Chapter 304: Step by Step (1)
The food truck was more romantic and full of hardships than they thought. Kitchen work was inherently difficult by itself, but when they were working on a food truck, they had to drive every day, let alone buy ingredients every day. Besides, they had to promote their food truck dishes, locate the peddling place, and cook in a relatively poor environment compared with that of a real kitchen.
That was not all. As for settling the customers’ bills, they had to receive money while they were cooking. Then, they had to finish cooking and give the finished dishes to them. In short, food truck work was far from easy.
Raphael brought a total of three food trucks. For a food truck, they were quite big, but even so, they looked cramped, compared with the restaurant kitchen.
Min-joon looked at Raphael, who was sitting in the passenger seat for a moment, grabbing the steering wheel. As if he was absorbed into something, Raphael was looking at the screen of his smartphone for nearly thirty minutes.
“Raphael.”
“Huh?”
“What are you looking at so intensely?”
“Well, I was checking what kind of food other people were cooking on their food trucks. I also checked their menu and wanted to learn some recipes.”
“I don’t think you would learn any recipe from them, Chef Raphael. No?”
“I never thought you would say that.”
Raphael looked at him as if he was surprised a bit at his asking.
Min-joon continued, looking out the truck window, “You told me the other day that you came here to learn something. May I ask what you learned at that time?”
“Well, it seems you don’t think I’ve ever learned anything here.”
“Honestly, that’s what I feel. In fact, I’ve got the impression that even if you don’t cook by yourself, you’re helping Chef Rachel on her side. And if we make a mistake, you notice it and help us fix it. As a sous chef, you are supposed to work like that, so I feel it’s rather hard for you to learn something.”
“Well, I understand why you think so. Unless you are in my position as a sous chef, you never know what I’m doing,” Raphael replied with a smile.
He picked up his smartphone and said, “Look at this.”
“I can’t because I’m driving.”
“Oh, then let me tell you. When you look at this smartphone, can you check out the food matching?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have x-ray vision anyway.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But what if someone is a technician who has been making smartphones for years? Just by looking at the design, he’ll be able to figure out what kind of technology he’s going to use for it, and what parts he put in where, right? Do you know what I mean?”
“Do you mean you can check out all the kitchens of Rachel in that way?”
When he asked, Raphael just grinned instead of replying.
At first glance, his smile looked overly delightful and overly complacent. But Min-joon could not feel it. Glancing at the highway sign, Min-joon opened his mouth.
“How can you check it out, Raphael?”
“Oh, you want to find it out, right? Are you jealous?”
“Absolutely. I’ve been working in the kitchen, but I can’t figure out what teacher Rachel’s unique strength is. So, you mean you can notice it, right?”
“You can notice it with your eyes, too. But you just can’t feel it.”
“Can’t you just explain it to me now? For example, what’s different and what I should learn.”
“If you learn it easily, you forget it easily. Just feel it for yourself and find it out. Why should I tell you about her that I have learned the hard way?”
“Oh, come on, Raphael!”
Raphael giggled when he responded annoyingly. As if she was bothered by his giggling, Maya, who was sleeping in the back seat, stretched out and yawned even without covering her mouth.
“Are we almost there?” Raphael asked.
Instead of answering, Min-joon raised his finger and pointed at the sign.
< 20 miles to Las Vegas >
***
It was hot. Deborah was relaxing in the office, playing music. The tunes were cool jazz that made her, affected by heat, feel heavier, but she needed such music now. Rather than club or electronic music that would uplift her mood, she needed calm music that would help her think straight.
‘If you keep on doing what you’re now, you may lose even the one star that you have.’
It was what a gourmet who was quite close to her recently told her, expressing concern.
Deborah wasn’t angry because of that. As a matter of fact, her cooking was poor enough to make the gourmet leave a critical feedback like that. And that was an open secret in the cooking circles. They said the Las Vegas branch of Rose Island didn’t deserve the name Rose Island.
“Am I a disgrace of Rose Island?”
No one had ever cursed her like that. But Deborah felt like everyone was whispering something like, ‘You’re doing harm to the reputation of Rose Island, and you lost the mindset of a chef a long time ago when I see you pretending to boast of your cooking skills.’
She looked out the window. Since her restaurant was located in a tall building, she had a very good view outside the window. Besides, given the location of her branch in Las Vegas, it was one of the top Rose Island branches across America, boasting of a spectacular view.
But she now felt she didn’t deserve a branch with such a fine view. Did she really fit the restaurant in a great location? Was it okay for her to keep her job at this place?
