“All French chefs should taste this,” Bastien muttered wistfully.
This was not just a good dish. At this moment, the quality of this one table meal was a secondary thing because it showed the possibility of opening a new way for the French cuisine industry, which was becoming increasingly stagnant due to French nationalism.
By tasting the Min-joon pair’s Asian meals, Bastien seemed to know what the French cuisine currently lacks, and what to do to make the Asian meals take root in France. That was why he wanted to keep emphasizing that he wanted to have all French chefs, as well as food critics, taste the pair’s Asian dishes.
Perhaps the pair’s dishes might surpass the wall that even the French chefs have not been able to cross, a wall that they thought was invisible or not existent at all. They would find that the top of the mountain they had climbed was just one of the countless peaks.
It wasn’t that difficult to find the basis for Bastien’s judgment like that because the spectators at the venue made ecstatic expressions after tasting the pair’s wonton soup. It was natural they showed such a reaction because it was completely different from the soup they had been eating in France.
Asian broth dishes were easily found even in France. For example, they could eat Japanese ramen soup or Vietnamese pho rice soup, let alone various Chinese soup dishes.
But the wonton soup they tasted here was more rich and delicious than any other soup they had ever had. So much so that they could not believe how the pair could bring out such a fantastic taste by boiling the meat for dozens of hours.
The wonton soup made by Min-joon and Kaya suited the Asian style they had in mind and at the same time, it was far from the typical Asian soup they had experienced. Many people vaguely think that Asian cuisine has a healthy and bland taste, but most of the Asian food that they actually had was oily dishes.
For example, Japanese ramen and Vietnamese rice noodles, the most popular soup dishes right now, were like that. Ramen tasted slightly different, depending on the type of ramen, but the tonkotsu-type ramen, made from pork broth, was completely different. No matter how much they got used to greasy dishes, Westerners who tried tonkotsu ramen had to wonder whether this was properly cooked because of its oily taste.
It was almost the same case with the Vietnamese rice noodles. Looking at the fatty oil on the soup, those who had sort of vague illusions of Asian food had no choice but to lose interest while smelling the pungent taste of cilantro and pickled onions.
But the Min-joon pair’s wonton soup made Bastien revive his vague fantasy of the Asian soups that he had lost for a long time. And he could discover the same fantasy in each of the Asian dishes on one table.
“How can I grade this dish…”
Obviously, Bastien wanted to give a perfect score of 10, but he had to stop for a moment when they found they were so anxious to do so. He wondered if they made the right judgment or if they made the judgment only with a completely subjective impression instead of a rational judgment.
But his hesitation didn’t last long. Even if he made the judgment based on senses rather than reason, he felt this kind of dish that stimulated his senses perfectly was well worth 10 points. It was the moment when he was about to announce the score when Min-joon presented another plate in front of the judges.
“It’s a dessert.”
“Oh, you prepared a dessert, too!”
The dessert Min-joon and Kaya prepared was a small rice cake that seemed to be less than a bite-sized one. More precisely, it was jelly rice cake. The rice cake coated on top of the peach jelly made with agar was still relatively juicy, with powdered milk ice cream sprinkled on it.
The judges chewed and swallowed the rice cake then sipped the peach wine prepared by Min-joon. Honestly, they were a bit worried when the dessert came out because they felt they would not be likely to be impressed with any other dish because they were already overwhelmed by the fantastic taste of all the Asian dishes on one table.
However, this dessert today was faithful only to its role as the last of the whole meal course on one table. The rice cake crunched between the teeth covered their tongues as if a moist jelly popped out, and when the light taste of milk ice cream was mixed with the sweetness of peach jelly and the chewiness of the rice cakes, they made a smile before they knew it. Although rice cakes were not popular in the West, the judges felt this kind of rice cake might change their existing prejudices against it.
When they swallowed the rice cakes and drank wine, they were more impressed because they could relish in the taste of the jelly rice cakes again, which they had already swallowed. More precisely, it was aroma, not taste. The overwhelming scent of the jelly rice cake came out through their mouths and noses as if it was bringing out the scent by burning the taste.
Soon they emptied the plates.
“… 10 points,” Parnella muttered in a feeble voice as if that was all she could evaluate. She didn’t add any additional explanation or comment. She didn’t say why she gave a perfect score because if she did, she would let the other participants’ dishes become dry and stiff while they were waiting for the judges.
“I want to give 10, too. How about you, Bastien, Asher?”
“I wonder if there are any of us here who can not give 10 points for this one table Asian course. If you don’t, it’s like you’re confessing you know nothing about cooking. This is a dish that forces us to give 10 points.”
