Chapter 25: Three Dishes and One Meal (4)
Chapter 25: Three Dishes and One Meal (4)
It was not a proper dish.
That was what Jo Minjoon thought. No matter how much skill had gone into making it, it was something that should never have been placed on a plate. A dish filled with the chef’s resentment had no value, no matter how high its score might be.
“We won’t eat this. Go back to your places.”
Alan spoke decisively. His words were not directed at Kaya alone, but at the entire team. Anderson picked up his dish, his anger plainly visible on his face. Kaya bit her lip and walked towards her own plate.
Then she ate a piece of the salmon.
No one said anything. They simply watched as Kaya chewed and swallowed. When she finally opened her mouth, her expression seemed calm, but her voice trembled.
“But it’s delicious.”
That was all she said.
Kaya picked up her plate and turned away. The way she kept biting her lip made Jo Minjoon think she was desperately trying not to cry.
But Kaya had no right to cry. At least, that was what Jo Minjoon thought. When a chef placed her own emotions and pride above the customer, whatever she put on the plate could no longer properly be called food.
The foundation of a course meal was harmony. An appetiser was meant to prepare the palate and lead naturally into the main course. Kaya’s selfishness, however, had gone far beyond simply making an appetiser too heavy. She had made salmon tataki because that was what she wanted to cook. It was not a dish designed for a course at all, but an entirely individual dish.
That showed no consideration for the customer. Whether Kaya understood that or not, it was not something that could simply be overlooked.
The judges continued evaluating the dishes as though nothing had happened. Once the tasting was over, they returned to the stage with impassive expressions. The results, however, were not announced immediately. Only after the remaining six teams had presented their dishes did Alan finally speak.
“Chloe. Minjoon. Marco. Come forward.”
The three of them stepped up. Only then did Alan continue, his expression as stern and unreadable as ever.
“The flavours were good. It was clear that you chose your menu with the structure of a course meal in mind. Tofu followed by scallops, then biscuits. On paper, those dishes didn’t seem as though they would work together, but unexpectedly, the flavours left in the mouth complemented one another.”
“Thank you,” Chloe and Minjoon replied almost simultaneously.
Marco glanced sideways at them before belatedly adding, “Th-Thank you.”
Joseph, who had been watching him, spoke next. “Perhaps the person who showed the most potential in this course was you, Marco. Chefs often have a tendency to keep adding things to a dish in order to make it more impressive. Your mocha biscuit, however, contained nothing excessive. Its flavour gently covered what remained from the scallops and tofu, and the biscuit dough itself was excellent. You created depth and refinement in both flavour and aroma with a very simple dish. Thank you.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Marco answered with a sniff. Jo Minjoon glanced over and saw that his eyes had become watery. Despite his huge, almost bear-like build, Marco was surprisingly soft-hearted. Jo Minjoon raised a hand and patted him on the back.
Emily smiled. “I enjoyed the meal as well. And apart from the food itself, it was good to see how well you treated one another. I think you showed us how chefs should behave when working as a team.”
“You did well,” Alan said. “Go to the second floor. You’ve passed.”
From everything the judges had said, they had probably already expected to pass. Even so, the moment Alan announced it, Chloe let out a delighted squeal and threw her arms around Marco and Jo Minjoon. Of course, her arms were nowhere near long enough to wrap around Marco’s enormous body properly, so she ended up hooking an arm around each of their shoulders and bouncing excitedly between them.
Jo Minjoon smiled awkwardly. He knew this was exactly the kind of reaction people were supposed to have after passing, but Chloe was almost excessively cheerful. When she realised that he was not jumping with her and was merely smiling, her face reddened and she quickly released them, fussing with her apron.
The cheerful mood did not last long, because Kaya’s team was next.
Alan’s voice turned cold enough that his anger was unmistakable.
“Personally, I had very high expectations for this team, which means my disappointment is just as great. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with fighting over who gets to make the main course. Fine. Anyone would want to be the star. But what happened afterwards was far worse, and I don’t think I even need to explain why.”
No one answered.
Joseph sighed. “A dish carries the heart of the chef. Kaya, your dish contained no consideration for the customer. Do you agree?”
“...Yes.”
Kaya answered hesitantly, looking almost like a child being reprimanded by a teacher.
