106. Grand Chef Korea - How to Deal with a Genius.
106. Grand Chef Korea - How to Deal with a Genius.
1.
"Before you left the kitchen, what was written on the note you handed to Chaeyoon-ssi?"
From behind the camera, PD Jung In-sun asked with a small smile. Writer Seo Na-hyeon was sitting next to her, quietly taking notes.
"I wrote down all the ingredients that went into my dish and delivered it to her."
"All of them? Is there a special reason you did that?"
"Because that's fair."
"What does that mean specifically?"
PD Jung In-sun asked back with a puzzled look.
"Exactly what it sounds like. I know all the ingredients that go into contestant Han Chae-yoon's dish. That's because it was the dish she made with the autumn theme during the Four Seasons Team Mission."
Since we had actually practiced together, even if I didn't know the cooking process, I knew exactly what ingredients went into it.
"I know my opponent's ingredients. If the opponent doesn't know mine... I thought that would be an unfair fight."
PD Jung In-sun raised the corners of her mouth meaningfully and slowly opened her mouth.
"Actually, I spoke with Han Chae-yoon-ssi before interviewing Kang Ye-rin-ssi."
"Then you must have already talked about the note."
Even though she already knew what was written on it, she had asked me again on purpose.
"That's right."
"What did Chaeyoon-i say?"
"Rather than explaining it in words, I think it would be better for you to see the video yourself."
PD Jung In-sun said that and held out a tablet. I nodded silently and took it. As I touched the screen, Chaeyoon's face soon appeared.
*
"Before leaving the kitchen, there was a scene where Kang Ye-rin-ssi handed you something. May I ask what that was?"
Chaeyoon carefully rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a folded note.
"It's a note."
"Yes. That's right."
Chaeyoon answered calmly at PD Jung In-sun's words.
"Did you happen to see what was written inside?"
"Not yet."
"Then shall we look together?"
At PD Jung In-sun's suggestion, Chaeyoon hesitated for a moment. Then, she quietly nodded.
"But it might be a personal message sent only to me. So, I'll check it first."
"Yes. Understood."
Chaeyoon started to slowly unfold the crumpled note. As the letters appeared on the paper, her expression also gradually stiffened.
"Why did you stop?"
In the end, she couldn't unfold it all and crumpled the note back up. Along with the paper, her expression was crumpled too.
"What was the content that made you react like that? Could you tell me?"
"See for yourself..."
Chaeyoon said that and held out the note in her hand. PD Jung In-sun took it carefully and unfolded it slowly. Her eyes moved quickly across the paper, and soon she nodded.
"This is... it seems to be the ingredients going into the dish Kang Ye-rin-ssi submitted for this mission."
"...As expected. Right?"
Chaeyoon let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the chair.
"I... wasn't seeing things."
"Why would she go out of her way to pass this to Chaeyoon-ssi? From Kang Ye-rin-ssi's perspective, it's an action with nothing but downsides."
"She must have wanted a fair and square duel. Ye-rin-eonni is... that kind of person."
Chaeyoon said it without hesitation, in a voice full of conviction.
"A fair and square duel?"
At PD Jung In-sun's question, Chaeyoon nodded.
"Yes. The dish I submitted this time is actually the one I made during the last Four Seasons mission. The difference is, I failed back then, and I succeeded this time."
"The theme was definitely 'the dish you are most confident in.' But why did you choose a dish you failed at once in the past?"
Chaeyoon caught her breath and answered immediately.
"First is pride. I wanted to show myself, and others, that just because I failed, it doesn't mean it's over."
She laughed awkwardly and scratched her cheek.
"Of course, it's not really something for someone who barely made it up thanks to good teammates back then to say. Still, I wanted to properly pull off the dish that collapsed back then, right here at 'Grand Chef Korea'."
"You could call it a kind of self-proof."
As PD Jung In-sun summarized it calmly, Chaeyoon nodded with satisfaction.
"Exactly."
"If that's the first reason, is there a second?"
"Yes. The second was a strategic reason. I chose this dish intentionally."
"Could you explain in more detail?"
Chaeyoon turned her head and started staring blankly at the wall. It felt as if she were recalling something.
"The fifth mission... I still remember that scene vividly."
"If it's the fifth mission, you mean the mission where you had to recreate Chef Moon Tae-oh's Agnolotti exactly?"
"Right. At that time, when contestant Kim Min-jae protested, the ingredient list Ye-rin-eonni wrote was revealed."
PD Jung In-sun cut in right there.
"And she got all the ingredients right. Accurately, at that."
Chaeyoon wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
"Ugh, I still get goosebumps thinking about it. How can a person be like that? It's like she really has some kind of sensor on her tongue. Back then, I was genuinely in awe, and scared."
"Our production team was in chaos back then, too. The chefs were all surprised as well."
Chaeyoon, who took a deep breath to calm her emotions, opened her mouth again.
"Eonni has Absolute Taste. No, maybe even more than that. I thought that to someone like that... hiding one's identity by making a complex dish didn't have much meaning."
"You judged that she would get it all right anyway."
"Right. And I still remember what Eonni said back then. She said she had never even handled foie gras and truffles before."
PD Jung In-sun asked back with her eyes wide in surprise.
"Kang Ye-rin contestant really said that?"
"Yes."
