Chapter 73: Unexpected Collaboration (1)
Chapter 73: Unexpected Collaboration (1)
Grand Chef Season 3: Who Will Come First in the Ratings?
If you asked people to name the hottest television programme right now, most would probably answer Grand Chef without hesitation. Its average viewership had surpassed five million, and at times it had even exceeded seven million. Those figures had made the programme the most-watched show in its time slot, surpassing even the previous season’s results.
What was the reason?
Were the missions better designed than in previous seasons? No. Although yesterday’s food truck mission had been something new, the ratings had already been high before it aired, so that could not be the main cause.
Season 3 was performing better than its predecessors because of its contestants. More precisely, it was because of several particularly distinctive contestants. Viewers had even begun saying that Grand Chef Season 3 had been blessed by God, meaning that the programme had an unusually large number of contestants with star quality.
First was Anderson Rousseau.
From the very beginning, he had radiated confidence, and recently it had been revealed to the public that he was the son of Fabio Rousseau and Amelia Rousseau.
That was right.
The owners of the Michelin three-star restaurant Glutto were his chef parents.
Anderson Rousseau made people curious. He was far too skilled to be considered an ordinary amateur, and at the same time possessed a profound understanding of cooking. Even when he simply stood behind a counter with his usual confident air, there was a charisma about him. That was why the revelation about his family had been both shocking and, at the same time, strangely unsurprising.
Kaya Lotus was the exact opposite of Rousseau.
This poor, unfortunate Cinderella, who had graduated only from primary school and had spent her life helping her mother at the market, was the contestant who had attracted more attention than anyone else.
And it was not simply because of her pitiful circumstances.
She had the foulest mouth and roughest attitude of any contestant, which had earned her plenty of criticism.
Despite that, she had a large number of fans. Her looks played a part, but even more important was her ability. The dishes made by this young woman, who had only just become an adult, consistently displayed a remarkable degree of skill. In particular, whenever she cooked directly over an open flame, her fans had given her the somewhat embarrassing nickname of the Fire Chef.
Kaya Lotus’s appeal did not come solely from being a genius girl raised in unfortunate circumstances.
There was also Jo Minjoon, the contestant she was closest to.
Whether those moments had been deliberately captured by the director or had simply happened by coincidence, the two of them had created several scenes dramatic enough to leave viewers flustered. What mattered was that the audience had become deeply interested in the possibility of romance between them.
And the viewers’ hopes had not been disappointed.
Lotus was usually aggressive and sharp-tongued, so seeing her lower her guard around one particular person was unexpectedly charming. The subtle atmosphere between the two made viewers cheer for them, but those cheers had grown even louder because of something that had happened recently.
More precisely, on May 4.
On May 4, Grand Chef surpassed seven million viewers.
The reason was that Minjoon’s absolute sense of taste, which had previously been kept hidden, had suddenly been revealed to the audience like a surprise gift.
The viewers’ reaction was easy enough to understand. The video of Jo correctly identifying all twenty ingredients had already surpassed thirty million views.
Originally, the relationship between Minjoon and Lotus could have been seen as one between a genius and an ordinary person. But the moment Jo Minjoon revealed his own extraordinary talent, people could no longer view the relationship between the two as something ordinary.
A genius paired with another genius.
That alone made people become more invested than necessary, romanticise the relationship, and look forward to what might happen next.
And those expectations naturally translated into ratings for Grand Chef. Of course, not all those viewers were necessarily interested in cooking, but that did not diminish the value of the numbers.
As long as those three contestants remained, the trend would probably continue, and Grand Chef’s position at the top would remain unshaken.
There was only one question left.
If Grand Chef’s popularity really depended on a handful of contestants, what would happen to the ratings once those contestants began to be eliminated one by one?
2010.05.12 — Angela Eve
“…Eliminated.”
Sitting on his bed, Jo Minjoon stared at his mobile phone with a strange expression.
It was not as though the article contained anything that had not already happened, nor had he reached some new conclusion because of it. Even so, the word made him think unnecessarily about the backs of Peter and the others who had been eliminated.
And in their place, he imagined himself.
It was all because of Martin.
