Min-joon looked at the car key. Although Jefferson gave him the car key, what he actually suggested was that he would provide Min-joon with all financial support if he needed it, regardless of the price of the dish with his name on it.
At that moment, Min-joon had a lot on his mind. The main reason he decided not to receive his model fee was because that decision of his gave some meaning to his dish. It was his first dish that made his name widely known to the general public. So, he didn’t want to link it with money. Min-joon said, “What you’re talking about now seems to me that you want to invest in me, not Cho Reggiano, right?”
“Oh, you don’t have to feel pressured by that. I don’t want to impose any obligation on you because of that. I just hope that I can gain your favor just a little bit with that.”
“You know what you mean by signing a contract with me, right? I’m a very picky guy. I wouldn’t forgive you just because it’s a product your bakery produces if it’s against my conditions and terms on the contract.”
“Of course, I can promise that. If you check it strictly, I want to welcome it.”
Jefferson replied with a bright smile. He lifted the car key and gave it to Min-joon.
Min-joon accepted it with a smile.
“I don’t even have a driver’s license.”
***
After signing the contract, there was no change in Min-joon’s daily life for a while. Of course, it didn’t mean his daily life was dull because he had new customers at Rose Island every day. And at the same time, he did not neglect to develop new recipes.
“Chef, this is so annoying,” Maya complained rightly.
In fact, she was supposed to insert a syringe into the soft-boiled egg and take out its yolk.
It might seem easy to do it at first glance, but to keep the egg whites from crushing under pressure, she had to take care not to block other air holes by puncturing them.
Min-joon said, grinning at her mischievously, “You offered to help me first. It’s too late for you to complain.”
“Uh… Why are you assigning me to a difficult job all the time? I hope this won’t be listed on the menu.”
It was quite natural that she complained like that. Cho Reggiano and pomegranate desserts required her attention and concentration above all while she was preparing them.
The recipe that he was cooking now was simple. It was a fusion dish made with Japanese scotch eggs, French Cassoulet, and Korean garlic leaves.
Scotch egg was a dish of soft-boiled eggs, covered with meat porridge and fries. Cassoulet was a dish that was quite similar to Korean sausage stew, which was something like a bean stew that was far from the French cuisine with a rich flavor.
To put it a little more bluntly, it was something like a hotchpotch stew. During the Hundred Years War, this was the stew that was boiled with all the ingredients that feed the hungry French soldiers. Interestingly, despite the fact that it was such a casual dish, this dish was still loved widely in France where there were lots of famous gourmets.
The cooking process required a lot of attention to detail, but it wasn’t difficult. First, soak the beans in salted water for half a day then squeeze the water out of it. Next, put the chicken broth in the oven and add a little gelatin on top. Next, melt the duck fat in a Dutch oven and add salted pork to it and wait until it turned brown.
That was what Min-joon was doing at the moment.
Maya sniffed a bit and opened her mouth.
“By the way, you have put so many meats here all at once, but it still tastes good. Why? I heard that it’s better to have as few meats on a plate as possible.”
“Well, that depends on what kind of meat you assemble. First of all, this is the basic process of making Cassoulet. Have you never tried it before?”
“No. French cuisine is expensive. How can I go to such a place when I make a meager income?”
“If that’s the case, this is the first Cassoulet I’m cooking for you in your life, right? I’m honored, Maya.”
“Really? You want to give me the dish?”
“Of course! Do you think I won’t give you this one when you are helping me so much like this? No way! Definitely, you will enjoy it.”
Maya gulped at his reassurances. She knew whatever he cooked tasted so delicious. His dish was not very stimulating, but he always tried to bring out the best flavor of the ingredients. Personally, she liked his dishes best among the demi chefs in the kitchen.
“You promised it!” Maya said once again.
Then she began to insert the syringe into the egg with a more serious expression.
At the moment, he almost broke into laughter because he thought momentarily that she looked like a nurse, but he immediately had to focus on cooking. Having to use multiple ingredients meant that he had to pay attention to the order and time of cooking. Although he was cooking only one dish, he had to look at the cooking process as a whole like a head chef. Of course, the “chef” he controlled was none other than his hands and time.
First, he took out the pork cooked in a Dutch oven and put it on a plate. Next was the chicken.