Chaeyoon kept her gaze on the table for a moment and continued quietly.
"I agonized over it for days. What dish I'm most confident in. And how I can beat Eonni."
Then she looked up and stared straight ahead. Her gaze was firm without wavering, and her voice was full of conviction.
"And the conclusion I reached is this. I decided to make the most familiar dish with the ingredients Eonni is most unfamiliar with."
"You chose not the dish you are most confident in, but the dish you most want to be confident in. At the same time, you made the dish you most want to win with."
Writer Seo Na-hyeon, who had been listening quietly from the side, summarized it for her.
"Exactly."
Chaeyoon smiled and nodded.
"So are you confident that this strategy will work?"
At PD Jung In-sun's question, Chaeyoon laughed slightly and shook her head.
"No. Actually, I don't have that high of expectations. I mean, the opponent is Kang Ye-rin-eonni, right?"
At that, PD Jung In-sun and Writer Seo Na-hyeon nodded in unison. The weight of that was something everyone knew without needing explanation.
"Dealing with a genius is, in the end, something only a genius can do. But if I can just drag such a genius onto the same battlefield as me..."
She said with a confident smile.
"I think I have enough of a chance. If a genius has a genius's way, a mediocre person has a mediocre person's way."
*
The video cut off there.
"Did you watch the video well?"
PD Jung In-sun asked with a meaningful smile. I returned the tablet without a word and leaned back against the chair.
"Yes. It's interesting."
I raised the corners of my mouth slightly and continued.
"From the moment she brought out the dish she failed at before, I thought she was up to something. But I didn't know she had calculated it this meticulously."
"So what do you think?"
"I thought it would be a tough match from the start. But after seeing this, I feel like I need to work even harder."
"I don't know if I unintentionally boosted Kang Ye-rin contestant's motivation."
PD Jung In-sun laughed and shrugged her shoulders. I chuckled and nodded as well.
"Maybe so."
"Then we'll end the interview here. Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, we got a good scene."
PD Jung In-sun held out her hand. After shaking hands, I stood up slowly from my seat.
"But aren't you curious?"
Just as I was about to leave the interview room, PD Jung In-sun opened her mouth again.
"About what?"
"Whether Kang Ye-rin-ssi saw that note. Or not. In the end, it didn't appear in the video I showed you."
"Does that matter now?"
I turned my body slowly, smiled, and threw the words out.
"I'm going to win anyway."
2.
"Kang Ye-rin-ssi. Please enter now!"
As the staff's shout was heard, I walked slowly along the passage in front of me.
Under my feet, the spotlight spread out like a road, and the large door in the distance was slowly opening as I approached.
And finally. The moment I stepped past the door, blinding lights poured down all at once. The massive competition arena revealed itself before me, showing off its brilliant majesty.
"Hmm."
I turned my head inadvertently at the sound of footsteps coming from the right.
It was Chaeyoon.
She was walking along the stage side-by-side as well. But unlike me, she didn't turn her head. Chaeyoon's gaze was fixed only straight ahead. I turned my gaze forward again.
When I reached the end of the road, the three judges appeared on the platform.
"Grand Chef Korea, we sincerely welcome the two of you to the seventh mission!"
Chef Han Seo-jin stepped forward and shouted in a powerful voice.
"From now on, you will make the dish you are most confident in, and the dish your opponent is most confident in. And."
No sooner had those words finished than fireworks shot up around the stage we were standing on.
"One of you two will be eliminated here, unconditionally. There are no exceptions."
Chef Han Seo-jin's final words rang heavily through the stage.
Soon after, the fireworks that had enveloped the stage slowly died down, and this time, Chef Kang Tae-yeon stepped one step forward.
"Before starting the duel, we must determine the order. You two, please look at each other."
Following his words, we turned our bodies and looked at each other.
Chaeyoon flinched and lowered her head. But soon, she looked straight at me without avoiding my gaze again.
"We will play Rock, Paper, Scissors from now on. The winner will decide the cooking order. Please throw your hands on my count."
Chef Kang Tae-yeon paused for a moment and then opened his mouth again.
"Three, two, one, Rock, Paper, Scissors―."
Two hands popped out at the same time. I was Rock. Chaeyoon was Paper.
'I lost.'
Chaeyoon clenched her fist tightly and jumped in place.
"Han Chae-yoon-ssi. You won Rock, Paper, Scissors. Please decide whether to do your dish first, or the opponent's dish first."
She took a deep breath and calmed her excitement. And then she spoke immediately.
"I will do my dish first."
As expected. I felt like Chaeyoon would make that choice. There must be a meticulous calculation behind this too.
"Understood. Then, please move to the kitchens prepared on both sides and start cooking."
Along with Chef Kang Tae-yeon's voice, the large monitor behind the stage flickered and turned on.
"The time limit is 1 hour and 30 minutes."
I blinked without realizing it at the longer-than-expected time.
"This time is set based on the time Han Chae-yoon-ssi used when she made this dish."
Chef Kang Tae-yeon looked at both of us after finishing his words.
"Then, are you both ready?"
"Yes!"
"Yes."
The two answers overlapped.
"Good. Then, we will now begin the seventh mission of Grand Chef Korea!"
As the cue sign dropped, the kitchen lights turned on, and the timer began to run.
『01:29:59』
Chaeyoon's time had started.