The moment he confirmed his cooking score, countless sentences popped up before his eyes then disappeared. He enjoyed the sweetness of each of the words in a calm thrill. He didn’t want to say it took him so long or short to master the cosmopolitan gastronomic viewpoint. He spent much more time at the kitchen island than people at the venue thought, but he could not deny that he achieved such a quick growth overnight.
For a long time, he had been like a tree on which rain fell or leaves bloomed. However, when a welcome rain fell, so many fruits blossomed at once on its bare branches that they would almost break. It was a moment when he could not believe it was real, not a dream.
‘Nine…’
What that number meant to him was not insignificant. Even Rachel’s cooking level stagnated at 9 right now. Since Kaya’s gastronomic level was 10, Rachel’s level might not look impressive. But Kaya could achieve it from the beginning.
An increase in one’s gastronomic level didn’t just mean that one’s gastronomic view increased. For example, Min-joon couldn’t figure out the recipe for dishes with a cooking score of 9 or higher because his gastronomic level was only 8, but not anymore. He could perfectly figure out the recipes for all kinds of dishes with a cooking score of 9 in the world. Even if the owner of the recipe tried to hide its secret, he could discover the secret by sampling it just once.
Maybe somebody might say his action was mean or shameful, but he had no intention of arguing over its moral responsibility because he couldn’t live without eating high-quality dishes in his life. Of course, he had no intention of stealing the recipe. He just intended to steal their cooking philosophy, know-how, and teachings about taste. Even if it was a terrible thing, he couldn’t turn away from cooking even though he would ignore the treasures that had accumulated before his eyes. Especially if it was such a great dish that everyone could praise, how could he turn away from it?
In fact, it was difficult for him to even count the number of recipes he had peeked into. Of course, many chefs knew that he had a perfect palate and that he could figure out their recipes by trying their dishes. Nonetheless, they didn’t fire him, which might have made him think they just approved his action. Even if they had not approved, he would not have helped it because he had been along that way for too long. He thought the best thing he could do even now was not to hesitate.
‘Let me bring out all the secrets of the receipts they are keeping under wraps.’
He was determined that he would make the dishes whose recipes had been kept under wraps by narrow-minded chefs around the world. And the full meal on one table was the most beautiful work he made by combining all the secrets. Of course, without Kaya’s help, it would have been difficult for him to make it so perfect like this.
Min-joon smiled, looking at Kaya.
“Thank you, Kaya.”
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
She looked at the crowds on the stand as if she didn’t think his compliment was a big deal. The French crowds were whispering among themselves when they discovered the Min-joon pair’s Asian meal on one table, which they never expected at all. She could notice their sparkling eyes when the popping camera flashes and the lights faded.
Their sparkling eyes were familiar but at the same time strange to her because people always paid attention to her. But this time, their glistening eyes carried a different meaning to her. In the past, people couldn’t accept her difference and look at her with something like contempt in their eyes, but they looked at her with respect now, and they even felt envy.
With their intense gaze behind their back, Kaya wondered if she could make them like whatever dish she wanted to make now.
“They’ve become the eyes of a typhoon.”
Angela among the crowded reporters muttered in a low voice while typing something on her laptop. Her fellow reporter next to her looked at her curiously and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Look at their faces, Min-joon and Kaya. How do they look?”
“Well, they look relaxed when they are waiting for the judges’ evaluation.”
“That’s right. Besides, all the spectators’ eyes are fixed on them, too. Participants here are supposed to look nervous, but the two are not at all. Because they’re used to it? No, it’s not the reason. Look at the other pairs. Even though they are good and experienced chefs, they look askance at the two, not the judges.”
When she said that, the reporters looked at the other chefs at once and found what she said was true. Dobby, Eva, Theo, Enzo, they prepared a full Western-style course. They were conscious of Min-joon and Kaya, even though they chose the dish that looked more stable and satisfactory than the Asian dinner prepared by the Min-joon pair.
The reporters got curious. Honestly, in their eyes, Min-joon and Kaya were most likely to be eliminated from today’s contest. Actually, some of them already began to prepare stories about their failure.
“Do you ever think their Western full course would be beaten by the Min-joon pair’s Asian course?”
“Why? Don’t you think it’s possible?”
“Hey, this is France, Angela. This is not a place where people are pursuing the freedom of gastronomy like the United States. All tastes and the order of courses must be in line with strict tradition and rule. Asian style dinner? Of course, people here don’t hate it because there are many Asian restaurants in France these days, but most of them specialize in Chinese, Japanese, etc., where the traditional methods of cuisine have been stubbornly maintained, not this type of Asian dinner.”
“Yeah. I know. Any reporter reporting about restaurants knows that. By the way, do you think they didn’t know it?”