She looked at the tablet computer. When she typed Rose Island on the big screen, all kinds of comments and feedback popped up. Most comments were about the recent fire accident. And there were lots of comments about Rachel and her staff running a food truck service. Deborah clicked on the top of the comments. She saw the members of the Rose Island main restaurant cooking food on a food truck.
“They look even cool out there on a food truck… Is it because Rachel is with them?”
She muttered in a low voice.
The comments were mostly positive with people praising their food truck service. A large number of positive comments about Min-joon, in particular, caught her eye. Was it because people already began to look at him favorably? They tended to try to look for good episodes about him from the beginning. In fact, all the comments she was reading at the moment were dominantly positive.
Leo Pang: Wow! We’ve got a chance to try Min-joon’s dishes! I hope that they can also serve Cho Reggiano.
└ Elina Kashani: Don’t you think it’s hard for them to serve Cho Reggiano on a food truck? The ingredients are pretty complicated.
└ Leo Pang: @Elina Kashani Well, Min-joon is on the food truck. I think he can do it.
└ Elina Kashani: @Leo Pang You really trust him. Awesome.
Christina Miller: Honestly, I shouldn’t say this, but I thought it’s rather good that the Rose Island main store was burned down. If not, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy their food. But I could enjoy Min-joon’s dish as well as Rose Island cuisine thanks to their food truck service. I was able to enjoy the best dishes of my life. It’s really fun to enjoy food truck food.
└ Jane Crane: Yeah, cooking skills are not affected by the location of a restaurant.
‘I wish I received such feedback…’ Deborah muttered.
In fact, she even visited the Rose Island main restaurant to check how they were doing. She was stimulated a lot after meeting Rachel, Min-joon, and other kitchen staff. Nonetheless, there was something lacking in her dishes.
“Min-joon, you said that I was too greedy…”
But that was human nature. At least she thought like that. The problem was that her greed was ruining her cooking.
At that moment, her office door opened and the manager carefully opened his mouth.
“Chef, Rose Island guys just got here.”
“Oh, yes, I’m going to see them right now.”
“Got it.”
The manager left, and Deborah sighed and looked in the mirror. Then she lifted both fingers and raised the corner of her mouth to smile. Now it was time for her to go out into the world again. She couldn’t show a pathetic and depressed expression to them.
“Cheer up, Deborah!” She mumbled to herself.
Shortly afterward, she met Rachel and her students including Min-joon.
“Master Rachel!”
With a bright smile, she hugged Rachel tightly. But Rachel frowned and gently pushed her away.
“It’s hot. Why are you hugging me like this out of the blue?”
“Because I’m so happy to see you!”
“I saw you the other day, didn’t I?”
Rachel grunted, but she seemed to be pleased with her welcome.
Deborah smiled and looked at the others who were present with Rachel.
“It’s been a while, everyone. Thanks for coming this far.”
“Thank you. How have you been?” Min-joon asked.
“I’m doing fine. How about you, Min-joon?”
“Just so so,” said Min-joon, chuckling at her then shrugged.
Deborah opened her mouth as if she was dumbfounded by his tireless work.
“Hey, just take some break when you are stopping by the branch like this. Oh, I hear you sold dishes even during the lunch hour. Rachel, I’m afraid all these kitchen staffs might collapse if they work so hard like this.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not selling food for more than three hours per day. If they collapse because of that, it’s their problem. They need to build up stamina.”
“You said before you would not make them work too hard, but one of them collapsed, as you know.”
When Deborah said that, everyone’s eyes turned to one person, Min-joon.
Blushing, he waved his hand as if he was embarrassed and said, “I’m not that weak anymore.”
“It’s only been a month or so since you fell.”
“Well, I feel better and stronger now. I’m confident that I won’t fall again. So, don’t worry.”
“By the way, Rachel, what has brought you here?”
“Didn’t you hear anything from the others? You really don’t know what I’m doing while stopping by the branches?”
“I heard some rumors, but…”
Deborah made an awkward expression as if she didn’t know whether she should be happy or nervous. Sitting down at the table in the hall, Rachel calmly opened her mouth.
“Did you prepare what I told you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then bring it to me. Hey, guys, take your seat.”
“Can I take a look at the kitchen for a minute?” Min-joon asked, raising his hand.
While others were looking at him as if they expected him to do so, Rachel nodded with a smile. “Of course, if you want, but come back before the mealtime.”
“Sure, Rachel.”
“Let me go with you, man.”