Jo Minjoon sighed inwardly. Ever since Martin had made that strange offer, thoughts of the travelling-and-tasting programme had entered his mind even when he did not want them to.
An insurance policy had suddenly appeared. One that meant elimination would not necessarily be the end. He did not even know whether he should be pleased about that.
Worrying only made him hungrier, so Jo Minjoon headed to the kitchen.
A week had already passed since Peter had been eliminated in the previous mission. Even so, there had still been no word about the next challenge.
Jo Minjoon thought he knew what it would be.
He could not remember the exact order of every mission, but he did remember the particularly memorable ones. More precisely, he remembered the missions in which Kaya had played a major role, because he had watched the edited footage centred on her.
He had not remembered the risotto mission.
Or rather, it had been one of the missions he remembered only vaguely. Perhaps Kaya had originally chosen a different dish, or perhaps an entirely different mission had taken place.
This next mission, however, was too large and distinctive to have disappeared simply because of a variable like Jo Minjoon.
He doubted the producers would have changed it.
“Did you just wake up?”
“I’ve been up for a while.”
Anderson was the only person in the kitchen.
That was understandable. It was not even seven in the morning. The only contestants likely to be awake at this hour—or more precisely, awake and already in the kitchen—were Kaya and Chloe.
Chloe had a habit of exercising in the mornings, while Kaya was accustomed to waking early because she had spent years working at the market. Of course, Kaya also seemed determined to take revenge on that old lifestyle whenever she had the chance, so there were plenty of days when she deliberately slept in.
“What are you making?”
“Potato gnocchi gratin.”
(Translator’s Note: Gnocchi —Small Italian dumplings whose best-known modern form is made from potato combined with flour, although older and regional varieties use semolina, bread, ricotta, squash, or other ingredients. Dumpling preparations called gnocchi existed before potatoes arrived in Europe, while potato gnocchi became widespread particularly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.)
“…This early in the morning?”
Anderson merely shrugged.
Well, if he wanted something heavy first thing in the morning, that was his choice. Jo Minjoon did not bother arguing further.
Anderson gestured towards the pantry with his eyes. “Fresh vegetables came in this morning. You should make something with them too.”
“Oh, really?”
Just as Anderson had said, Jo Minjoon could not see a single vegetable with freshness below ninety per cent.
I feel like eating noodles.
Pasta, however, did not appeal to him. He did not want anything coated in oil or sauce. And if he was going to make a soup-based noodle dish like champon, he would rather use another kind of noodle instead of pasta.
(Translator’s Note: Champon — A Japanese noodle soup particularly associated with Nagasaki. The best-known Nagasaki form is generally credited to Chinese-born restaurateur Chen Ping Shun, who developed the dish at Shikairō around 1899–1900 as an inexpensive, nourishing meal influenced by Fujian Chinese noodle cuisine. It commonly combines noodles, vegetables, seafood, and meat in broth)
At that moment, his eyes landed on dried udon noodles and rice noodles.
Jo Minjoon’s gaze moved between the two.
He preferred the texture of udon, but he liked the broth used with rice noodles more.
In the end, he chose the rice noodles.
That would allow him to enjoy the freshness of the vegetables more clearly. No matter how udon was prepared, the noodles tended to remain the centre of the dish. Rice noodles, on the other hand, allowed the noodles and vegetables to share the spotlight.
Of course, the vegetables he had in mind were only onions, Japanese parsley, mung bean sprouts, and coriander.
They were all ingredients Jo Minjoon liked.
He did not dislike coriander either. It simply had a distinctive aroma, and that had never particularly bothered him.
For something he intended as a simple bowl of rice noodles, quite a few ingredients were involved: beef brisket and meat stock, mung bean sprouts, herbs, spring onions, green chilli, coriander, radish, ginger, onions, and lime juice. Then there were the seasonings—fish sauce, Sriracha chilli sauce, hoisin sauce, and so on.
(Translator’s Note: Sriracha — A style of chilli sauce named after Si Racha in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Modern bottled Sriracha-style sauces developed in Thailand during the early twentieth century; the famous Thai Sriraja Panich brand traces its commercial production to the 1930s. The sauce generally combines chilli, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt.)