The reporter, who eagerly talked about the reason why the Min-joon pair would surely be eliminated, suddenly stopped talking. At that moment, another reporter, who seemed to be more quick-witted than the reporter, uttered exclamations and said, “Oh, Angela. How come you are so intelligent while pretending to be innocent like that? You are trying to focus on their challenge itself?”
“Yes, that’s my whole point.”
A journalist’s job was to tell the public the truth. But the truth could be completely different depending on where you look at it. To some, Min-joon and Kaya’s challenge seemed like a futile effort as if they were striking the rock with an egg, but in Angela’s eyes, they looked like brave adventurers trying to brave through all the difficulties without any fear.
‘People always like an adventure.’
Why? Because they know there was nothing to gain even if they stick to a stable life. Even if they couldn’t pull off a success, their lives faithful to their own dreams and ambition have the power to captivate those who didn’t pursue such a life.
France was a country where the chefs were armed with the world’s most stubborn self-respect in the gastronomy world. Min-joon and Kaya were young American chefs who dared to make an Asian cuisine in the heart of the French cuisine world. Angela could write lots of stories about the pair. It didn’t matter if the pair were defeated. The most important thing at this moment was their challenge itself. Maybe now was the best moment for them to lose.
No matter what results they would get, people would focus their attention on the pair.
‘If they had this in mind from the beginning, they must know how to make this venue their own stage.’
In some respects, the pair must have been born with a fate that claimed everybody’s love.
If today’s contest were to be broadcasted, Min-joon and Kaya’s Asian dinner would be judged last because they needed to sustain the viewers as well as the spectators’ curiosity to the end. But this was not a live broadcasting event, the judges were more curious about the pair’s cooking than the audience.
“Min-joon and Kaya, we’re going to evaluate your dish first. Please bring us the dinner table.”
When Bastien said that impatiently, Min-joon and Kaya pulled the tray to the front of the judges. They were eager to taste the full meal on one table as soon as possible, but they could not because they needed to be served an appetizer first before trying the main dish.
Min-joon opened his mouth first.
“I prepared a simple appetizer. It will please your stomach.”
“It’s sea bream ceviche with avocado puree. It hasn’t aged long, so you can feel the soft and rich taste of sea bream itself rather than the taste of vinegar.”
“The appetizer is a rather typical one.”
“Well, typical doesn’t mean bad, right?”
“You’re right,” said Norris, nodding at Kaya’s gentle rebuke.
“That’s right.”
Norris nodded his head neatly at Kaya’s words. The combination of ceviche and avocado puree didn’t look unusual at all these days, but people took such a combination strangely when it first came out a long time ago. As they said, it had been aged for some time, this appetizer should not be treated lightly, of course.
When Norris put ceviche in his mouth first, he felt as if he had his head hit by somebody else. He just thought the appetizer would taste familiar and comfortable because the pair said it was typical, but it tasted completely fresh.
“Gosh, you have made fun of me.”
Kaya laughed at his remarks. Sea bream ceviche with avocado puree, there was nothing wrong with her explanation. However, what he tasted from it was far from ordinary.
“When you made ceviche, you mixed shrimp chips, right? And you didn’t add cilantro like they did these days.”
“Because I wanted to make it most suitable for an appetizer. The scent of coriander is too strong. Even if I put in a little, it does not easily disappear from your mouth. So, I needed something to make up for the cilantro instead in a way that could retain the flavor while removing the scent. So, I used shrimp chips.”
Min-joon and Kaya weren’t the first to use shrimp chips for ceviche. However, the two knew how to use the taste of shrimp chips very cleverly. Although the pair said they prepared a full Asian dinner, they served this ceviche perfectly as an appetizer, as if they were trying to prove that they had a hard thorough knowledge of Western cuisine,
“Don’t be surprised yet. If you’re surprised now, you won’t be able to make a proper review when you liberally enjoy our Asian full meal on one table.”
“I like your confidence like that.”
“You’ll soon find out why I’m so confident.”
Having said so, Kaya pulled out her cotton cloth from the tray. The bamboo trunk with steamed rice in it attracted their attention first. Then, the unusual appearances such as ribs bourguignon and fried sea bass stimulated their appetite. Watching the table full of Asian dishes, the judges were deeply touched deep down.
‘Full meal on one table…’
Of course, the judges tried Asian dinner before. Was there anyone in France these days who hadn’t tried Asian dishes? However, whenever they tried one, or more precisely, every time they saw many dishes on one table, they had to feel a strange sense of difference, for they were not good at enjoying the harmony of several dishes at the same time, obsessed with the French cooking philosophy that they should pursue a full course format that focuses on each dish in order to properly enjoy cooking. In other words, they were trapped in a sense of rejection left deep in their unconsciousness. However, their desire for delicious dishes that surpassed even that sense of rejection pushed off their hesitation.
The Min-joon pair hurt the pride of European cuisine with a fantastic Asian meal on one table.
