Chapter 353: Great Duo (7)
However, Justin felt Min-joon’s calm attitude at the moment could not be cooler. In fact, there was a tangible difference in the customers’ reaction to his dish. In the past, they just admired the sophisticated and fresh taste of his dish. But now they were different. The taste was sophisticated and fresh, but at the same time, it was so rich. This was something completely different from what they used to taste before.
‘This was the best of Kaya’s cooking that I learned.’
A smile came to Min-joon’s lips. He was happy, of course. In fact, one of the bucket lists he made when he started formally cooking was cooking right next to Kaya. Although she didn’t yet fully establish herself as a famed chef, he was satisfied with her now. It didn’t have anything to do with his feelings or reason. This was something to do with his dream.
When he cooked with Kaya, he felt himself growing more. Why did he feel so? Basically, his cooking was rooted in hers. He saw her cooking and learned from it. Discovering how she went through her life, he seriously considered pursuing his career as a chef. And he decided to devote himself to cooking.
So, there was always something similar in Min-joon and Kaya’s dishes. Their cooking propensity and direction itself might be different, but their basic cooking philosophy was similar. That was why Min-joon was sometimes ahead of Kaya in some cooking areas, sometimes he lagged behind her, and sometimes he was almost the same as her.
Interestingly, he learned something from Kaya of the future, which she herself had not yet possessed. That was why she felt somewhat weird and perplexed beyond description whenever she checked his dishes.
‘He is like a milestone that tells me where and how to go.’
So, it wasn’t surprising at all that when they cooked together, the two clicked with each other so well beyond comparison. In some respects, they were in a relationship of a teacher and a student as well as lovers looking to their bright future as a great chef couple.
And at that moment, Maya also felt the same feelings. She felt she came to realize why Min-joon’s cooking today was different from usual. She could feel Min-joon’s influence in Kaya’s cooking today, which she didn’t notice at all in the past.
‘Is their cooking similar because they are lovers? Or is it because they have influenced each other so much?’
In fact, there was no big difference either way. What mattered was Kaya could feel his influence in her cooking while he could feel her influence in his cooking. And that kind of mutual influence brought out such a big difference in their dishes today.
Just like Justin thought, their dishes were not overwhelmingly delicious or fancy. However, something more rich and unique was added to Min-joon’s dish when Kaya cooked with him.
What Justin thought was special in the dish was nothing more than just ordinary and casual in her eyes. While they used all the luxurious ingredients and recipes, they seemed to focus on having the customers eat their meals rather than enjoying the meals. Maybe he felt like that because they offered generous servings or the plating was not that refined.
They would not have served like that in a normal restaurant, so the difference was more visible. And what mattered to the two most was the customers’ response.
‘They like our food.’
The sound insulation of the food truck was not so good. No, no matter how good the sound insulation was, it was impossible for the two not to hear so many people talking outside. They heard the customers pouring out all kinds of praises such as ‘I was so impressed’ ‘It just melts in my mouth’ ‘So delicious’ etc, after emptying all the plates cleanly.
‘Oh, I now see why Chef Min-joon has been completely hooked on Chef Kaya,’ Maya thought to herself.
Kaya’s dish could not necessarily taste better than that of other demi-chefs like Min-joon or Anderson. But obviously, her cooking had something unique that couldn’t be compared with others. She realized the old-fashioned recipe into homemade style without degrading its quality.
At first, Maya felt rather jealous because Min-joon was her demi-chef. She even felt like Kaya “stole” him from her. However, by now, she could understand fully. The cooking skills of Kaya and Min-joon and their dishes were way beyond her imagination. Their pairing was clearly bringing out the best of their cooking skills much more than they could expect.
And it wasn’t just Maya who felt it. Among the customers were an old woman and a man with wrinkles on his face, who were chatting in a casual voice. They were Rachel and Dave.
“Well, the two are hitting it off much better than I expected,” Dave said.
“I heard that they were a good match when it came to cooking, but never did I think they were such a great one like this,” Rachel said in a pretty complicated voice.
Dave understood Rachel because Kaya and Min-joon took after the couple that he used to know a long time ago. Daniel and Rachel. The two were exactly like Min-joon and Kaya. They maintained a partnership that helped them improve each other’s skills.