Emily spoke next. Her expression was sharper and harsher than usual. “We didn’t taste your dishes because this course was not something we could properly eat. Naturally, that means you are disqualified. Go back to your place.”
“...I object.”
The one who spoke was Anderson.
Emily frowned at him, but Anderson continued before she could respond. “Kaya was the one who ruined the course. She did it on her own. Why should the rest of us be punished for what she did?”
“Do you think that’s unfair?”
It was Alan, not Emily, who answered.
Anderson’s voice started to rise, but he forcibly restrained himself before replying, “Yes, I do. My mistake was wanting the main course for myself and not realising she’d act like a bitch over it. Is that really enough to disqualify me?”
“It is.”
Alan’s answer was immediate.
He stared at Anderson coldly, then stepped close enough that their faces were almost level. His voice was frighteningly low, as though he might bite Anderson’s head off at any moment.
“Because you were a team. The fact that you can say that now proves you never truly thought of yourselves as one.”
“But this is a competition!” Anderson shot back. “Even if we became teammates, we couldn’t actually treat each other like a real team, could we?”
“No. You could have.” Alan’s voice rose sharply. “If you had stopped thinking about the competition and simply focused on cooking, you would have treated one another as teammates. A chef isn’t a machine. Teamwork doesn’t end just because you divide up the roles. Don’t think that presenting three separate plates means you completed the challenge. A course is one meal. Those three plates become one dish.”
After saying all that, Alan paused to catch his breath. Anderson seemed overwhelmed by the force of his words and could not immediately respond.
When Alan spoke again, his voice had dropped almost to a whisper.
“Of course, I admit you were unlucky. You and Kaya are both outstanding cooks, and both of you have strong pride. It was like putting two protagonists in the same film. But that’s all it means. If you can’t overcome an unlucky situation, then your ability only extends that far. After presenting such a terrible three-course meal, did you really think you alone would be allowed to walk away from it?”
Anderson could not answer.
When he had first approached Kaya and formed the team, he had been overflowing with confidence. They had argued over who would take the main course, certainly, but he had never imagined that something as simple as that could lead to a situation like this.
Had that truly been his mistake?
Anderson did not know.
Everything in his mind insisted that it had not been. He wanted to dismiss Alan’s words as nothing more than criticism from a judge. But in the end, the only thing he could do was remain silent. Not because he had been convinced, but because he knew that no matter how long he argued, the judges would not change their decision.
The judging continued.
There had been nine teams in total, but only six survived. That meant three teams—nine people altogether—had been marked for elimination.
Jo Minjoon watched from the second floor as Joseph addressed the contestants gathered below.
“You are now standing at the threshold of elimination. I don’t know how many of you will survive, but one thing is certain: you are here because you presented a disastrous course. Was it because your technique was lacking? Because your teamwork was lacking? Whichever it was, the result is the same.”
None of the contestants answered. Some looked as though they might burst into tears at any moment, while others were already sniffling. Joseph did not soften his expression. To a chef, placing a disastrous dish on a plate was something almost impossible to excuse.
“Before I reveal the theme of the next mission, there is something you must do. Choose a partner now. Only after everyone has paired up will I announce the challenge.”
At Joseph’s words, the eliminated contestants began moving around, quickly looking for partners. Some paired up with members of their original teams, while others awkwardly joined hands with whoever happened to be nearby.
But there were nine contestants.
Naturally, one person had to be left without a partner.
That person was Kaya.
No one reached out to her. They had already seen how she had behaved during the course challenge, and none of them wanted to team up with someone who might create trouble again. On top of that, Kaya’s skill was far from ordinary. Even if they paired with her, there was a risk that their own cooking would simply be overshadowed.
Kaya glanced around nervously. Then, forcing confidence into her voice, she looked at Joseph.
“I don’t care if I’m alone.”
“...I’m sorry, but that isn’t possible. Kaya, you’ll have to choose one person from among the contestants who passed. Of course, whoever you choose will not be affected by the result of this mission.”
At those words, Kaya raised her head and looked towards the second floor.
The contestants who had passed immediately avoided her gaze. Even if they were not at risk of elimination, none of them wanted to stand beside her in such an uncomfortable situation.
Kaya looked from one face to another until her gaze finally stopped.
She stared at that person for a long moment.
Then, in a trembling voice, she said,
“...Help me.”
Jo Minjoon’s face went rigid.
