The number of the French men who started the protest was not that large. However, those who sympathized with them were quite a lot because the American chefs from Rose Island, also former Grand Chef participants, were well known in America. In particular, almost everybody knew that the bestselling dessert Cho Reggiano was developed by a young Asian chef from the Grand Chef competition, although they might not know Min-joon’s name.
So, the news that some of the French people spoke ill of and criticized the American chefs, or the Rose Island chefs who participated in the Paris International Cooking Contest and held a protest spread quickly across the United States.
Of course, Americans didn’t sit idle at the news. Like the people of any country, they could not let their country and their own people be disgraced by another country without any reason. In particular, the chat rooms of the gourmet community in America were filled with all kinds of comments and feedback about the French cuisine and the Paris contest.
Some of the cuisine community got into a heated argument. Chloe was reading the comments of a cuisine blog about the French protest. It was not clear whether they agreed with the protestors or simply picked a quarrel with somebody else, but they tried to rationalize the protestors for a number of ridiculous reasons.
Adalicia Petit: Why does everybody think it’s nonsense? To be honest, do you think American cuisine can surpass French cuisine? What is American cuisine in the first place? Pizza, hamburger, hot dog, Mac and cheese. And they turned all the European dishes into something like junk and instant food, right? I doubt how such a country can produce any good chefs.
└ Mark Belster: What the heck are you talking about? Have you ever been to America? Like you said, it’s true that most of what we eat has come from Europe originally, and there are so many people who eat meals at fast-food restaurants, but that doesn’t mean that chefs from our country are incompetent. Do you really really think that the judges of the Paris International Cooking Contest are idiots who are in the cultural toadyism? Do you really think the French judges see that a chef is superior just because he has a good name in the United States? I don’t think so. The only reason he is doing great is because he is so competent.
└ Adalicia Petit: @Mark Belster If that’s the case, how can you explain the reason why there are so few restaurants with Michelin stars in the United States? Is it because the American chefs are not competent? I don’t think so.
└ Mark Belster: @Adalicia Petit I don’t want to point out Michelin cares more about trifling stuff such as the restaurant’s interior, service, and fun rather than cooking itself. Why are you applying the Michelin standards to American restaurants? Do you think Michelin’s rating is absolute? I don’t understand why you guys in Europe are saying as if Michelin is the standard taste.
└ Alexima Varda: I’m an American, but frankly speaking, I understand why the French guys are protesting like that. American food is just garbage. American chefs taking part in the contest now might be an exception, but I wonder if they can ever beat their French counterparts. Rose Island is a chain restaurant, isn’t it?
└ Michael Bary: Are you going to downgrade Rose Island as a chain restaurant? If you’ve ever been there once, you’ll never be able to describe it like that. In addition, all the pairs from Rose Island who have survived are from its main restaurant and its New York branch. And they are the very best American restaurants with three Michelin stars. The main restaurant has recently reopened because of a fire, so they have not yet received Michelin stars yet.
└ Macques Leroy: @Alexima Varda Let me tell you this as a Frenchman. To be honest, Rose Island is as good as any first-rate restaurants not only in France but also in Europe as a whole. I’m saying with confidence because I’ve been to that restaurant. So, only those who mistakenly think European restaurants are the best look down on the Rose Island chefs. So, there are a lot who regard the protest this time as a big disgrace even in France.
They had a heated argument like that on chat rooms and cuisine community blogs.
To look at the nature of the comments, Americans who seemed to support and understand the French protesters, while the French and other Europeans tended to blame them strongly.
After reading those comments for sometime, Chloe turned off the computer.
‘Then, what about me? Am I an American chef?’
Although she was strong in making Chinese cuisine, she was an American and doing activities in America, so she was inevitably called an American chef. But she couldn’t even imagine that there were people trying to judge the level of chefs by the country they came from. The funny thing was that there were some in France who supported this kind of perception. And there were few famous gourmets who were full of pride that they were French. Was it because they were so ignorant that they were so brave? How could they stage such a ridiculous protest for wrong patriotism?
Chloe slightly looked out the window. On the day of the semifinals, some French protesters gathered in front of the venue. Although the number of protesters was not large, even one crazy protester was dangerous in this situation. The organizers were planning how to safely let them go back, so they couldn’t get inside the venue, locked up in a car far away from the protesters.
