Rachel and Daniel.
The judges were well aware of their gravitas. So, they understood how hard it must have been for Takeshi to mention them. The reason that Daniel and Rachel were dubbed the best chefs in the world was basically because they were genius chefs, but at the same time, they clicked with each other perfectly as far as cooking was concerned.
One chef once said that there would appear a chef who could surpass Daniel or Rachel someday, but none who could surpass their perfect match.
Joseph agreed with that. And Takeshi also thought so because he was competent and witnessed how Daniel and Rachel ran their restaurant, Rose Island. After visiting Rose Island, nobody could object to the effect of their combined synergy if they knew anything about cooking.
“Maybe Takeshi is expecting more of them than me.”
“I guess so. Kaya and Min-joon are definitely a nice couple. To be honest, I didn’t know why they were because I didn’t see them on TV often, but I think I know why they are famous.”
“They are really cool in the chefs’ eyes,” Emily said curiously.
Joseph replied in a calm voice, “They are promising. Above all else, they have defined the main as a three-course meal.”
“Ah…” Emily nodded as if she remembered something only now.
When the participants were asked what kind of dishes they had in mind, Kaya was the only one who answered that she would make a three-course meal.
Emily quickly asked curiously, “Why did she choose the three-course meal?”
“You can interpret it in several ways. She might have chosen it because she was not sure, or she didn’t want to show a pretense of arrogance. Or she might have thought she could bring the best taste out of a three-course meal.”
“You think her decision is wise?”
“Well, I think it’s a better option for her because she has to cook with amateur chefs who don’t have rigorous basic training yet, and she has never had any experience cooking a fine dining course that requires five or more dishes. In that respect, the three-course meal is a perfect option for her and her team members. But if I were in her shoes, I might take a different… I don’t know.”
At that moment, Emily glanced at Kaya and said, “I thought Kaya wouldn’t settle for a three-course meal as a compromise, because I know she is always aiming high. She has changed a lot”
“She has mellowed a lot and at the same time…”
Joseph glanced at Min-joon quickly and said, “She might have been influenced by him quite a lot.”
“Come to think of it, Min-joon basically didn’t do anything rude when he was cooking.”
“That’s a good attitude. Sometimes I see chefs gambling in a competition, but gamble in the kitchen means you don’t respect your customers. So, you should be smart about cooking. Kaya has a good intuition, so she has tended to rely on it. In that respect, Min-joon seems to have given her a pretty good stimulus,” Joseph said in satisfaction.
He was so happy to see Min-joon and Kaya growing so rapidly since he saw them as rookies.
So much so that he got confused since they were his students.
‘Well, which head chef would not like such students?’ Joseph smiled, thinking to himself.
Emily, who looked at his smile for a moment, slowly turned her attention to the participants.
The atmosphere of the three teams was very different from each other. Brian’s team was literally breathlessly busy. On the other hand, Laura’s team was so quiet that she didn’t know what was going on. Kaya’s team was on alert even when they were cooking.
Emily fixed her eyes on Kaya’s team. The allotted cook time was almost over, so Kaya and her kitchen staff were putting the finishing touches. If Kaya hadn’t told her in advance what the dish was, she could not have figured out what it was, but she already got briefed, so it was rather easy to guess what it was.
What Kaya prepared as an appetizer was Tartar made with eel and salmon. The eel and salmon, seasoned with salt and pepper, lime juice, and olive oil, were mixed together as rice balls to make it hard to distinguish each other then the tartar was divided into two, based on its sauce.
The first sauce was just plain whipped cream. What was unique was that it was made by increasing the content of milk fat as much as possible, so the taste was not bland at all. Another one was the sauce made by mixing fresh yogurt and apple mousse.
‘Mixing apple mousse and yogurt like that?’
It wasn’t that strange of a combination. But the whipped cream was a little different. Of course, it was not sweet, but it was put on top of the tartar, which she could not understand easily. So, she couldn’t imagine how it would taste.
What came out as the main was a relatively familiar combination. Flat pappardelle pasta made with hand-picked raw noodles, beef ragu sauce, Parmesan cheese well-aged.
“Kale chips fried crispy and beef ragu pappardelle?”
“Oh, you got more creative since I saw you last, Kaya. Besides, you are more concerned with its texture.”
“Don’t you think Kaya originally cared about the texture?”
“Well, that was Kaya’s weakness. She knows how to control the texture of a dish. But, perhaps because she knows how to express and feel the taste too sensuously, she has rarely tried to bring out the charm of the texture in her dishes. But now she is crushing the kale leaves like that, it seems she wants to bring out the crispy texture while taking out the smelly fat around it.”
It was the clever dish that Joseph had repeatedly mentioned with respect to her dish.
Could she do that because he was influenced by Min-joon?
