Chapter 506: Confrontation (5)
Chapter 506: Confrontation (5)
Minjoon said nothing to Kaya. Instead, he picked up a fork and began to savour her new recipe. He tasted the pork cheeks, boiled ox head and tail, brisket, and cotechino. Among them, he found the cotechino the most delicious.
(Translator’s Note: Cotechino - A traditional Italian pork sausage originally from Modena, Italy, dating back to the Renaissance period (16th century). It is slow-cooked, often served with lentils or polenta during holidays, valued for its rich flavour and delicate texture.)
I know sous-vide sausage is delicious...
As he sampled the tender sausages cooked sous-vide, he felt the bursts of soft meat blended wonderfully with the accompanying sauces. It had been a while since a dish had swept him away with its flavour, especially Kaya’s creation.
Finished with the meal, he looked at her, her eyes shining with anticipation and excitement. He stood and embraced her tightly.
“Yes, you’ve done it!”
He tightened his hold around her shoulders. Despite feeling as if she was being crushed, tears welled up in her. She didn’t know why. She had lost her way for so long, but only now did she feel she had found it.
Hugging him face to face, she said, “I’m going to hug you tighter. If you can’t breathe, tell me and I’ll call an ambulance.”
“Sure, being taken to hospital wouldn’t be so bad... Ouch!”
To prove she meant it, she squeezed him so tightly he struggled to breathe. He couldn’t fathom how strong she was as a woman—it was he who surrendered first.
Relaxing his grip and patting her back gently, she whispered, “Tell me it was delicious.”
“Yeah, it was delicious.”
“How much?”
“As much as I like you.”
“Pass.”
She released him with a satisfied smile. He exhaled, exhausted, and shook his head, eyes resting on the dishes she had prepared overnight.
“Man, that’s crazy.”
“I want to call it Six Meat.”
“Simple and nice.”
[Six Meat]
Freshness: 91%
Country of origin: (Multiple ingredients, so left blank)
Quality: High
Cooking score: 10/10
Her perfect score wasn’t surprising; her understanding of each ingredient was excellent. She possessed a remarkable sense for cooking times and temperatures. But most impressive was how brilliantly she showcased her strengths in this dish.
“Fantastic! Anyone interested in cooking could recreate this dish with the right recipe.”
“I guess so.”
Kaya nodded. She hadn’t merely cooked the meat sous-vide; she vacuum-packed it with cubed vegetables and chicken broth beforehand. She ensured all ingredients were mixed and cooked in perfect proportion. Any deviation would ruin the fantastic taste.
In other words, anyone following her recipe carefully could replicate her dish’s flavour precisely. Unlike Minjoon’s Jo Reggiano, which relied heavily on the chef’s style, Kaya’s recipe was reproducible worldwide.
If this recipe’s marketing succeeds, it could become as popular as Jo Reggiano and showcase Kaya’s true talent globally.
Cooking was harder than people thought—but sometimes easier. With a recipe, even a beginner with some skill could impress. The problem was that beginners rarely authored new recipes—that was the mark of real chefs.
Kaya’s recipe announced to the world that she was indeed a real chef.
No.
Minjoon shook his head, knowing she would never just be a “real chef.” She was the chef he respected, yearned for, and envied most—and she would remain so.
From now on...
Minjoon didn’t want Kaya to release her new recipe solely at her Irregular Lab. This was no ordinary recipe; it needed thoughtful promotion. Extraordinary recipes are overlooked if perceived as ordinary. Thus, Minjoon felt it needed marketing.
When he asked June for advice, she gave a simple solution.
First, get recognition from celebrities. Then people will be curious to try it and wonder why so many praise it. Of course, that depends on whether the dish truly impresses.
Minjoon believed this wasn’t a problem: he firmly trusted that Six Meat would enchant anyone who tasted it. To him, it was perfect. He even wondered if he or Kaya could improve on it in the future.
Following June’s advice, Minjoon and Kaya visited acquaintances to let them taste the dish. If they couldn’t meet someone personally, they sent the recipe for review.
None of the chefs who sampled it offered criticism.
Well, no surprise.
Beyond the system’s perfect score, even Minjoon could not find fault in the taste. Her palate was already superior to his. If she, with perfect taste, found no flaw, the dish could be considered the best possible.
“Rumours about your recipe are spreading slowly,” he said.
“Really? How?”
“People whisper that the Jotus Guide team is up to something suspicious—showing new recipes for evaluation—and that none of the reviewers were critical. We’ve probably visited over a hundred chefs by now.”
“We’ve met a lot of chefs!”
“And this is the last one.”
Minjoon’s words made Kaya slightly nervous; they weren’t eager to face that restaurant’s head chef.
The chef they were about to consult was a formidable figure—his evaluation would carry real weight.
At last, Minjoon and Kaya stood before the restaurant, eyes drawn to a massive old-fashioned wooden gate and the sign above it. Though in English, its letters resembled Chinese characters.
Their last evaluator was none other than Yoshimoto, head chef of Wasabi.
The motto of Jotus Guide was simple: make both customers and chefs happy. Customers get reliable information; chefs find ways to improve.
But one restaurant refused to follow this motto—Wasabi. Yoshimoto’s stubbornness and ego rendered Minjoon and Kaya’s criticisms futile.
Washing his face with water, Yohei looked into the mirror. For a moment, water blurred his vision, then cleared to reveal his own face again.
Looking himself over, Yohei asked softly, “Did I do the right thing?”
He never considered how lonely it was to realise there was no one to answer him—no teachers, no parents, no guide.
After the Jotus Guide chefs visited, the restaurant’s atmosphere plummeted. Yoshimoto wore a constant scowl—but Yohei thought this was good. It had been long since arrogance alone marked Yoshimoto’s face; now other emotions had replaced it. Yohei felt calling in Jotus Guide was the right choice.
Yet, summoning Jotus Guide wasn’t Yohei’s only goal. The greater purpose was not to break Yoshimoto’s arrogance, but to revive his lost passion for cooking—the commitment he’d forgotten pursuing fame.
Can the Jotus Guide chefs change him?
Yoshimoto wanted to avoid them. He blocked out the outside world, refused to meet anyone, and didn’t object to Jotus Guide’s critique, dismissing it as foolish. He told customers if they believed the review, they were free not to return.
At that moment, the bathroom door creaked open.
Wasabi’s most junior chef stepped inside.
“Sous chef, the Jotus Guide chefs are here. Would you want to greet them? Our head chef won’t see them..."