“I never imagined that this kind of thing would happen.”
Anderson sighed at Chloe’s murmur.
He opened his mouth in a calm voice.
“Well, I hear some restaurants have done something crazy recently because of this contest.”
“What did they do?”
“For example, they kept the customers who ordered in English waiting for almost 30 minutes to get their appetizers and almost 20 to 30 minutes to get their main dish.”
“Oh, really? I doubt if they really did so intentionally? Maybe they did it because their orders piled up.”
“If just one person was treated like that, we can understand, but it happened to several customers. But some customers at other tables got their food on time. So, these restaurants are being blamed in and out of France these days.”
“How mean! I just can’t believe chefs are engaged in such nasty things.”
Kaya opened her mouth as if she was dumbfounded. She could not understand how some high-end restaurants even in France could treat customers like that. Of course, the way they spoke to the customers could not be refined, but they were supposed to treat customers with respect and care. Their nationality was not important at all. It was just unthinkable for a chef to think of inconveniencing the customers while cooking for them.
“If they’re going to cook like that, I just can’t understand why they have decided to be a chef.”
Min-joon shook his head with a sigh. Since he had been always pondering about the cosmopolitan view of gastronomy, he felt that it was just pointless to judge the level of cooking by the origin country of the food.
Of course, it was clear that France had a much more sophisticated and well-organized gastronomic system than other countries. In fact, it was the French cuisine that had the biggest influence on European and Western cooking styles.
As such, the French should have been more generous about other countries’ food. Most of the French people had such a generous mindset, but some who made and enjoyed good food lacked it, which saddened Min-joon.
At that moment, somebody knocked on the window of Min-joon’s car. The organizers were looking at them from outside the car.
As if he was exhausted, one of them said, “Well, it seems difficult for you to have the protesters go back.”
“Then, what are you going to do?” asked Min-joon.
“We’re going to push them to one side, so please go inside the building.”
“Got it.”
Min-joon was a little nervous, but he couldn’t help it.
Soon, Min-joon and the other participants began to slowly follow them. Min-joon looked at Dobby’s face. Dobby always looked relaxed, but he, too, looked nervous now
“Dobby.”
“Ah, Min-joon.”
“These people would argue that even if we make a good dish, it doesn’t taste better than a French dish.”
“Well, I guess so. These guys believe that France should not be behind other countries at least in cooking. That’s why they are protesting like that.”
“If that’s the case, what kind of dish can we make to appeal to them?”
When he asked, Dobby looked at Min-joon. Min-joon wondered if he was pondering over how to take them on his side even in this situation. At that moment, Dobby recalled June’s face. June seemed to think that Min-joon was only good at cooking, but he didn’t have the qualities of a manager who could manage a large kitchen staff with Rose Island.
‘Maybe you are wrong, June.’
In fact, Min-joon was as ambitious as June. Of course, Min-joon was so focused on cooking now that he might look like a person trying to achieve his dream.
Dobby had been looking at June for a long time. So, he had already seen and experienced enough of how greedy people like June thought and acted. In his eyes, they were desperate to go up and up and try to achieve a little more. Perhaps, Min-joon was not free from such desire, in Dobby’s eyes. But his greed would make him grow more than now.
“Dobby?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought about something else.”
“Should we have French cuisine to catch them?”
“So, in your mind, do you think we should make a French dish so well as to capture their minds?”
“Well, maybe. I guess they might be open to their own food. But at the same time, I wonder if the French dish we make to please them can really appeal to them,” Dobby said feebly.
Now, the American chefs including Min-joon were going near the venue, which meant they were approaching the French demonstrators. The protestors who noticed them raised their voices more loudly.
Their shouting was heard in the American chefs’ ears. Of course, they couldn’t understand what the French protesters were shouting but could guess it instinctively.
Min-joon turned his head blankly for a moment and saw Kaya.
Kaya was pretty much upset, with her face turning red.
“Kaya?”
At the moment, his heart sank for fear she might throw a stone at them.
But she was holding a tomato. She crushed it with her hand and squeezed its juice.
Kaya blankly put her hand on her face and stole the juice of the tomato. A lump of tomato fell to the ground.
And at that moment, Min-joon fastened his shoelace.