In the case of desserts, they were just plain, compared to other things. A dessert made with almond and plum tart with vanilla ice cream. In terms of the combination, there was nothing special. Looking at the dessert, Emily muttered in a quiet voice, “In some respects, this mission is more important to the team leaders, not the team members.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Well, the participants aren’t going to drop out of the competition as long as they are not in the last place, right? But the team leaders are different. It’s true they’re working as professional chefs now, but they are not sure if they’re falling behind their professional peers. They are similar in their cooking level, and they are now in a similar working environment. So, if they fail to stand out here…” Emily blurred, shrugging. She didn’t have to say more.
Min-joon, who overheard Emily’s words through the speaker, looked at Kaya silently.
“Aren’t you worried?” Martin said, swallowing.
When Min-joon pointed to the cameras, Martin whispered, “If you speak in a small voice where you stand now, you are not disturbing them.”
“Why ain’t I worried?”
“Who are you most worried about?”
“You are asking me too obvious a question. Don’t you think your question is not creative at all as a broadcaster?”
When Min-joon sharply retorted, Martin chuckled as if he was a bit embarrassed. He didn’t mind Martin’s way of asking, though, because it clearly showed he was more nervous than him about what kind of results Kaya would get pretty soon.
“You said a moment ago you’re sure of Kaya’s victory. You look pretty nervous, though, Min-joon.”
“I am convinced that Kaya’s cuisine is the most delicious among them. But you don’t win just because you make the most delicious dish in this competition. The thing is whether your dish fits the mission for this season.”
“Oh, I think I have to edit that section of your remarks,” said Martin with a smile.
Min-joon turned his attention to the judges. The participants began to put down their course dishes on the table one by one. The judges first headed to the table with Kaya team’s dishes. Joseph opened his mouth in a calm voice.
“Do you think you made good dishes?” he asked Kaya.
“Oh, you have come to my table first,” she said, emphasizing their first visit to her table.
When the judges flinched at that, she said with a pretty confident smile.
“I guess you have two reasons why you came here first. You think my dish is either too good or too poor. As you know, they usually try to eat the most delicious or the least delicious first, not something in between.”
“So, what do you think, Kaya? In your case, is it the best or the worst?”
“Well, I would say none of it.”
Joseph’s eyebrows wriggled at her unexpected response.
Kaya, noticing his embarrassed eyes, replied with a satisfying smile, “I don’t like expressions like ‘the best’. I think my dish is fantastic.”
“To be honest, I’m afraid I can’t agree yet.”
“Well, I think you can’t help but let out a cheer. Please try it.”
When she said that, he lifted the fork with an awkward expression. Then, he put the tartar, which was rolled small like sushi, in his mouth. At that moment, Joseph’s eyelashes began to tremble without being noticed. Emily and Takeshi, who picked the forks, put the tartar with whipped cream in their mouths and looked surprised immediately.
But it was still too early for them to comment. They put another tartar in their mouths.
Min-joon watched them silently.
‘The cooking score is definitely good.’
Tartar, the appetizer, was 8. The main dish, beef ragu pappardelle, was 9. And tart and ice cream as the dessert was 7.
However, what Min-joon noticed most was the composition score, not the individual cooking score.
[Kaya Reuters’ British Three Course]
List: eel and salmon tartar with apple mousse and yogurt, and whipped cream, pappardelle with Parmesan cheese and beef ragu sauce, tart with plums and almonds, and vanilla ice cream.
Average Cooking Score: 8/10
Composition score: 10/10
*Evaluation: This is a three-course dinner with a British sensibility. The creative and authentic cooking style stands out here, and even if you’re not a gourmet, you can enjoy it as much as you can. The connection between the courses is so smooth, so even if you are full, you won’t get bored.
After checking Kaya’s composition score of 10, Min-joon did not expect the judges’ feedback on each of her dishes. In fact, he wanted to hear what they would comment after trying everything including the dessert. And it didn’t take long for the judges to put down their forks on the table. Emily said with a stupid expression as if she was possessed by magic, “Is this what you have intended?”
Kaya nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Well, I enjoyed the taste of each plate, and the appetizer and the main seemed to add up even more taste. Even this simple dessert is so gorgeous beyond description…”
“It was very nice to see the main dish itself. It was especially impressive that you crushed the kale chips before putting them on top. This little difference distinguishes the pro from the amateur. It was a recipe that made me appreciate you’re a pro, Kaya. At the same time, I could feel you guys worked as one team to make this great dish,” Takesh said.
Kaya smiled at their positive feedback then said, “At the same time, I think you must have felt how important Min-joon is to me.”
Like she said, it wasn’t just the way he cooked that she learned from him.
And it was the bad things rather than the good ones that affected one the most.
