When the junior chef informed him of the Choters Guide chefs’ arrival, Yohei took a towel and wiped his face and hands in a calm manner. After roughly lifting his slightly wet bangs, Yohei looked back at the door.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He walked out of the kitchen. It was too late for him to hesitate. He could no longer see that his boss Yoshimoto just satisfied with the remains of glory that had disappeared a long time ago even if it was a happier and more comfortable path for Yoshimoto.
‘Even though you may be unhappy, you have to be a real chef.’
Yohei thought his boss had better be a happy clown rather than an unhappy chef. Yohei remained wedded to such thinking. Maybe he was stubborn, but that was the way he protected his boss chef Yoshimoto. It didn’t already matter to him whether his approach was right or not. He already made the decision, and he was not going to hide behind it.
‘I hear Kaya’s new recipe is fantastic!’
Those in the cooking industry not only in New York but also in other areas who kept an eye on the latest trend of cooking were already aware of the fact that Kaya’s recipe was not a simple ordinary recipe. As a matter of fact, people’s reaction to the Choters chefs was really enthusiastic. If there was anything that could stand in their way, it was the matter of how to verify Kaya’s cooking skills as Min-joon’s pair because they were still not completely persuaded.
But if she could prove her skills that were far beyond what she had shown until now, she could take the lead in charting the cooking trends with Min-joon.
‘Can their dishes even surpass their teacher’s?’
Yohei buttoned the chef’s suit right under his neck, even though it felt tightened. Even though he was crazy enough to ask Min-joon and Kaya to punish his boss chef, he didn’t want to look loose to them.
“Good morning.”
He greeted the Choters chefs with an awkward smile.
Smiling at him gently, Min-joon returned his greeting softly.
“It’s nice to see you again. Is Chef Yoshimoto in now?”
“Yes. Before he serves you his dish, it looks like he is warming up a bit in the kitchen.”
While he was replying, Yohei felt he was not talking nonsense. He could not honestly tell them his boss chef didn’t want to meet them.
However, Min-joon roughly understood Yohei’s feelings, but he didn’t express them. He didn’t want to discourage such a talented chef like Yohei who cared about his teacher Yoshimoto so much while breaking his pride.
Anyway, Min-joon and Kaya immediately headed into the kitchen. The garden-like kitchen that impressed them so much still had a strange modern sensibility, as if it was the replica of a typical Japanese restaurant in the 17th century.
Soon the two were served with the most modern cuisine.
“You have sous vide ready, right?”
“Yes, I did it as instructed.”
“How about jelly, chutney, and jam?”
“It’s perfect. Check it out,” Yohei said confidently.
Kaya glanced over Yohei’s face. He seemed a bit tired. She could understand it because it was Yohei who initiated to do it out of his desire. So, he cooked it by himself, while carrying out his job as the sous chef here.
Nonetheless, there was a strong reason he couldn’t give up on this cuisine. It was because the ‘Six Meat’ that Kaya made showed her remarkable sense of taste. What surprised him was not simply her concept of Six Meat. He would have readily believed it if Min-joon with a perfect palate had made it, for Min-joon had a perfect grasp of all the delicate tastes of food.
‘Maybe she, too…’
When he looked at Kaya just in case, she gave him the eye as if to alert him. Surprised by her sharp glance, Yohei quickly took out everything she ordered in advance. He placed boiled ox tongue, pork cheeks, ox head, brisket, oxtail, and cotechino in front of her. She tried all the meats, onion jam and apple chutney, red pepper, and yellow pepper jelly, and parsley air, without exception.
Then she nodded and said, “You’ve made them all right. If you cook with these ingredients, you will be able to bring out the taste as I originally envisioned.”
“Really?”
“So, where is Chef Yoshimoto? Is he still warming up?”
“Here I am!”
It was Yoshimoto, not Yohei, who answered her question. He looked at them with a grumpy expression. She turned her head with her arms folded.
Then she opened her mouth, looking at Yoshimoto.
“You aren’t kicking us out, right? Well, I felt you didn’t like us last time.”
“I don’t think you are my guest. I think you’re the guest that Yohei has called here,” Yoshimoto replied cynically. He was a stubborn and weird old man then and now. Thinking so, she shook her head.
In the meantime, Min-joon got close to Yohei, training to perfect the plating one by one. His cooking score was 0 points. As she said, Yohei’s dish was a perfect replica of her original Six Meat, based on her recipe.
