Chapter 188: The Return of the Legend (3)
Chapter 188: The Return of the Legend (3)
Kaya and Amelia did not lose their competitive spirit even after Fabio’s comment. Of course, their bickering was not going to affect Anderson and Jo Minjoon’s teamwork in the slightest.
Fabio clicked his tongue and muttered inwardly.
Women. Why do they make their lives so complicated?
Only five minutes remained of the original thirty.
Rose Island had already begun plating.
You could tell which teams were relaxed and which were under pressure simply by watching the way they plated their dishes.
Kaya spoke. Her face was hidden behind a mask, but it was still obvious from her voice that she was smiling.
“Look at how relaxed our Minjoon is. Some teams are only plating one or two portions, but Minjoon looks like he’s preparing enough for every judge. Chefs have to be cool like that.”
“Anderson is the same. Making gnocchi dough and bisque in such a short time…… Our son really is amazing.”
“Minjoon oversaw that too.”
“Enough, enough. Both of you, stop.”
Fabio seemed to realise that the argument would never end unless he stepped in and changed the subject.
“Anyway, Kaya, are the chefs from your restaurant cooking according to your recipes?”
Kaya hesitated for a moment and pursed her lips.
Her answer did not come immediately.
“……About half of half.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Kaya did not respond.
It was not because she was thinking about what to say.
She simply did not want to answer.
She had provided the original recipes, but the actual head chef had adjusted and improved them so extensively that the dishes being made below barely resembled her original versions anymore.
If she wanted to answer honestly, she would have to explain all of that.
Otherwise, she would have to lie.
Either way, saying nothing seemed better.
Thankfully, Amelia did not press her.
Kaya crossed both her legs and her arms. Behind her sunglasses, her gaze followed Chloe.
……Chloe, you’re so cool.
To stand in front of so many people without shrinking back.
Chloe’s expression was confident and energetic, and she never stopped smiling.
Kaya envied that face.
She wanted to make that kind of expression.
She wanted to speak in that kind of voice.
Being the winner of Grand Chef looked glamorous from the outside, but sometimes it felt like nothing more than an empty shell.
What would Kaya Lotus be…… if I weren’t the winner of Grand Chef?
She could not even produce a recipe good enough to send into this competition.
That weighed heavily on her heart.
She wanted to be down there in the kitchen as a demi chef like Jo Minjoon or Anderson.
But she could not.
First of all, she was a head chef.
Even if she was only one in name…… it was still the only position she could occupy right now.
One year. I just need to endure for one year.
She kept telling herself that.
But the thought of spending an entire year acting more like a celebrity—no, more like a mascot—than a chef was suffocating.
Perhaps it sounded ungrateful.
But she wanted to hold a knife.
She wanted to hold a pan and feel the heat of the flames.
She wanted to feel water running over her skin and smell vegetables cooking in a hot pan.
She wanted all of it.
Perhaps because that desire had become so intense, Kaya’s eyes as she watched Jo Minjoon—no, as she watched every chef cooking in the auditorium—were filled with longing.
I…… want to cook.
Jo Minjoon suddenly stopped while wiping the rim of a plate.
He slowly raised his head and looked towards the audience.
Anderson glanced at him before asking.
“Is something over there?”
“……Nothing. I was just wondering if Kaya had arrived yet.”
“Considering how quiet it is, she probably hasn’t. Either that, or she came in disguise.”
Jo Minjoon silently looked down at the plates.
He was not the only one preparing thirteen portions.
The rest of the Rose Island team had done the same.
Apparently, they intended to serve not only the judges, but the announcers as well.
The chefs from the other teams could only shake their heads in disbelief when they saw how much Rose Island had prepared.
Crazy. They made gnocchi dough and did molecular gastronomy while preparing thirteen portions of every dish……
Rose Island really came here ready to put everything on the line.
That was not something they could have achieved simply by practising like mad for a few days.
It depended on how strong a foundation each chef had built over the years.
Every chef present could feel it.
Rose Island’s demi chefs were not at the level of ordinary demi chefs.
And at the centre of them was Jo Minjoon.
Matthew watched them with admiration before quietly speaking to Chloe.
