Chapter 581: Envy and Disappointment (5)
Chapter 581: Envy and Disappointment (5)
Minjoon, Kaya, and Joseph all wore genuinely happy smiles as they looked at Merlyn. She was visibly overjoyed to stand out among such prominent adult chefs, but perhaps out of shyness, she struggled to keep a composed expression and instead hardened her features. Still, her chubby face betrayed her when she smiled. How old was she? Fourteen or fifteen? Either way, her cooking skills were extraordinary for her age. When she turned twenty, she would receive far greater recognition as a professional chef.
Of course, now was not Minjoon’s moment to praise her.
Clearing his throat dryly, he addressed the participants. “From now on, each of you will form a team.”
“A team?”
“Yes. Each judge here will lead a team as head chef. You will have the right to choose your team’s head chef based on your current ranking from the previous rounds,” Minjoon said calmly. This decision weighed heavily even on the judges.
Who would be chosen first? And who would be last?
Minjoon recalled Joseph’s anxious voice from the waiting room, where he muttered that he didn’t want to be chosen last, concerned that younger competitors might not like him due to his age.
I wonder if I’ll be picked last instead… he thought.
He suddenly imagined Kaya being chosen last. Considering she had once been mocked for her hysterical behaviour, he thought he’d rather be chosen last instead of her.
“Merlyn?”
“Yes! Yes!”
“You won first place last time.”
“Yes!”
“Then, can you choose which judge you want first as your team’s head chef?”
“Chef Kaya!”
“Pardon?”
She answered so quickly that Minjoon wished he hadn’t been scared of being last—he certainly hadn’t expected Kaya to be chosen first. Given the judges’ careers, Merlyn might have been better served choosing Minjoon or Joseph instead of Kaya. By skill alone, both had already proven their qualifications as head chefs more than Kaya had.
Well, come to think of it, she’s been verified better than me…
Aside from the scale of Irregular Lab, Kaya was serving as a head chef there. In some ways, it might be disrespectful to compare her to Minjoon.
“Me? Why?” Kaya asked.
She seemed genuinely puzzled as to why Merlyn chose her first; Kaya hadn’t expected to be picked before the others.
Smiling shyly, Merlyn replied, “Because I like Chef Kaya the best.”
Her bright eyes shone with respect and fondness for the star chef she admired. Just by looking at her, Minjoon understood why Merlyn chose Kaya. Of course, Merlyn probably hadn’t considered how competent Kaya might be as their leader. She was too innocent and young to calculate such things.
If Kaya pressed for reasons, it would feel like she was questioning the girl’s pure motives.
Of course, Kaya wasn’t foolish enough to do that. Instead, she turned one corner of her lips up and hugged Merlyn.
Then Kaya looked at Minjoon and Joseph.
Did you see that?
She didn’t say it aloud, but they seemed to understand.
Joseph and Minjoon exchanged slightly nervous glances.
Joseph then spoke, his voice hoarse and subtle, as if no one else could hear. “Hugo, who would you like as your head chef?”
Hugo gave them a dry smile. As someone familiar with broadcasting work, he feigned contemplation, then abruptly said, “Chef Joseph. Let’s do it together.”
“Hahahaha! Of course!” Joseph responded with a hearty laugh.
Minjoon had never seen him laugh so heartily before.
Joseph was usually calm and composed, so imagining him laughing like that was rare.
“Then, you’re the last choice, honey?” Kaya teased, grinning triumphantly at Minjoon. It was clear she wanted to needle him.
Minjoon glared at Gwen with a sulky face.
She smiled bitterly back. “I’m going to work with Chef Minjoon.”
“Thank you.”
“Even if I had won first place, I would have chosen you first, Chef Minjoon.”
Minjoon must have planned to rescue Gwen from her predicament, but now it was he who offered her comfort.
With that, the mission began, with the three judges as team leaders.
They took turns selecting members from the remaining participants. Minjoon’s team ended up with five members: Gwen, Peter, Ken, Queenie, and Vlad.
Except for Gwen and Peter, the others were average participants—true amateurs in the truest sense. As someone who led the highly qualified Rose Island chefs, Minjoon was shocked by the vast gap in skill and level.
Man, they weren’t this bad back then…
In the past, Minjoon hadn’t cared much whether he worked with good or bad chefs. Of course, he preferred good ones because he could trust them and pay less attention to their work, but compared to ordinary chefs, it didn’t matter much.
Above all, he benefited from the system. Other chefs had to concentrate fully to understand everyone’s individual situations, while Minjoon didn’t need to.
So even working with inexperienced chefs, he felt little difference between his cooking and theirs. Of course, when they made foolish choices, he had to shout.
But now, he listened quietly as Gwen and the others discussed recipes and ingredient combinations. When he worked at Rose Island, he often debated recipes and full-course menus with demi-chefs and cooks.
Surprisingly, even Rose Island’s youngest cooks, at cooking level five, were better than Gwen’s team.
Yeah, practice makes perfect.
Minjoon realised anew the importance of one’s working environment. Being surrounded by top-class chefs at Rose Island inevitably broadened his perspective and allowed him to gauge things better.
Maybe even the servers at Rose Island could imagine more luxurious full courses than the participant chefs here, despite lacking recipe ideas.
Lost in thought, Minjoon struggled to show any cheerfulness during their discussion. At first, the team bickered over whose recipe was best, but gradually, they realised their real opponent wasn’t each other.
Man, he is tough...
Ken groaned quietly.
Minjoon spoke little. When recipes came up, he’d simply ask if they truly thought their idea was good enough, never opposing or directly criticising. When discussing garnishes, he’d ask if they could think of alternatives.
At first, his nonchalant attitude annoyed them, but soon they realised what it meant. Minjoon never dismissed their ideas outright, but neither did he affirm them.
Noticing this strange approach, Peter grew irritated. Above all, he refused to admit that he couldn’t impress Minjoon, his longtime friend. Peter suggested many recipes, but Minjoon only responded with a tired smile.
His answer was kind, yet it didn’t sound kind.
Deep down, Peter instinctively felt he had to surpass Minjoon.
To Peter, the biggest enemy wasn’t his team or other participants—it was this kind, warm-hearted giant of a chef who wouldn’t lose to anyone.
That day, the mission didn’t start immediately due to the stubbornness of the judges—the head chefs. As leaders, they hated imagining their teams ending the day with poor dishes.
Of course, they could blame their inexperienced team members, arguing it was the participants, not the judges, who needed improvement. They could angrily point their fingers at the participants if they wished.