He had the skin of the chicken seasoned with pepper touch the pan before heating it. No extra oil was needed because the fat from the skin would help keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. When the skin turned brown after ripening well, he turned it over again. He cooked the lean meat properly and moved it on a plate with the pork. When he cooked the thick garlic sausage and put it on a plate, sweat dripped from his forehead. Maya took out a towel and wiped his forehead with a slightly worried look.
“Chef, aren’t you too hard on yourself? Today is Sunday, as you know. Even these days, you don’t take any rest during the break time because you’re so busy developing recipes.”
“It’s okay. It’s fun for me.”
“Even if it’s fun, you will get sick if you overwork like this.”
“Then, do you want me to stop all this?”
“Oh, that’s not what I mean…”
“Let’s talk after making it first. No matter how hard it is, we are going to get refreshed once we are done and enjoy this delicious dish.”
Although he said that, he felt he was out of shape these days.
He began to cook a bit fast. He took out onions and began to chop them.
Right at that moment, he frowned before he knew it.
Maya screamed, “Chef!”
“Ah…” He groaned.
But it wasn’t his finger that he looked at but the onions. The cut wasn’t deep, but drops of blood that came out of his finger momentarily smeared into the onions. Justin brought a band aid and disinfectant in a hurry. Min-joon held out his finger, embarrassed.
He said, “Well, I thought I wouldn’t cut my finger on a knife because I was very good at cooking, but it seems like chefs like me can’t avoid the cut forever.”
“How can you say that now? That’s why I begged you to take a break.”
“Okay, let me take a break after I’m done.”
Having said that, he was still glancing at the cutting board, which clearly suggested he was not going to take a break. The moment he, wearing a thimble, was about to take out a new onion, Maya stopped him and said, “Let me cut it. Since you cut your finger on a knife, you shouldn’t grab it.”
“I’m okay…”
“I’m okay, too. And a cook like me is supposed to take care of this kind of chores. So, just give me the instruction. Can I dice this?”
“Yes, just dice it. Thank you.”
He fried the cut onions on a pan until they became translucent and then put the squeezed beans, carrots, celery, garlic, parsley and basil, cloves, and the pre-made broth gelatin in a Dutch oven and boiled them down. It exuded a dense fragrance as if all kinds of spices and broth were just a compressed perfume. Then he waited for a while. After waiting for almost 45 minutes, he took out all the vegetables and spices and threw them away.
He opened his mouth.
“Maya, put all the meat there. Oh, when you put the chicken in the oven, make sure the skin is facing the lid, not the beans.”
“Oh, are you doing that because you are afraid the crunchy texture will disappear?”
“Yeah. You know a lot! I didn’t know you would mention it.”
“Well, that’s basic. Just basic.”
Feeling so good about his praise, she smiled brightly. He moved the Dutch oven with its lid open. Maya asked as if she was curious, “How long can I wait now?”
“Two hours.”
“What?”
“After two hours, the top will turn hard like a crust. Then you just need to crush it six times with a spoon every thirty minutes. You can add a little water while doing it.”
“Then it’s four and a half hours! Oh, wait a minute. It’s not the end of it. Are you thinking of making this dish a regular menu?”
“Well, that’s what Rachel has to decide. Let me just make it and see how she reacts.”
“Heavens! I really don’t like it. Hope she rejects your dish!”
“Don’t worry, Maya. You won’t have a hard time because of this.”
Maya looked puzzled when he said that.
Min-joon said with a smile, “Well, if you think this is a completed dish, the only thing that you can call molecular cooking techniques is the egg. Other ingredients are just a normal appetizer. So, I’m the one who…”
“So, you want to say it’s you who is going to have a hard time?”
Janet, who was testing her recipe on the countertop next to him, asked as if she was dumbfounded.
Min-joon rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.
“Don’t you know that I did my best when you made the recipe last time? You know we’re helping each other all the time.”
“Are you sure you want to help each other, or you want to harass me with your dish like that?”
Min-joon smiled instead of replying. Janet stared at him, but he didn’t care.
He quietly turned his gaze to the system window before his eyes.
‘Your Cassoulet cooking score is 8. If you put the sauce made of ground Cassoulet on an egg, then apply the minced Cassoulet meat on the side and fry it, your cooking score is 9.’
