‘The first condition…….?’
Jo Minjoon looked at that sentence with a confused expression. It was a notification he hadn’t seen until now. Did it mean that level 9 was different? Anderson looked at Jo Minjoon who had fallen in his thoughts again with eyes that said ‘he’s like this again.’ For them who couldn’t see the system’s window, it was only seen as Jo Minjoon just looking into empty space.
“Hey, get a hold of yourself.”
“I am.”
“You sound just like someone that just woke up.”
“…..I did wake up. From a dream.”
It was a long and deep dream. While looking at the relief in Jo Minjoon’s face, Anderson put on a weird face. Did he grow in that short while? Although he thought that there was no way it would be that easy, if they were talking about Jo Minjoon, then common sense didn’t work in the first place.
‘……Whether he did or not, I still have to chase him.’
He believed that the distance wouldn’t widen that much just because of one thing he had realized. And also, Jo Minjoon wasn’t the only one that was growing. When Anderson was organizing his thoughts like that, Jo Minjoon looked at Samuel and smiled.
“I’m sorry for spewing nonsense Samuel. As it was too delicious, it seems like I expected for something more while I got more satisfied.”
“Thank you for speaking like that.”
Samuel smiled while taking a breath. Although he pretended not to be, he was actually really nervous right now. It hadn’t been that long since he received his third star. Although Sera and Anderson were still newbies, Emily and Jeremy were recognized epicureans, and Rachel was one of the best chefs in the world. In addition, as Jo Minjoon was claimed to have the most perfect tongue in the world, Samuel could only be on his guard at each and every word they said.
‘I thought that I wouldn’t fear anything after gaining my third star.’
Maybe it was because of that, that he felt really thankful at Jo Minjoon’s words. Samuel put on a smile that was filled with good will and whispered silently at Jo Minjoon’s words.
“Actually, what bothered me the most was your opinion. I’m really glad I was able to hear the standard evaluation of an absolute taste. I will be able to be brave forever.”
At Samuel’s words, Jo Minjoon put on a complicated face. Having an absolute taste not only brought you honor. You pulled these many expectations, and at the same time each and every word he said held a big weight.
That’s why for Jo Minjoon, he could only strain himself harder. Whether he liked it or not, the words he was going to say right now wasn’t going to come from a normal beginner chef. It had a weight that not even epicureans who had a long career nor chefs could catch up to.
“Samuel’s restaurant is excellent. Local and global. Let’s talk about the hard things later. The thing I can say with certainty right now is that it is delicious. And I would be more happy if…..I was together with the person I love.”
“Ah, are you talking about that person?”
“……Sorry?”
[Right in the spot.]
[You are doing well Samuel!]
[But who’s that person? I don’t know at all. Lol]
‘……Just why do they go so crazy over other people’s lives?’
He did hear that America respected other people’s private lives. He thought like this for just a moment when he remembered that America was the shrine for paparazzis. And if you think about it, not everyone watching this broadcast was American. You could watch this broadcast from anywhere if you could speak English.
“I will order this. Foie gras steak with apples and onions.”
He had ordered it to change the subject, but Samuel didn’t ask anymore. It was when the food they ordered came out. A prostrated smile appeared in Jo Minjoon’s mouth.
[Foie gras steak with apples and onions]
Freshness : 93%
Origins : (Hidden, too many ingredients)
Quality : High
Cooking Score : 10/10
‘…..After getting rid of my obsession towards 10 points dishes, something like this comes out.’
Well, perhaps it was kind of obvious. Even if Japanese cuisine was simple, if you went with fusion food, the cooking methods of many countries would be added. There was a high probability for the score to increase the more processes it went through, and it would be normal to think that there would at least be one dish like that.
‘Thinking about it, does the score get higher the longer the name is?’
Jo Minjoon looked at the dish. There was beef with a bright sauce at the lowest part. The onions were placed on top of that, and above it was the foie gras with sliced and grilled apples on the very top as decoration.
“……That looks delicious.”
“Do you want some?”
“Can I?”
“I don’t dislike sharing. Although it doesn’t look cool, we aren’t eating to look cool in the first place. Most of all.”
Jo Minjoon pointed at his belly and said.
“I’m slowly getting full.”
“We did eat quite a lot.”
Anderson smirked and passed him his dish. Jo Minjoon served him the steak and foie gras himself.
[I would like it if he served me too.]
[Foie gras wasn’t all that delicious. I can’t get accustomed to that greasy feeling.]
[You originally have to eat unfamiliar food a lot to get accustomed to it. And even more if the flavor is strong.]
“I also used to dislike foie gras.”
“What?”
“Ah, nothing. I was talking to the chat. ……. Anyways, The flavor and aroma of the foie gras is violent. Because that oily flavor feels like it rises up to your nose and even your brain. But don’t think about resisting that violence, and just entrust your body to it. In my case, this helped me a lot. But of course, it’s still not a dish I can say I like.”
[Do I have to say that that expression is poetic or that he’s just a weird guy.]
[Originally, good poems can’t come out from an ordinary mind. So he’s both of those.]
“…..What about my expression.”
“Sometimes it’s fine, but sometimes it’s annoying. Like I wonder what this guy is talking about.”
