Chapter 15: The 100 Chefs (1)
Chapter 15: The 100 Chefs (1)
The number of people who advanced to the second round was supposedly fixed at one hundred. In reality, though, viewers could never know for certain whether there were exactly a hundred, since the broadcast did not show every single contestant.
Now, Jo Minjoon could finally confirm the truth for himself.
Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred… There really are exactly a hundred.
He had no idea how they had managed to narrow it down to precisely one hundred people, but at least one of his curiosities had been resolved. There were neither more nor fewer contestants in the second round. Exactly one hundred people selected from all over the country had gathered here.
Jo Minjoon took out a zip-lock bag. Inside were different-coloured jellies shaped like oversized worms. Jessie had made them. Ever since the incident that day, she had started making jelly whenever she was bored.
They’re not good.
It was an honest assessment. They were neither sweet nor soft. The longer he chewed, the more his jaw hurt. They were the worst kind of jelly. Somehow, though, chewing them made his nervousness fade. It almost felt as though his parents were holding his hands.
Around him, contestants with nervous expressions were talking to the people beside them while cameras stood installed throughout the area. The set was inside the Grand Chef building in Chicago, a five-storey building accessible only to people affiliated with the programme. Accommodation for contestants was also provided inside. Of course, that did not mean all one hundred contestants could stay there. There were only around thirty rooms available.
Which means at least seventy of us won’t make it through.
Jo Minjoon let out a short sigh and turned his head, only for his expression to stiffen almost immediately.
A familiar person was sitting beside him.
Kaya Lotus.
They had not deliberately chosen seats next to each other. It was simply because both of them had qualified through the New York preliminaries. The seats were not assigned by region, but the contestants entering the room had naturally grouped themselves according to where they had come from, almost as though they were being loaded into a truck. The four people who had advanced from New York were no exception, though none of them seemed to know why they had ended up sitting together.
“Ahem. Why don’t we introduce ourselves properly? I thought I was going to die from the awkwardness on the plane earlier. I’m Amanda Olsen.”
The first to speak was a fat—no, large-built—white woman. She had ginger hair and freckles, and the fullness of her face made it difficult to guess her age. Still, Jo Minjoon was certain she was at least in her thirties.
The person who answered Amanda was a black man around Jo Minjoon’s age. He looked well over 180 centimetres tall, but despite his height, he seemed rather timid. He laughed awkwardly and said, “Oh… I’m Marco Denver.”
“Jo Minjoon.”
Jo Minjoon kept his own introduction brief. It might have seemed unfriendly, but he had no desire to spend a long time talking with people he would probably soon part ways with. He did not want to make friends unnecessarily, only to feel awkward if they were eliminated.
More precisely, that was what he thought about Amanda.
Before reincarnating, Jo Minjoon had watched Season Three of Grand Chef, so he knew who had survived and who had not. Kaya was obvious, since she had won the entire competition. As for Marco…
He made it into the top ten, I think.
Jo Minjoon did not remember exactly when Marco had been eliminated, but he clearly remembered him surviving for quite a while.
Amanda, however, was different. Jo Minjoon did not remember seeing her on the broadcast at all. Even if she had appeared, she must not have left much of an impression. Otherwise, there was no reason he would have completely forgotten her.
If he spent too much time talking to someone who would soon be eliminated, he would only feel bad later. Even so, he did not want to single Amanda out by keeping only her at a distance, so he decided to keep some distance from everyone.
Besides, he was not exactly relaxed himself. He already knew what mission was coming next and had practised for it in advance, but that did not mean he was confident he would succeed.
“What about you? What’s your name?”
Amanda addressed Kaya, who had remained silent.
Kaya looked at her. Her trademark smoky make-up made her eyes appear even more intimidating, but Amanda merely smiled at her warmly. Faced with that smile, Kaya seemed unable to keep up her rough attitude. She sighed and said, “Kaya Lotus. I’m a little sensitive, so if possible, I’d rather stay quiet.”
Her husky voice suited her blunt tone well.
Amanda paused and looked Kaya up and down. Kaya’s thin frame stood out even more beside Amanda’s larger build. Amanda smiled as she spoke, and watching her, Jo Minjoon found himself thinking that perhaps keeping his distance from everyone was pointless. Until now, he had rarely had a chance to meet someone with that kind of smile.
“Are you tired? Cooking takes stamina. Being that thin must make things difficult.”
Kaya stared at Amanda in disbelief, then slowly raised her fist.
Amanda looked at it in confusion.
The middle finger rose.
Looking directly at Amanda’s plump face, Kaya said sharply, “Your jokes are lighter than your weight.”
Jo Minjoon could not help laughing under his breath.
The reason Kaya had been called the worst genius was precisely because of this attitude. She was sensitive and sharp, like a stray cat. Kaya Lotus was the sort of contestant who could satisfy viewers simply by showing her wild personality, with no editing required.
If anything, that had only made her more popular. Her aggressive manner was entertaining and refreshing to watch, though of course it was far less enjoyable for whoever happened to be on the receiving end. Even so, Kaya did not simply pick fights with people for no reason. She only reacted when someone provoked her, as Amanda had just done.
Amanda was not broad-minded enough to shrug off the gesture. Her cheeks flushed as she opened her mouth.
“You—why are you talking like…!”
She never got to finish.
Before Amanda could say whatever she had intended, steam suddenly burst across the stage, and the judges appeared through the doors behind it.
Joseph, Alan, and Emily.
The contestants immediately fell silent.
Joseph was the first to speak.
“Congratulations. You are the chosen few selected from among thousands. You have every right to feel proud simply for standing here.”
No one said a word.
Joseph looked over the contestants with a smile, while Alan, standing beside him, spoke in a cold voice.
“One of you here today will become the next Grand Chef. No one knows whether that person will be you or the contestant standing beside you.”
No.
Jo Minjoon knew.
He knew exactly who the protagonist of this competition would be.
He looked towards Kaya. She was staring at the judges with an unreadable expression. At that moment, she turned her head, and her pale blue eyes met Jo Minjoon’s.
She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but Emily’s voice suddenly boomed through the speakers, drowning her out.
“The winner will receive three hundred thousand dollars, along with the glory of becoming Grand Chef!”
Jo Minjoon opened his mouth. He had little interest in what the judges were saying, but just as he tried to speak to Kaya, his voice was buried beneath the contestants’ cheers.
He sighed and turned his attention back to the stage.
When the cheering finally subsided, Joseph spoke again. This time, his voice was harsher than gentle.
“Then I’ll reveal the first mission of Grand Chef.”
As he spoke, the walls of the studio began to open.
A truck carrying an enormous container drove inside.
Even though they were on the ground floor, the vehicle was so massive that it made people wonder whether the floor could support its weight.
The contestants watched the truck nervously.
Jo Minjoon did not.
He already knew what was inside.
Joseph spoke in a rough voice.
“The ingredient for your first mission…”
Before he could finish, the walls of the container began to open.
The contestants stared at what was revealed and let out bewildered laughs.
Joseph continued.
“It’s catfish.”
Countless catfish swam inside the enormous tank.
Jo Minjoon mentally reviewed the recipe he had prepared in advance. As he did, a familiar window appeared beside him.
[Estimated Cooking Score: 7]