110. Grand Chef Korea - It's sweet
110. Grand Chef Korea - It's sweet
1.
"Kang Ye-rin-ssi. First, please bring your dish and come forward."
At Chef Kang Tae-yeon's request, I picked up the plate and headed forward. I carefully set it down on the judging table and took a step back.
The three judges took a brief look at my plate. They observed it in detail before looking up.
"Kang Ye-rin-ssi. Tell us how you've improved upon the dish you made last time. What are the differences?"
"First, I changed the main ingredient, the fish, from sea bream to sea bass."
"Is there a specific reason you changed it?"
I nodded and opened my mouth.
"After submitting the dish, I kept thinking about what was lacking in my cooking. And one of the conclusions I reached was that it lacked depth of flavor."
"Depth of flavor?"
Chef Han Seo-jin asked, tilting her head slightly. It felt like she already knew, but was asking for the sake of the broadcast.
"Yes. If the dish in front of me were served in a course, it would probably be the main dish. However, as a main dish, the depth of flavor was lacking."
"So, did you change it to sea bass, which is a bit fattier?"
Chef Kang Tae-yeon asked again.
"Yes. I judged that the softness and rich taste provided by the fat would better complement the balance."
"Your reasoning is clear. If it turned out as you intended, it will be a very good improvement. That is, assuming it actually did."
"It turned out as I intended."
I lifted my head with a confident smile. Chef Kang Tae-yeon stared at me for a moment before opening his mouth again.
"Good. You aren't claiming improvement just by changing the fish, are you?"
"Of course not. But for what comes next, please judge by tasting it yourself."
He snorted.
"Are you trying to test us? You, a contestant, Kang Ye-rin-ssi?"
"I never said it like that. I just thought that tasting one bite would be faster than explaining it a hundred times."
Isn't that right? This isn't an art piece, it's cooking.
"Wasn't it you, Chef Kang Tae-yeon, who said that a chef speaks through their cooking, not their mouth?"
Chef Kang Tae-yeon's expression twisted for a moment, but he eventually twisted the corners of his mouth into his familiar cynical smirk.
"Fine. Let's see for myself just how much you've improved, Kang Ye-rin-ssi."
He immediately picked up his fork and knife and began cutting the fish. First, he put a piece in his mouth without sauce.
Crunch-
A single sound that cut through the silence. The sound that burst from Chef Kang Tae-yeon's mouth echoed through the set.
He then carefully dipped the fish in the sauce and put it in his mouth again. And his brow furrowed slightly.
Kang Tae-yeon took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his mouth. Then, without a word, he glared at me once and quietly returned to his seat.
Next, Chef Moon Tae-oh approached.
He transferred the sea bass to his plate. Then, as if admiring some work of art, he began to observe it while rotating the plate 360 degrees.
After staring at it for a long time, he first tasted the sauce separately. The way he closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly made it look like he was savoring it.
Finally, he removed the apple scales and potatoes on top of the sea bass one by one and put them in his mouth separately.
Only after going through all that process did he finally eat the sea bass dipped in the sauce. Anyone watching would think he was there for a food inspection.
"Thank you for the meal."
Chef Moon Tae-oh bowed his head and returned to his seat.
Lastly, Chef Han Seo-jin approached me. She moved everything remaining on the plate into her mouth.
"Mmm."
Han Seo-jin swayed her body, smiled slightly, and returned to her seat.
"We will discuss for a moment."
They turned their backs at the same time and began talking in low voices.
I watched them, then turned my head to the left. And I couldn't help but flinch.
"...."
Chaeyoon was looking at the floor. Her eyelids were trembling, and her lips were tightly pursed.
She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
I wanted to ask what on earth had happened, but before I could, the judges turned back around.
"Kang Ye-rin-ssi, I really enjoyed the food you prepared."
At the voice coming from the front, I had no choice but to turn my head again.
"First of all, changing the sea bream to sea bass was a good choice. The texture became a bit softer, and the taste became deeper."
Chef Kang Tae-yeon looked at the plate in front of him for a moment before looking up again.
"I was also impressed by how you balanced the weight of the flavor that came with changing the fish species using the acidity of the sauce. Thanks to that, the variety of flavors became much more colorful."
"Thank you."
This time, Chef Moon Tae-oh stepped forward.
"Is that potato on top of the fish along with the apple?"
"That's correct."
"When it was just the apple, it felt a bit bland. But with the potato added, there's depth to the texture. Especially the fact that you fried only one side of the potato until crispy. That was excellent."
He nodded and smiled. Lastly, Chef Han Seo-jin stepped forward.
"Compared to the last dish, I'd believe it if you said it was a completely different dish. The appearance is similar, but the content has changed completely."
She moistened her lips and continued.
"The overall composition was good, but what was especially impressive was the detail of dabbing the sauce like a dot on the sea bass. And the finishing touch of adding green apple in brunoise."
There was laughter in Chef Han Seo-jin's voice.
"That was... it really felt like drawing a dragon and then dotting the eyes at the end, like you made the sea bass and then just placed that dot. It was truly an element worthy of being called the finishing touch."