“Is it because of his experience on Grand Chef? Minjoon’s leadership doesn’t look awkward at all. He seems very experienced.”
“We had to handle difficult missions under intense pressure. Minjoon is gentle, but if his teammates trust him, he’ll do everything he can to live up to that trust, even if it seems impossible. He was a good leader. The best leader out of everyone I worked with on the show.”
“He must really have been impressive for you to praise him that much.”
Matthew looked at Chloe as though trying to read her thoughts.
Chloe avoided his gaze.
But even without meeting her eyes, it was easy enough to guess how she felt.
Throughout the past thirty minutes, Chloe’s gaze had returned to Rose Island every chance she had.
More precisely, it had returned to Jo Minjoon.
This woman is walking a difficult road too.
Of course, it was none of Matthew’s business.
He calmly continued.
“I’ll announce it when the time is up.”
“Please do. I’m satisfied with having announced the start.”
Matthew silently watched the clock.
In the past, he had watched that clock from the audience.
Now, he was watching it as the announcer.
The difference gave him a strange feeling.
The boundary between past and present.
Rose Island of the past, represented now by a new generation of demi chefs.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, his voice suddenly rang out.
“Time’s up! Hands in the air!”
Rose Island’s demi chefs had already finished before the time expired.
Jo Minjoon simply looked over the dishes from the other teams.
They were all good.
Judging purely by Cooking Score, most were around seven points.
There were some nine-point dishes as well.
As for Rose Island’s dishes……
All nine points.
That meant they had not made a single meaningful mistake while cooking.
In truth, it had been almost impossible for them to make one.
Throughout the process, whenever one of the other three seemed about to make a mistake, the estimated Cooking Score in Jo Minjoon’s mind immediately changed.
Each time, he had gone over, pointed something out, and allowed the other chef to correct the problem themselves.
“Good work, everyone.”
“Don’t say good work before we’ve even won.”
Anderson grumbled.
Jo Minjoon grinned and looked towards the front.
Chloe was speaking into the microphone, sounding slightly nervous.
“Everyone, well done putting the soul of your restaurant into these dishes. We’ll now reveal the judges!”
The moment she finished speaking, the curtain behind the MCs opened.
Jo Minjoon flinched and shivered slightly.
There were two familiar faces among them.
“Mr. Jeremy…… and Emily too. I didn’t expect to see them again here.”
“They’re both famous food critics.”
Anderson answered casually, as though he was not surprised at all.
The tasting began.
What surprised Jo Minjoon most was Emily’s judging.
Jeremy was always harsh and notorious for his vicious comments. No one found it strange when he tore into a dish.
But Emily was different.
“So you’re saying this dish represents your restaurant? Disappointing. It might have been better if you’d simply called it a failed dish. I suppose I have no reason to visit your restaurant in the future.”
“The head chef came out personally? How many staff members does your restaurant have? Ah. Then I suppose you spend more time standing at the pass than actually cooking. So why did you pick up a pan today? This dish makes it obvious that you’ve lost your touch. The meat is overcooked, and the purée is bland. Why didn’t you leave it to your demi chefs?”
“You said you recently lost a Michelin star, and that you couldn’t accept the decision. In my opinion, however, removing that star was the correct choice. The dish in front of me is something basic that could be served anywhere. It tastes good, but the creativity is dead. Did you lose your passion for cooking, or did you lose your creativity? Either way, it’ll be difficult to recover your confidence with a dish like this.”
Of course, she was not so vicious towards every team.
Her harshest criticism was reserved for teams she believed lacked proper foundations.
The problem was that some of the dishes she criticised had Cooking Scores of eight or even nine.
But even a nine-point dish could still be criticised if, for example, its creativity was lacking.
Each judge had their own standards.
Any dish that failed to meet those standards was torn apart without mercy.
Even Janet was nervously biting her lip.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Jo Minjoon, however, kept his head high.
When he carried their plates to the judges, he met them with a confident gaze.
One of the judges spoke.
“It’s been quite a long time since Rose Island last appeared at this competition.”
Naturally, it was Jo Minjoon’s responsibility to answer.
“Yes. That’s what we’ve heard.”
