brazil.
Jo Minjoon stood near the arrivals entrance holding a sheet of paper with EMILY POTTER written on it.
He spoke to the cameraman assigned to him. “Emily’s late. Her plane should’ve arrived an hour ago. Could something at immigration be taking this long?”
Naturally, the cameraman did not answer. His voice was not supposed to appear in the broadcast.
Although Jo Minjoon had heard that several people would eventually participate, today’s filming was supposed to involve only him and Emily.
Perhaps the programme was meant to feel like gradually gathering companions.
Martin had said that the others would appear one by one.
Honestly, Jo Minjoon did not particularly care who those others were.
What concerned him most was what kind of food he would get to eat.
Should I start with meat?
He imagined roasted skewers.
Churrasco.
(Translator’s Note: Churrasco — South American barbecue particularly associated in Brazil with the cattle-ranching and gaúcho traditions of Rio Grande do Sul. Large cuts of meat are commonly roasted over fire or charcoal, often on long skewers.)
It was a traditional Brazilian style of cooking in which meat—and sometimes vegetables—was roasted on skewers. There were surely many other Brazilian dishes, but churrasco was the only one Jo Minjoon had personally eaten before.
A blonde woman emerged from the gate and looked around.
She wore tight denim shorts, a white shirt printed with Picasso’s self-portrait, and a cardigan combining grey and blue. She seemed to have tried not to dress extravagantly, but elegance still seemed to spill out of her. Even with half her face hidden behind sunglasses, it was obvious that she was Emily Potter.
“Emily!” Jo Minjoon raised his voice.
Emily turned towards him, then smiled brightly and approached. “Ah, sorry. I’m late, aren’t I?”
“Did something happen at immigration?”
“Not to me. The person in front of me apparently tried to come in with drugs and got caught.”
“………Brazil is scary.”
“Isn’t America like that too? It’s practically the same.” Emily spoke as she removed her sunglasses. She frowned against the sunlight before turning towards Martin. “Martin, where are we going now?”
“Before I tell you where you’re going, I need to explain the basic rules.”
“Rules?”
At Emily’s confused expression, Martin gave a malicious smile.
“You have to eat three meals a day. It doesn’t matter whether you buy the food or make it yourselves. But whatever you eat has to qualify as an actual meal.”
“What happens if we don’t?”
“You’ll receive a penalty. Sleeping outdoors, for example, or having your activity budget reduced.”
“……Fine. Anything else we should know?”
“Since it’s the first day, let’s start with a simple joke.”
“Joke?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Emily and Jo Minjoon looked at each other without saying anything.
Their expressions mirrored one another.
Two anxious mirrors.
At the same time, both of them thought,
This isn’t exactly the romantic atmosphere I imagined……
Martin checked the time. “It’s ten in the morning. Since this is the first episode, I’ll give you one privilege.”
“………What privilege?” Martin smirked. “Today, you only have to eat lunch and dinner. We’ll overlook breakfast.”
“………What?”
Neither of them could understand why that counted as a privilege.
Emily’s expression grew uneasy. “How much money are you giving us for food?”
“I don’t know that either. You’ll have to decide.”
“We get to choose how much?”
“A choice is still a choice.” Martin held out a cylindrical container filled with long wooden sticks. Then, in a wicked voice, he said, “Here. Pick one.”