‘Can Yoshimoto really accept this dish?’
This kind of dish was quite the opposite of what Yoshimoto wanted. Yoshimoto, who stuck to the old-fashioned cooking method and tradition while resisting modern cuisine, could find this dish repugnant because it mixed all sorts of modern cooking methods. But he had to accept it because the change of a dish had to be respected all the time. He should not reject it simply because it was not authentic and traditional if the change was positive.
Was it because of June’s influence? Min-joon naturally came to think about the consequences of his acceptance or his rejection. If he could accept it, it wouldn’t be bad for Yoshimoto or the Choters chefs because his acceptance would mean his willingness to break his stubbornness and reconcile with Min-joon and Kaya, which would also help him mend fences with them. He could also be regarded as a chef who was generous enough to accept the outsiders’ criticism of his cuisine and cooking methods.
And Yoshimoto’s change wasn’t bad for the Choters chefs, Min-joon and Kaya. As a matter of fact, those who opposed the two famed chefs tried to unite behind Yoshimoto, but the moment they lost the protective shield of Yoshimoto, they would not be able to raise their unjustified criticism of the Choters chefs.
What if Yoshimoto wouldn’t accept their advice?
At that moment, Yohei went to Yoshimoto with a plate.
“Chef Yoshimoto!”
Yoshimoto looked at him with mixed feelings. Of course, he must have felt that the reason why Yohei called the Choters chefs here was not because Yohei just wanted him to bury the hatchet and reconcile with them.
“So, you have so many complaints against me, Yohei?”
“This is a great dish. That’s my conclusion from the moment I heard about the recipe, or while I was making it, or when I tried it. I kept all the basic rules of the cuisine that you taught me, but this dish reminded me of the vision and taste I failed to notice until now. I think you can feel the same when you try it.”
“You’re really making me embarrassed, Yohei.”
Yoshimoto lamented for a moment. Yohei couldn’t raise his head and look up at his teacher, so he bowed his head. Yoshimoto felt guilty for the fact that Yohei was guilty. He lifted the chopsticks with a tired look.
“Give me some. Let me taste it.”
As if he already expected that his teacher would not use a knife or a fork, Yohei cut the jellies into six equal parts. As a result, Yoshimoto could pick up everything with the chopsticks at once and take it to his mouth.
But his face didn’t change at all. Every time he took the chopsticks to his mouth, he seemed to be resigned to the delicate taste of the dish.
After trying some, Yoshimoto muttered like an old man, “Did you want to show this to me so much?”
Of course, he didn’t talk to Min-joon or Kaya.
Yohei replied, “The times are changing. It is not time you were stuck with your old glory, Chef Yoshimoto. It’s time you actively tried to find a new glory.”
“I’ve already found and won a lot of glories. Why should I keep cooking for glory?”
“Because you like that glory,” Yohei replied in a troubled voice.
Looking into Yoshimoto’s blank eyes, Yohei continued, “You started cooking to achieve that glory. And you are still pursuing it. Do you remember what you said to you? You said there’s a time when the chef wants to lie to himself. You might want to tell yourself this dish is enough, but that’s not true.”
“Are you going to make me a liar?”
“I’m thinking of making you stop lying.”
Yohei looked at the empty plate that contained the six meats. And he smiled with a sad expression then said, “Even if we are tired, people are not. This is reality and our future.
What we have seen is an art we have created by cooking. The time has come when chefs have to become artists. And I want to walk the path with you, not alone, in this age.”
“Hahahahaha.”
Yoshimoto burst into laughter. Rather than being happy, he smiled an empty smile. It was natural he laughed like that because his adorable student Yohei was now asking him to wake up and face the reality.
But Yoshimoto felt he was still stubborn deep down. He didn’t want to accept this change. He was gripped by his old-fashioned thinking that the dishes that he enjoyed during his time and the dishes that were popular in his times were still the best.
Still gripped by his stubbornness and greed, Yoshimoto turned to Kaya and Min-joon.
He looked at the future Yohei was talking about.
“What did you say the name of this dish was?”
“Six meat.”
“Six meat…”
He uttered a brief groan then paused for a moment.
“This is fantastic…”
Finally, Yoshimoto recognized that he had to change.
Kaya looked at Min-joon, who also looked at her and gently smiled.
There would be nothing more childish to argue who won or lost in this situation.
Anyway, Min-joon and Kaya won.
