Chapter 39: The Role of a Head Chef (1)
Chapter 39: The Role of a Head Chef (1)
“I’ve been waiting for you.” Emily smiled brightly as she spoke.
Jo Minjoon looked at her with a puzzled expression. This was the first time he had ever spoken privately with Emily—or with any of the judges, for that matter. It was only natural. They were busy people. They appeared when filming required them, but outside of that, they each had their own work to do. Their circumstances were completely different from those of the contestants.
“Why were you waiting for me…?”
“Well, I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll get straight to the point. Is that all right?”
“Yes.” Jo Minjoon answered briefly.
The smile on Emily’s face faded slightly as her expression grew more serious. “Have you ever thought about becoming a gourmet?”
“…What?”
At the unexpected question, Jo Minjoon’s brows twitched.
Emily raised both hands as though she understood his reaction. “I know. It’s sudden, and I know it must be confusing. But after what you showed me today, I couldn’t just ignore it.”
“The tasting challenge?”
Emily nodded. “Your palate. If you became a gourmet, I think you could become one of the best in the world. Is tasting important for cooking? Of course it is. But taste is still only one of the many abilities needed to cook. When it comes to evaluating food, however, it’s the most valuable ability of all.”
Jo Minjoon could vaguely understand what Emily was trying to say, but his expression remained stiff. “I’m a chef. I like cooking.”
“I understand. I’m not telling you to become a food critic right now. But if you ever decide you want to become one, come to me. I’ll train you…” Emily held out her business card.
Jo Minjoon stared at it for a while before finally sighing and accepting it.
Emily gave him a faint, apologetic smile. “Making an offer like this to someone who dreams of becoming a chef might only make things more confusing for you. I’m sorry about that.”
“…There’s no chance I’ll give up.”
“I hope not. People who know how to appreciate good flavours can also learn how to create them. If you keep walking straight ahead, I think you’ll become an excellent chef. That would be a good thing in itself.” Emily stopped talking and glanced at the watch on her left wrist. Her eyes widened, and she clasped her hands together. “Wow! It’s almost time for my flight. I have to go. Don’t think too much about what I said. Consider it nothing more than me tempting you once.”
“I’m not bothered.”
“Then that’s a relief. Whew, I really am going to miss my flight at this rate. I’ll see you at the next mission. Oh! And you were really cool today.”
Jo Minjoon did not answer, merely giving her a troubled smile. Emily waved and hurried away.
As the sound of her high heels faded down the hallway, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“Emily has a soft spot for gourmets.”
Jo Minjoon jumped and turned around, then sighed.
One problem after another.
Another judge.
Alan was sitting on a sofa against the hallway wall, flipping through a magazine. Without looking up, he said, “And you would probably become a very good gourmet.”
“…Is today some kind of special occasion? I think this is the first time I’ve met the judges outside a mission.”
“Well, don’t you already know why, Minjoon?”
Alan closed the magazine.
Jo Minjoon had the feeling that he wanted to say something more, but the entire situation seemed almost too contrived. He looked at Alan, whose dark brown eyes were as difficult to read as ever.
“What do you think about Emily’s proposal?”
“If you mean becoming a gourmet, I don’t think I even need to consider it.” Jo Minjoon answered without hesitation.
He expected Alan to approve of that response, but Alan’s expression did not change.
“It’s a good offer.”
“Yes?” The answer was so unexpected that Jo Minjoon’s voice trembled slightly.
Alan spoke calmly. “Being a chef is difficult, exhausting work. You work while everyone else is eating. Even if you don’t smoke, years of breathing in fumes from cooking oil can damage your lungs. In summer, you stand in front of fire. In winter, you put your hands into ice-cold water.”
Jo Minjoon said nothing and simply listened. He wanted to believe that Alan was not actually advising him to become a gourmet.
“Being a food critic is different from being a food critic. I don’t think criticism itself suits you. You have talent for cooking, but your talent for tasting is even greater. I think you could become more successful as a food critic than as a chef. However…” Alan stood up, tossed the magazine onto the shelf, and continued. “I still hope you don’t abandon the path of a chef. Even if you have to endure illness, accidents, heat, and cold, I hope you become one. That’s why I’m standing here right now. I knew that woman Emily would try to tempt you.”
“…You’re worrying for nothing. Her offer wasn’t tempting at all. I’m going to become a chef.”
“No. It is tempting. Even if you don’t feel that way now, there may come a day when you do. That’s unavoidable because you’re human. People who only see the finished dishes imagine the glamorous lives of chefs, but what actually exists inside a kitchen is reality and hardship. Cooking at home and cooking in a restaurant are completely different things.”
Jo Minjoon did not answer. He could hardly tell Alan that, in another life, he had already worked as the lowest-ranking cook in a restaurant. Even then, it would have been ridiculous to claim that such limited experience meant he understood every hardship of the profession.
Alan continued in a low voice. He sounded like a teacher speaking to a younger student. It reminded Jo Minjoon of the tone he himself had once used while teaching, and because of that, he could sense the goodwill behind Alan’s words.
“I’m not dismissing your passion for cooking. I’m only telling you this because I want you to understand how difficult the path really is.”
“…Can I ask you something?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Why are you treating me so well?”
Jo Minjoon could not help wondering. Alan had just admitted that Jo Minjoon was more talented at tasting than at cooking. Then why was he encouraging him to remain a chef?