“Standing before these dishes, I feel both anticipation and concern. I’m almost afraid to pick up my fork. Rose Island. The main branch. Our memories of that place…… whether you preserve them or make us realise the stories were exaggerated, I wonder which it will be.”
“The memories will disappear.”
Jo Minjoon answered quietly.
The judge raised an eyebrow.
Minjoon continued.
“The main branch is no longer a restaurant from the past that exists only to remind you of ten years ago. Chef Rachel is alive, and the main branch still exists. No. More than that, it has improved.”
“By improvement, do you mean this focus on molecular gastronomy? It isn’t bad to see Rose Island embracing it. The message that Rose Island isn’t trapped in traditional cooking is a good one. But simply attempting something new doesn’t mean you’ve actually gained anything new. From what I’ve heard…… all of you have only been studying molecular gastronomy for about a month. Is that correct?”
“Yes. That’s true for us demi chefs. But Chef Rachel’s last ten years are sitting on these plates. And the rest of us are standing here because of the work our Head Chef has put in. The food we made today is Chef Rachel’s food. Our limited experience with molecular gastronomy won’t be a problem.”
Jo Minjoon pointed towards the appetiser.
He continued calmly.
“The appetiser is a jellified salad with a caramelised brown-sugar coating. Please try it.”
At his suggestion, the food critics lifted their forks.
Jo Minjoon was not nervous.
They had made no mistakes.
The recipe was perfect.
For a dish created within thirty minutes, there was very little more they could possibly have done.
The judges slowly put the salad into their mouths.
At first, disappointment appeared on several faces.
The caramelised sugar itself was nothing extraordinary.
Neither was the jelly.
Then everything changed.
“This……”
Jeremy spoke in surprise.
Jo Minjoon said nothing.
By now, the fragrance of the salad should have burst through their mouths.
They had carefully controlled the density of the gelatin so that the liquefied salad suspended inside the jelly would release at precisely the right moment.
The judges fell silent.
They exchanged glances.
After that single bite of jelly came Anderson’s gnocchi.
The carrot gnocchi was the result of an entire day of personal instruction from Rachel.
Naturally, the finished product was flawless.
The gentle sweetness of the carrot met the savoury sweetness of the shrimp bisque, blooming across the tongue with a rich elegance.
Even the shrimp ball beside the gnocchi had the perfect texture—chewy yet tender, with nothing more that could reasonably be asked of it.
Still, none of the judges spoke.
Some were simply lost in the flavour.
Others reached eagerly for the next dish, unwilling to wait any longer.
Next came Javier’s grilled eel.
The eel had absorbed the smoky fragrance of charcoal. On top sat soy sauce jelly and a foamed ginger cream.
The charcoal had already removed much of the eel’s fishiness. The ginger foam cleansed what remained before the soy sauce jelly wrapped everything together.
They were eating food, but it felt almost as though they were appreciating a work of art resting on their tongues.
That was the kind of sensation Javier’s eel created.
The final dish was Jo Minjoon’s dessert.
Some judges looked confused by a dessert that did not resemble dessert at all.
Most, however, did not even have the luxury of pausing to question it.
They were already too absorbed in the course.
Almost regretfully, as though saddened that the meal had reached its end, they twirled the spaghetti around their forks and placed it into their mouths.
The melted chocolate in the spaghetti emphasised the depth of cocoa rather than overwhelming sweetness.
When that flavour met the bright sweetness of the carbonated strawberries, it created something none of them could have anticipated.
It was like an explosion.
And yet, at the same time, it was like the gentlest and most loving kiss imaginable.
In the end, some of the food critics began to cry.
Not merely shed tears.
Their expressions were filled with sorrow and longing.
The four dishes formed a perfect harmony, each one flowing into the next without a single discordant note.
“Rose…… Island.”
Someone murmured the name as though chanting a spell.
The other food critics nodded.
Then they began murmuring it as well.
“Rose Island.”
“Rose Island……”
Jo Minjoon stood straight and looked ahead.
A clear smile rested on his face.
Every plate had been completely emptied.
Not even a single drop of sauce remained.
The people collecting the dishes were whispering amongst themselves.
At this exact moment—
The legend had returned.