Dave asked Rachel in a subtle voice, “Well, if they can make such fantastic food by pairing like that, I think it might be better for you to work in the same place. Just by being together, they might grow much faster than now. Of course, they are growing very fast even now…”
“I asked Min-joon when and where Kaya would find a job after her one-year contract with the Grand Chef was over. But it seems that she didn’t want to come back to Rose Island.”
“Really?”
“Well, I understand her. As you know, the two got blamed by others for being together all the time and sharing everything. If they work in the same place like Rose Island, they might look ridiculous or funny to others. Besides, if Kaya came over here, they might suspect she landed a job here because of Min-joon.”
“Isn’t it natural you can get hired thanks to your personal connections?”
Having said that, Dave looked down at the plate in his hand for a moment. What he tasted was a steak with garlic puree, seasoned with lots of Spanish onion stir-fry. It looked ordinary, but it was already unusual in that it was served with the garlic puree because it was really hard to find any food truck in the world that served steaks with puree.
Interestingly, Kaya and Min-joon made all these dishes neatly without making any single mistake. To be honest, Dave wasn’t confident if he could do the same when asked even now. Maybe he could try only after practicing it steadily while clicking with his partner for several days or even for weeks. It was an almost impossible request for him if he were asked to handle all these menus with only two chefs and one cook.
But Kaya and Min-joon succeeded. What was the reason? Was it because their cooking level was much higher than his? That was not true.
Rachel opened her mouth in a calm voice.
“I don’t know those guys, but the perfect match of Kaya and Min-joon is worth more than all of their talents put together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m scared a bit. If I can’t hold their hands now, someday I’m going to be…”
Rachel closed her mouth. But Dave could easily guess what she was trying to say.
He said in a low voice, “If you can’t hold them, just letting go of them is sometimes the right answer.”
“I wouldn’t have lived a life like this if I had been seeking the right answer,” she said in a self-mocking voice.
She said with her eyes sparkling, watching Kaya and Min-joon, “I want to have them. I want to embrace them in my arms.”
Dave didn’t answer. He turned to Kaya and Min-joon, the great duo ‘gemstones’ that even the world’s top chef covet so much.
‘No, maybe they are already close to jewels, not gemstones.’
Then who was the craftsman who had made them into jewels? Dave pondered over it seriously for a moment. Time? Had they cultivated their skills over time? But time was available to everybody, so it was not the right answer.
The most convenient answer would be their effort. But it was not the answer, either because everybody in the world made their own efforts as best as they could. Then there was only one answer left.
‘Was it luck?’
Talent, working environment, and the influence of those around them, perhaps, all these must have molded and influenced them. However, no matter how hard they tried, it was always luck that determined their basic growth potential.
Kaya and Min-joon showed talent and skills so well that it looked like they received God’s blessings or favoritism as chefs. Who could believe that the two were still young, given their masterly cooking?
So, Dave could not help but be curious whether Rachel could really have them under her wing.
Dave was a chef. Just by looking at her dishes, he could see what kind of character Kaya had, let alone Min-joon that he had already encountered several times.
Dave judged that Kaya and Min-joon could not be satisfied with working under somebody. No matter how much generous and liberal Rachel tried to be toward them, they could not be satisfied with being confined to her realm.
“So, how are you going to embrace them?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to give them all I can. If they refuse, I can’t help it, but I don’t want to imagine that.”
“Can I tell you something honestly?”
“Don’t make me nervous. Tell me.”
“I’ve always cheered for your greed because you had a reason for that. I felt you were cool when you tried to achieve your goal even if you didn’t have any particular reason. I can understand your greed now, but it’s not cool anymore.”
She didn’t respond immediately. Even before Dave was done speaking, she didn’t want to make clumsy excuses first.
Dave said, “Rachel, you have achieved it by yourself until now if you want something. But I can’t really figure out what you are trying to achieve at this point. Many people say you are looking for your successor. Is that true?”
They were done ridiculously fast. In fact, in theory, it was not impossible because seven minutes was enough for them to mix and roast various ingredients on the hot griddle.
But it was really hard for only the two to finish four dishes within seven minutes. It might be possible for them to add some variants to the bulk of ingredients they already cooked. But it was amazing that they finished it while accurately dividing the space of the iron plate so as not to mix the taste of the different ingredients.
‘Even if they prepared puree or sauce in advance…’