Alan answered, “You can’t create something you don’t know. Flavour is the same. If you truly understand a flavour, then you can bring it out in your own cooking. And I’m curious about what kind of food you’ll make once you’ve grown as a chef. Perhaps…” Alan seemed about to say something more, but in the end, he closed his mouth.
Jo Minjoon sighed.
“I understand why you’re saying this. Thank you for your concern and interest. But I still think you’re worrying unnecessarily. My skills are lacking, and I don’t have much experience. However…” Jo Minjoon paused and met Alan’s dark eyes.
A world-class master chef stood in front of him. Even faced with that overwhelming difference between them, Jo Minjoon did not back down.
“I know the joy of cooking too. The satisfaction of making something delicious and seeing the person eating it become happier. Cooking is the most precious gift life has given me. How could I let it go?”
…Absolute sense of taste.
The thought lingered in Jo Minjoon’s mind as he headed back towards his room.
If he understood flavour, would that naturally lead to better food? Truthfully, Alan’s words did not make him feel entirely happy. It was not that Jo Minjoon truly understood flavour with some extraordinary natural palate. He simply had the power of the system.
The absolute sense of taste Alan imagined would suit Kaya far better than him.
Thinking about that made Jo Minjoon wonder whether he could somehow acquire that kind of genuine palate himself. Would the system eventually give it to him? He did not know. In the first place, he still did not understand whether his levels rose because his real abilities improved or whether his real abilities improved because his levels rose.
His thoughts did not last long.
When he reached the fourth-floor lobby where his room was located, the contestants gathered there all turned to look at him. At a glance, there were at least ten pairs of eyes fixed on him.
Jo Minjoon spoke nervously. “…I’m a little busy.”
“How strange. All the contestants have the same schedule, yet somehow one contestant is busier than everyone else.” Kaya, sitting on the arm of a sofa, laughed as she muttered the words. Her smoky eye makeup made her look even more ill-tempered than usual.
Chloe patted the empty seat beside her. “Aren’t you tired? Come sit down.”
“I’m not particularly tired.” Jo Minjoon grumbled, but sat anyway.
A young white man with ginger hair spoke up. Was his name Jacob? He had a large build and a clear voice, though he and Jo Minjoon were not particularly close.
“What was that earlier? Do you really have an absolute sense of taste?”
“Well, I don’t know what else you’d call it.”
Denying it at this point would only sound ridiculous.
Jo Minjoon turned his head and found Chloe staring at him with eyes so bright that it was almost uncomfortable.
“I’m really curious what having an absolute sense of taste feels like. Is eating delicious food more enjoyable for you?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea what other people’s sense of taste feels like, so wouldn’t it be strange for me to compare?”
“That’s true… Then are you really picky about food?”
“Not especially. You should know that. We’ve eaten together before.”
“I thought I did know, but I had no idea your tongue was that sensitive. Are there times when you think something tastes awful but just pretend it doesn’t?”
“How could I? Your food was good.”
At Jo Minjoon’s answer, Chloe exhaled in relief.
For a moment, he thought the expression on her face made her resemble either a squirrel or a turtle. Either way, it was cute.
Then a husky voice cut in mockingly. “Must be nice. Having an absolute sense of taste and all.”
Jo Minjoon laughed in disbelief.
If anyone else had said that, he could have understood. But the person speaking was Kaya Lotus. Unlike Jo Minjoon, whose extraordinary palate was essentially artificial, Kaya possessed the real thing. As far as Jo Minjoon was concerned, she was the one who truly had an absolute sense of taste.
The reason was simple: her Tasting Level was 10.
Of course, he did not know whether reaching Level 10 necessarily meant possessing an absolute sense of taste. None of the videos he had seen about Kaya had ever mentioned such an ability. Even so, it seemed strange to imagine someone with Level 10 Tasting not having an extraordinary palate.
Well, that’s not the important thing right now.
What mattered was finding some way out of the swamp of curious stares surrounding him.
Unfortunately, that did not look easy.
“How did you identify the exact cut from such a tiny piece?”
“Can you really tell beetroot and radish apart that easily?”
“Can you even tell the ratio of ingredients in dough just by tasting it?”
Questions poured in from every direction so quickly that Jo Minjoon could barely answer any of them.
Just when the barrage finally seemed to be dying down, Kaya shifted onto the arm of the sofa beside him and brought her fingers towards his mouth.
There was a dumpling between them.
Jo Minjoon clamped his lips shut and stared at her with wide eyes.
Kaya smiled maliciously.
“I made it. Eat it. Why don’t you tell me what’s inside?”
“No, I—cough!”
Before he could finish speaking, Kaya shoved another dumpling into his mouth.
Jo Minjoon had no choice but to chew.
After only a few bites, he immediately covered his nose. A powerful smell surged through his nasal passages and seemed to stab straight into his brain.
Kaya grinned.
“Know what it is?”
Jo Minjoon kept his nose covered and said nothing.
He could not answer.
He merely glared resentfully at Kaya.
As always, a window appeared before his eyes.
[Wasabi Dumplings]
Freshness: 88%
Origins: (Too many ingredients to display)
Quality: High (Average ingredients)
Cooking Score: 4/10
(Translator’s Note: Wasabi —A Japanese plant (Eutrema japonicum) whose grated rhizome is used as a pungent condiment. Its sharp sensation comes primarily from volatile isothiocyanates and is felt strongly through the nose rather than lingering on the tongue like chilli heat. Wasabi has been documented in Japan for more than a thousand years.)