Chapter 635: Newlywed Chefs (9)
Chapter 635: Newlywed Chefs (9)
If Kaya was more faithful to her reason than her emotions, if she truly wanted to live as an adult rather than a child, then what she had just said was clear evidence she had finally matured. But he didn’t want her to change like that; he didn’t want her to grow up. Even if she was forever blamed for immaturity, he wished she would say something childish and immature right beside him.
When he asked if she was serious about what she’d said, Kaya didn’t answer easily. She hesitated, the freckles on her bare face plainly visible to him.
In the end, she couldn’t answer. But he didn’t press her, knowing that even if she replied, it wouldn’t be her true answer.
In that moment, he instinctively felt they had sunk their feet into mud before they even realised it. They had to get out before it turned into a swamp.
But where should they step next?
Clubs existed everywhere—bike clubs, fishing clubs. Of course, there were clubs in the culinary world too.
And the club Sarah belonged to was regarded as one of the most sophisticated gourmet clubs. Originally, even she would not have been accepted into such a choice group.
There were only two reasons she managed to join. First, thanks to Jeremy’s introduction. Second, because the club ‘Hungry Jones’ hadn’t admitted anyone recently, boosting the club’s prestige.
The reason it was so hard to join wasn’t due to authoritarianism among members. Most were kind people. They simply refused gourmets who lacked good manners or proper education—they could not communicate well with such people.
Of course, it was not bad for everyone to voice their opinions freely, but if narrow-minded people tried to debate as equals, conversations would hardly be pleasant.
“Ah, Brad, I hear you recently visited the Rose Island main restaurant. How was it?”
“It’s good. Still good. Compared to the old Rose Island I knew, though, I think something’s still missing.”
“Tut tut tut. Seems Rachel is still wandering since Minjoon left.”
Jeremy clicked her tongue and shook her head. Everyone agreed Rachel was a great chef—so perfect that no one questioned it.
But Rachel wasn’t perfect as a person. The Rachel he knew was never meant to stop growing. Perhaps Daniel’s absence affected her far more deeply than they realised.
“Well, it seems she’s stopped imitating Daniel’s cooking recently.”
“She was cooking in Daniel’s style, not her own. No wonder she couldn’t show her true skills.”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s fortunate she changed her mind sooner than I thought.”
Had Minjoon overheard this, he would have been surprised that people discussed Rachel’s problem so matter-of-factly—something he had only gradually come to realise himself.
In truth, the gourmets knew Rachel’s difficulty well. They simply avoided mentioning it openly because they felt she already knew. If a chef like her didn’t, it wouldn’t be ignorance but denial. They didn’t want to question or pretend to know in such a situation.
It was entirely due to Minjoon that she finally started to change—he had urged her to.
“Well, I’m really looking forward to seeing if Rose Island’s main restaurant’s menu becomes more sophisticated soon,” one gourmet said with a smile.
Jeremy nodded and smiled too.
Gourmets tended to criticise as much as they praised chefs’ food. For that reason, some chefs saw gourmets as enemies. But gourmets wanted nothing more than to see chefs create excellent food. They were gourmets because they loved eating. How could they hate professionals who cooked?
“By the way, should we think of Lotus Bridge as another branch of Rose Island? I heard Lotus Bridge’s current location was once Rose Island’s temporary main restaurant, and its owner was Ratchel.”
“Well, if they wanted to copy Rose Island’s style, they would’ve named it Rose Island from the start. So I think Lotus Bridge is independent. It even has a two head-chef system that Rose Island has never tried, except at its main restaurant. And Kaya has never worked under Rachel.”
“Oh, I see. I’m more concerned than I expected. As you know, this is Minjoon’s first time opening a restaurant. Since he’s done well so far, people have high hopes for him. I wonder if he can meet those expectations.”
“Have you heard about their menu?”
“Yes, I hear they’re only offering the chef’s test menu for the first month.”
“They’re clearly telling customers how distinctly their dishes differ… Interesting.”
The club members nodded, sharing thoughts on Lotus Bridge.
Watching this, Sarah felt Minjoon had grown tremendously as a chef.
He had been a mediocre cook who merely talked about his dreams back then on the Hunger Trip with her, but now, he was about to realise those dreams anytime.
“But you have to be careful. There are a lot of fools who think Minjoon’s rise means opportunity for themselves,” she said cynically.
Others just shrugged.
“That’s something every celebrity must expect when opening a restaurant,” one replied.
“If there’s one thing I want to point out, it’s their business experience. Star chefs usually have solid cooking skills, but Kaya and Minjoon have never run a restaurant on their own. Kaya has run Irregular Lab, but you can’t compare it to a true restaurant.”
“Right, Minjoon and Kaya are easy prey in some ways.”
The hungrier a dog, the more aggressive. Many gourmets were eager to attack targets. Given their fame, Minjoon and Kaya had never faced scrutiny by gourmets before, so they made very attractive prey.
Because of that, their critics’ aggressive attacks were hard to refute. People knew Minjoon’s skills, but doubted his restaurant management.
By attacking Minjoon and Kaya, these gourmets reinforced their own status, while appealing to the public as discerning critics.
In other words, the chef couple, with their short experience, were perfect prey for these connoisseurs.
Sarah muttered quietly, “But those gourmets might not realise they’re in danger of being bitten themselves—blindly chasing tempting prey.”
No matter how much the Hungry Jones members fretted over Lotus Bridge, Minjoon and Kaya paid them no mind. They had been warned that fame-hungry gourmets would soon start criticising them and their restaurant. Still, they were too busy to care.
“Are you crazy?” Kaya exclaimed sharply. “Why would you want to change our menu now?”
“No, we can’t keep it as it is.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong? We’ve tested it a long time. If you want to change it now, it’s not because you lack spirit, but because you’re weak. You’re giving in to pressure.”
“I know what you’re worried about. But there’s nothing special about our menu.”
“You might think it’s familiar only because we’ve worked with it for so long. But don’t you remember, we agreed it would make everyone happy when we first created it?”
“Well, I don’t want to make people just happy,” Minjoon said stubbornly. “I want to surprise them.”
“That’s your greed — not for our customers, but for yourself,” Kaya said coldly.
Greed. The word felt like an arrow piercing his chest, but he didn’t pull it out.
He said softly, “I’ve come this far because of my greed. And my greed tells me the dishes I’m making now don’t contain enough of it.”
“So, what should we do? What do you want to change?”
“Jo Reggiano. Six Meats. Let’s take them off the menu.”