"Thank you."
I bowed my head. Since she praised me so highly, I felt my face getting hot for no reason.
"To be honest..."
She hesitated for a moment before finally opening her mouth.
"It was of such high perfection that it wouldn't feel awkward at all if it were served as a main dish at any Michelin restaurant on Earth."
"Thank you."
Chef Han Seo-jin returned to her seat. That was the end of my evaluation.
"Next, Han Chae-yoon-ssi. Please bring your dish and come forward."
Chaeyoon walked out quietly, holding her plate.
Perhaps she had calmed her emotions while I was being evaluated, as her face looked a bit better. Her eyes seemed to be trying to focus on the judging as much as possible.
"Compared to Kang Ye-rin-ssi's dish, in what points did you differentiate it?"
"I used sweeter apples to bring out the sweetness. And I added Greek yogurt to the cream sauce to add acidity. I also adjusted the texture to be thicker."
"It looks like a new sauce has been added on top of the fish?"
She nodded at Chef Han Seo-jin's question.
"Yes. I added a foam made based on apple juice and butter to try and emphasize the sweet taste and nuttiness."
"Listening only to the explanation, it feels like a direction quite similar to Kang Ye-rin-ssi's."
"...Yes. That's why I was a little surprised when I heard the evaluation earlier."
Chaeyoon nodded, wearing a somewhat bitter smile.
"Then, I will take a taste."
Chef Kang Tae-yeon picked up his fork and knife first. With practiced movements, he cut the fish, put it in his mouth, and tilted his head slightly.
He returned to his seat without a word. Next, Chef Han Seo-jin approached. She carefully put the fish in her mouth and...
"Mmm..."
Her brow furrowed a little. Tilting her head ever so slightly, she put down her fork and knife.
'Is there some kind of problem?'
Why are they all showing such puzzled reactions? One thing was certain: it didn't look like a positive reaction.
Lastly, Chef Moon Tae-oh stood in front of the plate.
As he always did, he examined the dish on top from various angles. He picked up his fork and knife, cut the fish, and carefully put it in his mouth.
Chef Moon Tae-oh frowned. He quietly picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and returned to his seat without saying anything.
"We will discuss for a moment."
The judges turned around at the same time. I immediately turned my head toward Chaeyoon.
She was standing with her eyes closed and her hands behind her back. It was a firm posture, but somehow it also looked like resignation.
As if she were someone who had foreseen her own end.
"Han Chae-yoon-ssi. I enjoyed the food you prepared."
Chef Kang Tae-yeon's voice rang out. The evaluation had begun.
"The idea of adding sweetness through sweet apples, acidity through Greek yogurt, and nuttiness through a new sauce was good. The idea, that is."
Chaeyoon's back stiffened. She realized that the real evaluation was starting now.
"Overall, the sweetness is too strong. Even if not all flavors are on par, they should at least come up together, even a little, to achieve harmony..."
Kang Tae-yeon raised both hands, then slowly dropped one.
"If the sweetness gets ahead like this, the balance is broken."
Chaeyoon's lips trembled faintly. She clenched both fists tighter and tighter.
"The sea bream was also a bit overcooked. It didn't feel like the fish meat was chewing softly, but rather crumbling."
"I think it would have been better if the foam on top of the fish hadn't been there at all. That's what I think. Rather than nuttiness, the sweetness was too excessive."
Following this, Chef Han Seo-jin and Chef Moon Tae-oh also pointed out their respective problems. With every word they spoke, Chaeyoon's shoulders trembled smaller and more frequently.
"Han Chae-yoon-ssi. Thank you for your hard work. You may return to your seat."
She bowed her head deeply and turned around slowly. Her footsteps were heavy, and the atmosphere inside the set was strangely engulfed in silence.
"Han Chae-yoon-ssi. Try Kang Ye-rin-ssi's food yourself."
I immediately moved toward the kitchen. I placed the extra fish I had set aside just in case onto a plate and carefully brought it out.
I handed the plate to her, and Chaeyoon accepted it without a word.
Crunch.
Even though quite some time had passed, it still made a crunchy sound. Chaeyoon didn't say anything. She just ate silently. And she emptied the entire plate.
"Han Chae-yoon-ssi, how is it?"
After hesitating for a moment, she opened her mouth.
"...I think the perfection of the flavor is very high. Even if I had made my dish properly... I think I would have lost..."
"Don't blame yourself too much. Everyone pursues a different direction."
I looked at Chef Kang Tae-yeon and pointed at myself. It was because I was curious about the food Chaeyoon had made.
"Kang Ye-rin-ssi, you should try it too."
At his words, I immediately put the remaining food into my mouth.
'It's sweet.'
Certainly, the sweetness was strong overall. But if you asked if it was inedible, that wasn't the case. Should I say it was a reasonably tasty dish?
However, unfortunately, such a dish did not suit Grand Chef Korea.
I put all the remaining food in my mouth and returned to my seat.
"Then, we will announce the eliminated person."
Two spotlights turned on above the two of us. And shortly after, one light went out.