Chapter 584: Envy and Disappointment (8)
Chapter 584: Envy and Disappointment (8)
The dishes they prepared were simpler than expected. The first was the amuse-bouche—the most challenging to make. Despite its small size, many mistakenly thought it easier to prepare, but it was not so.
An amuse-bouche shaped the diner’s first impression of a restaurant. A single bite could captivate instantly. Many chefs even focused more on their amuse-bouche than on the main dish.
Minjoon wasted no time.
“Gwen! Boil water and get the eggs ready to boil. Prepare the sauce. Peter, have cream cheese and bacon ready. Queenie, trim the salmon.”
Starting with the amuse-bouche was a good plan. As Gwen boiled water, she began the sauce—a mixture of Sriracha, honey, shallots, yogurt, and light mayonnaise. After stirring until perfectly smooth, she halved the boiled eggs, carefully scooping out just the yolk.
She mixed the yolk with the sauce, then refilled the hollow egg white halves with the mixture. Finally, she finely chopped the bacon Peter had cooked and sprinkled a few tiny grains atop each egg. She wondered if such a tiny amount mattered, but it made a bigger difference than expected.
This is all I can do to help.
Minjoon had guided them to reduce the bacon’s size. He never said it outright but hinted that the bacon’s flavour overwhelmed everything else. His team quickly grasped this.
This result wasn’t the work of one person. All members thought hard together and found a solution. Their collective effort paid off—a cooking score of 7. For a simple dish prepared quickly, it was very good.
But they couldn’t relax.
“Gwen, serve immediately. Then check the purée. Peter, when the bacon is done, start plating!”
“Yes, Chef,” Peter replied dryly.
Peter held mixed feelings toward Minjoon—envy and jealousy—but he never let his emotions cause trouble. He always cooperated with Minjoon. Was his spirit crushed? Or had he simply learned to hide his feelings?
But he was deeply moved by Minjoon’s leadership.
Man, he’s amazing...
Minjoon’s kitchen leadership was overwhelming. Peter once wondered about an orchestra conductor’s role, imagining it was just waving arms at timed intervals, like a metronome.
But now, through Minjoon, he understood the conductor’s invaluable role—like a miracle.
Peter worked busily. He wasn’t just baking bacon for the amuse-bouche but preparing more for the appetizer as well. Following Minjoon’s instructions, he removed the bacon from the pan, wrapped it in a kitchen towel, and pressed it under a plate. Yet Minjoon ordered him to remove the bacon from the towel, warning that draining too much oil would make it hard like chips.
Although Peter’s cooking wasn’t exceptional, everything ran smoothly. It felt as if someone else—an invisible hand—was cooking through him. The entire team shared this sensation. Different individuals, but united when cooking.
Peter felt a thrill. His life had lacked purpose, like wandering a maze. But now, a sun shone over that maze, lighting his way. As long as the sun shone, past pain and inferiority lost their grip.
Peter was here, fearing rejection by colleagues.
Even if their hatred ceased, invisible wounds remained.
Scars don’t vanish once healed.
Even if pain fades, the ugly scars linger.
Peter glanced at Minjoon, listened to his voice. Now, he was in a different place—a world without scars. He was a chef aboard Minjoon’s ship, dedicated solely to serving customers with delicious dishes.
For this moment, he needn’t recall old scars—the pain was invisible to those they served. Doctors don’t complain about patients’ sicknesses.
Peter’s world changed, even if briefly. The nightmare he thought would never end vanished in an instant.
Lost in thought, Minjoon moved again, perspiring, likely from the heat beneath the frying pan.
He looked back—not turning his head but glancing—with conviction and stubbornness visible as a smile. His face resembled Kaya’s, or Minjoon’s at thirty, or Rachel’s.
The flames burned hotter; beads of sweat rolled down Minjoon’s face. He was thirsty; his heart still pounded. Nothing had changed.
[You have fully mastered how to lead your staff!]
[You have met the kitchen leadership requirement for cooking level 9!]
He remained in place.
A smile crept onto his face. He knew he must focus on cooking with his team now but couldn’t help feeling happy realizing he’d finally met one of the three conditions for cooking level 9—kitchen leadership.
Meanwhile, they served the amuse-bouche to Joseph and Kaya. After tasting the halved eggs, both nodded in great satisfaction.
“Well, this amuse-bouche is really fun,” Kaya said.
“You bet.”
Minjoon, Kaya, and Joseph could only minimally assist their teams as head chefs. Even though the amateurs worked hard, their limits were clear. Judges themselves only made simple grilled or fusion dishes with minor tweaks.
So Joseph and Kaya didn’t expect much from Minjoon’s team. It was unfair to apply professional standards to amateurs.
Nonetheless, Gwen’s team with Minjoon led showed what amateurs could achieve.
Good...
The dish was plain: boiled egg white filled with a simple stuffing and topped with bacon. A high school student could make it.
As always, the hard part was devising the recipe. Just as Minjoon and Kaya found it difficult to surpass their current cooking levels, this was probably the best possible dish at this skill level.
The dish looked humble—a mixture of sriracha, yogurt, mayonnaise, and egg yolks, no special technique, no luxurious ingredients.
Yet it tasted good. Simple and delicious. Honey’s sweetness spread, mingling with sriracha’s sharp spice and the softness of yogurt and mayonnaise. The egg white’s texture balanced the savoury yolk soaked in sauce.
Kaya glanced at Minjoon and his teammates. They were busy with other dishes. None seemed at a loss. Minjoon checked on each, the members focused on their tasks.
Wow, they’re doing better than I thought.
Kaya had expected Gwen and Peter to perform well but didn’t expect much from the others. But they did well. Though she didn’t think they were bad cooks, she was impressed by how quickly they understood and followed Minjoon’s instructions.
Cooking might seem easy, but it wasn’t. Especially cooking well in harmony with others with limited time and resources.
What surprised Kaya most was that they hadn’t made a single mistake.
Yeah, Minjoon’s leadership is working.
Minjoon looked at his team and smiled.
He’d once told them that when following his instructions, they shouldn’t just move their hands robotically. He wanted them to understand why they made each part, what came next, and what other members were doing—he wanted them to feel it, even if they couldn’t fully grasp it yet.