“I agree. No matter how much I try to find a black mark against it, I can’t. Of course, I can insist on more perfect dishes because of my pride, but I’m afraid I might end up being ridiculed.”
While the judges were evaluating the Min-joon pair’s dish like that, there was intense tension on Dobby’s face, which could hardly be found.
Watching him nervous and tense, Eva made fun of him, saying, “You have been so conceited until now. Are you scared of him now?”
“…”
“Hey, why are you looking so serious? Are you really nervous?”
“Because I can imagine it.”
“About what?”
“His dish.”
Dobby muttered in a low voice. Just by looking at the judges’ reaction and Min-joon’s explanation, he could figure out how delicious these dishes would taste. And the taste he imagined was perfect. Although Min-joon and Kaya have shown many different dishes until now, he thought the pair’s dishes might not have deep and rich taste despite their cooking talent.
But the pair’s dishes today clearly showed they were not chefs simply imitating other chefs.
Dobby muttered in a low voice, “I still thought the pair were still young. I thought they had a long way to go before establishing themselves as competent professional chefs.”
“Now you have clearly realized that Min-joon and Kaya are as competent as you, right?”
“No, I’ve never underestimated them. I just thought they could cook well because of their talent.”
Dobby knew he was wrong. There were many talented chefs, but not many of them could produce such a unique dish like the pair. So, he felt it might be difficult or even impossible to take back the knife he had left with Min-joon before this contest.
While Dobby was clenching his fists, the judges revealed their evaluation of the Min-joon pair’s Asian dishes. 10 points. 10 points. 10 points, 10 points. The four judges all gave perfect points.
An average score of 10.
The reporters gathered at the contest were busy trying to check out whether the Paris contest had ever produced such a pair with perfect scores, and if any, how many times there were.
Everyone except the reporters was just speechless at their perfect scores. They could not understand why they were silent at the moment
‘Perhaps it’s not because they made perfect dishes that they got the perfect scores.’
And their perfect score was not a decisive fact that would determine their final victory. They just showed the judges that the Asian dinners they made could appeal to the judges and the spectators. And they proved that it wasn’t even the level that confirmed the championship of this tournament. Now the two have proved to the world that they were not bound by Western cuisine only and that even if they tried to cook any other country’s dishes, they could produce the kind of fine dishes that were comparable to the master chefs of that country.
At that moment, Dobby looked at Theo and Enzo. He wondered what kind of expressions they would make in this situation, especially Enzo’s expression. Since he had lived his entire life conscious of Daniel in a competitive mood, Dobby wondered how Enzo would feel if Min-joon, that student of his competitor, achieved a cooking score that even he himself had never achieved?
However, Dobby had to give up mischievous expectation the moment he saw Enzo’s face.
‘Oh is he smiling?’
Enzo was smiling quietly, which was not bitter, nor was it empty.
His smile was so soft and kind that it had a slight happiness and longing in it.
It was rather Theo who was burning with desire to beat the Min-joon pair. Watching Min-joon and Kaya, younger than him, bringing out such a fantastic cooking score, Theo could not help but have the judges come over and evaluate his dishes.
“Well, this is the best you can achieve today, but not anymore.”
Min-joon’s average score was 10 points. As a result, it was the Dobby pair or the Enzo pair who would be eliminated in today’s semi-finals. Dobby never had the intention of dropping out without advancing into the finals because he had a reason to win this contest by all means.
“He’s really amazing,” Eva muttered in a low voice.
Dobby turned to Eva, amazed by that voice.
She asked, looking at Dobby as if his action was strange.
“Why are you so surprised? Is it so surprising to you that Min-joon is amazing?”
“Oh no, I was thinking about something about him.”
“Anyway, Min-joon sets the world on fire, as you know. Oh, that girlfriend of his, Kaya! I just wonder how such talented chefs have met like that.”
“They’re going to shake France during this contest.”
The Paris International Cooking Contest was by no means a competition that caught everybody’s eye. Of course, it was widely known to many people, but it was the parties directly concerned or gourmets who really cared about it. Nevertheless, the results of the contest have always influenced the future direction of French gastronomy such as new recipes and new cooking styles, let alone the appearance of a new star chef.
Furthermore, the current contest drew lots of interest from ordinary citizens because of several incidents in the process, including the anti-American chefs protest. In this situation, it would attract much more general attention if the Min-joon pair won in the semifinals with their Asian dishes. And their curiosity would change the French cooking world.
“The change of France is the change of Europe, and the change of Europe is the change of the world of gastronomy. Now, the Min-joon pair have left their names at an important moment in the history of the Paris cooking contest.”
“And in their minds, too.”
When the pair won finally, they would stand tall not only in Rose Island and America but around the world as chef stars.