(Translator’s Note:Hoisin sauce — A thick, sweet-savoury Chinese sauce especially associated with Cantonese cuisine. Its Chinese name literally means “seafood sauce”, although modern formulations normally contain no seafood; common ingredients include fermented soybean paste, sugar, spices, and seasonings.)
That was probably one of the biggest reasons people rarely made this kind of rice noodle dish at home.
There were simply too many ingredients, and fish sauce in particular was something people usually did not buy unless they had a specific interest in this kind of cooking. Even if they did buy it, many did not know what else to use it for besides rice noodles.
Of course, seafood extract could be used instead of fish sauce, but naturally the flavour would be different.
Jo Minjoon soaked the rice noodles in water and opened the container of prepared stock. Normally, he would have boiled beef bones as well, but putting in that much effort merely for breakfast would have been excessive.
He poured the stock into a pot with onions and ginger and brought it to a boil. After drawing the blood from the beef brisket, he briefly blanched it before adding it to the stock.
He did not make pickled onions.
He could not say how people accustomed to the dish might feel, but to Jo Minjoon, the flavour was too strong. Instead of harmonising with the other ingredients, it tended to overwhelm them.
It was like eating ordinary jajangmyeon with pickled radish ten times saltier than usual.
(Translator’s Note: Jajangmyeon —A Korean-Chinese noodle dish descended from northern Chinese zhajiangmian. It developed among Chinese immigrant communities around Incheon during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly after Incheon Port opened in 1883. The Korean version uses a thick, dark sauce based on chunjang, a Korean-style fermented black bean paste.)
Just as he was about to season the stock with fish sauce, salt, and pepper, Chloe entered the kitchen in sportswear.
Her shoulder-length hair was tied back, and her cheeks were flushed as she caught her breath. She did not seem to be sweating, probably because the weather was still too cold.
Jo Minjoon asked calmly, “Finished your morning exercise?”
“Yes. But while I was jogging around the front garden, I saw a strange person. He was hanging around the fence and taking pictures inside.”
“…Another reporter?”
Recently, quite a few reporters had been caught trying to sneak around the Grand Chef house.
It was understandable. Paparazzi constantly followed celebrities, and with Grand Chef itself having become a star of the television world, there was no reason reporters would stay away once they knew where the contestants were living.
Chloe shook her head, looking fed up.
“I don’t know. Security caught him and made him delete all the pictures, but I started feeling uncomfortable too, so I came back. Anyway, what are you making? It smells good.”
“Rice noodles.”
“Oh, you’re making them with broth.”
“They’re better with broth than without. Want some? It’s almost done, and I made plenty. About three or four servings.”
“Then I’ll trouble you for one bowl.” Chloe smiled brightly and clasped her hands together.
Jo Minjoon glanced towards the hall.
It was about time Kaya came out, but there was still no sign of her.
Had she slept in again just for the sake of rebellion?
As he wondered about it, Kaya appeared in the kitchen, tying back her dishevelled hair. She wore a scoop-neck T-shirt and wrinkled shorts.
Chloe’s eyes lit up when she saw Kaya’s hair. She loved that kind of messy hairstyle. In fact, she often deliberately tried to create the same look even after washing her own hair.
Jo Minjoon laughed.
“Kaya. You promised you’d make me breakfast every day.”
“I don’t remember us agreeing on a time. It’s not even eight-thirty yet.”
Seeing Kaya’s disgruntled expression, Jo Minjoon smirked.
Truthfully, he wanted to tell her not to sleep so late.
Anderson, who had finished his potato gnocchi gratin, looked towards them. “Anyone want some gratin?”
“I’ll pass. I don’t want another stomachache from eating cheese.”
At Jo Minjoon’s reply, the corner of Anderson’s mouth lifted in apparent disappointment.
Jo Minjoon shrugged. “I can’t help it. As I get older, I can’t digest cheese as well as I used to.”
“…You’re twenty-one.”
“But it’s also true that I’m no longer growing. I’m ageing now. It’s definitely different from when I was a teenager. Besides, cheese just doesn’t agree with me.”
Anderson gave him a sharp look before eating another bite of his gnocchi and cheese.