Jo Minjoon became depressed at Anderson’s words. Thinking about it, when he was teaching in high school, his students used to say “Teacher, you seem quite the grown up compared to your age.”.
‘…….Was that not a compliment?’
At the truth he realized just now, he became all the more depressed and ate a bite of the beef.
‘The flavor….it’s not abundant?’
It wasn’t to the point he couldn’t eat it, but it was too ordinary. It was then. Samuel opened his mouth hurriedly.
“You have to slice the foie gras in a moderate size, and eat it along with the onion and the beef. Only then will you be able to feel the true flavor.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jo Minjoon sliced some foie gras and onions and stuck it with his fork, and then stuck at the beef. And as it became folded like that, it gave the feeling of being samgyeopsal (TL: translated as three folds). You could say that it felt like the fat that the beef didn’t have was complimented by the foie gras. Jo Minjoon put the fork in his mouth.
A reaction came out immediately. It was unavoidable. Because foie gras was a monster like ingredient that had juices overflowing from it like a bomb every time you chewed. Compared to the beef, it wasn’t even half the size, but the flavor was overwhelming.
“Ah……!”
A moan flowed out. Although you couldn’t hear the same thing from Anderson, it seemed like he had been equally moved. The flavor was completely different than eating the beef alone. It had the feeling of being a samgyeopsal made of cow meat.
The abundant oily flavor of the foie gras still roamed in his mouth until the last moment, and the beef that was wet with that oil emanated more flavor than usual. His mouth didn’t even feel greasy because the hot sauce that was smeared on the beef and the unique sweet flavor of the grilled onions cleansed that greasiness away.
10 points. This time, he ate it without being obsessed about that. But maybe that was the reason he could concentrate on the flavor more purely. A requisite of tasting level 9. That requisite wasn’t there for nothing.
‘The food and the tongue. As there was a sloppy prejudice between that……’
He felt regret. If he went to the restaurant they went to yesterday where he felt regret for not having any 10 points dishes again…..He felt like he would be able to feel another flavor than now.
“This…. is a really fine combination.”
“Oh, really?”
“The combination is good, the sauce is good, and the point it was cooked to is just fine. I wonder if it has everything it should as a dish.”
“Your reaction is good. Was it the most delicious among the things you ate today?”
At that moment, Jo Minjoon hesitated. Perhaps, if it was the Jo Minjoon before getting this enlightenment, he may have said yes. But that wasn’t his true answer. The nature of food was on enjoying it. And the dish he enjoyed the most…..
“No. I liked the three kinds of sushis most.”
“Oh, really? That’s unexpected. Actually, there were many epicureans that ate that, that said that it had lost the true colors of sushi.”
“True colors……”
Jo Minjoon laughed calmly. At that moment, Samuel looked at his face absentmindedly. He was still young, so why was it. Was it because of the sloppy illusion one normally had towards Asians? His face just looked like that of a really knowledgeable Asian man.
“Leaves fall and people grow up and get old, so is there a reason for colors to not change?”
€
The meal continued for quite a while even after that. Although they were a bit full, as they conversed with the viewers and progressed with the program while eating, their eating speed was slow and they had plenty of time to digest. The first one to speak among them was Sera.
“So, what do we do about that?”
“What’s that?”
“You know, what I ended up saying. Anderson’s and Minjoon’s match.”
[Oh right, they said they would be doing it.]
[Just what will the theme be? If it’s related to eating, Anderson is in a real disadvantage]
[You don’t know. Eating a lot. Or eating weird things. If it’s stinky tofu, will Jo Minjoon be able to eat it? How much of a shock would that be for that sensitive tongue?]
[I think that he would like it more because of that……..]
The viewers were speaking as if their match was an obvious thing. Jo Minjoon and Anderson looked at each other without saying anything.
“…..What do we do?”
“I don’t know.”
[What? It seems like they didn’t even decide on what to do.]
“I’m sorry everyone. That just now was only a formal comment. You were more eager for it than we thought…….What should we do?”
“Well. A match is not hard at all. But the problem is on what to go with…..”
Jo Minjoon crossed his arms and starting to think. It was then that Samuel opened his mouth.
“You both are chefs. So how about going with a cooking match?”
“……Cooking?”
“I…..can’t lend you my kitchen, but I can bring you some simple cooking tools. And as we are in a room, it won’t bother the other customers.”
“If it’s fine with you, we are also good with it. But the problem is still what to do…..”
[What’s there to think about? If you want to do it simple, is there something simpler than sushi? It will even be hard to bring fire.]
[Right. Sushi. Let’s go with sushi.]
[Ah, I don’t like sushi. It’s fishy. Can’t they do something like ramen?]
[I wanted to see a Korean style chowder.]
The chat was filled with several dishes. And it was obvious to say, but the most overwhelming one seemed to be sushi. Jo Minjoon and Anderson looked at each other. Jo Minjoon opened his mouth.
“I think that we should go with sushi. What do you think?”
“I wonder. Will you be able to beat me? I make sushi really well.”
“Ha, how confident. But even so, I’m not the Jo Minjoon that lost to you anymore. Wait for it, Andokusamu.”
Anderson’s face contorted.
“Just what is that name now. An…..Anduku? It’s even hard to pronounce.”
Jo Minjoon smirked.
“It’s the Japanese for Anduksam.”
< The destined match (1) > End