The gnocchi, coated in cream sauce, had a pleasantly chewy texture similar to ongsimi, though it was even softer.
Unable to resist any longer, Chloe raised her hand. “Anderson. I’ll have some.”
“…All right.”
Meanwhile, the rice noodles were nearly finished.
Jo Minjoon poured the hot broth over the noodles and topped them with mung bean sprouts, onions, red chilli, and coriander. All that remained was to serve lime, hoisin sauce, and chilli sauce separately on the side.
Perhaps because he had been smelling the dish throughout the cooking process, he had become even hungrier.
He had sipped the broth under the excuse of checking the seasoning, but that had only made his appetite worse.
Still, he had the feeling that if he ate now, it would taste better than ever.
The four of them sat down at the table.
In the meantime, Kaya had made a simple Japanese rolled omelette and placed it on the table. She snorted.
“Rolled omelette. There. I made you breakfast.”
“You can just admit it.”
Kaya glared at him but did not argue.
She was hungry too, and the rice noodles in front of her looked far too appealing.
Anderson did not eat any because his potato gnocchi gratin had already filled him up. Chloe had helped him with some of it, reducing the amount, but there was still quite a lot left.
Anderson glanced at Kaya.
“You’re not having any gratin?”
“No.”
“Whatever.”
At Kaya’s curt reply, Anderson turned away as well.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, but Jo Minjoon paid it little attention. Things had been awkward between Kaya and Anderson ever since they had fought during their team mission, so there was no reason for him to find it strange now.
Jo Minjoon slowly put some rice noodles into his mouth.
The broth was hot, but because the noodles had been soaked in cold water, there was no need to blow on them before eating.
The aroma of the stock mingled strongly with the coriander and filled his nose.
Nine out of ten Koreans seemed to dislike coriander, but fortunately, Jo Minjoon belonged to the remaining one.
Perhaps the more overwhelming an aroma was, the more satisfying it became.
Could this be called a violent fragrance?
It did not merely fill his nose; it seemed to conquer the roof of his mouth as well.
The mung bean sprouts crunched pleasantly between his teeth, while the rice noodles slid softly over his tongue and lips.
The cooking score was 7.
Recently, producing a 6-point dish had actually become more difficult for him. As long as he followed the fundamentals properly, making a 7-point dish was no longer particularly difficult. Even recipes that naturally plateaued when made according to the standard method could often reach 7 points with a little adjustment.
Maybe I’m getting close to Cooking Level 7.
Thinking that made the same bowl of noodles taste even better.
Kaya glanced at the smile on Jo Minjoon’s face before speaking.
“It’s good.”
“Same here,” Chloe added.
“Thanks.” Jo Minjoon smiled at them, took a spoonful of broth, and then asked, “When do you think they’ll give us the next mission?”
“Who knows? Maybe they’ll spring it on us like a surprise gift.”
“I just hope it isn’t something like the food truck mission. It was fun, but it was exhausting.”
“I agree.”
At that moment, Kaya looked at Jo Minjoon.
“Want to make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“On what the next mission will be. Whoever guesses correctly wins. As for the prize…” Kaya paused for a moment. “If I win, we cancel the breakfast deal. If you win, I’ll make you lunch too. How about it?”
“…You do realise gamblers ruin their lives, right? Why don’t you choose a more sensible path?”
“Shut up. Are you betting or not? What, you’re not confident?”
The smile on Kaya’s face made it obvious that she was trying to provoke him.
Jo Minjoon laughed inwardly before answering.
“What do you think the mission will be?”
“There are ten of us. If they split us in half, that’s exactly five per team. So it’ll be a team mission. Oh, and since I said it first, you have to choose something different.”
“Fine. I’ll bet on an individual mission.”
“…Really?”
Kaya looked at him suspiciously.
She clearly did not like how readily he had agreed.
Jo Minjoon merely smiled.
According to his memories, once the top ten had been decided, the next challenge was not a team mission.
More precisely, there had only been one team mission after the final ten were confirmed.
And he still remembered the scene of ten dishes being laid out on the table at the same time.
If his memory had not failed him, then the next mission was probably—
Buffet.