Chapter 29

Cho Min Joon grumbled as he grabbed the ingredients. Grapes, garlic, brown sauce, veal stock, tomatoes, tomato base, red wine, vermouth, and salt.

By the time he returned 2 minutes had already passed. Cho Min Joon sliced the grapes into the pot and added the vermouth. Vermouth was a liquor made of wine, brandy, spices, and herbs.

There were two types of vermouth. There were those that tasted sweet and those that tasted bitter.

And they were divided into two other categories as well. Those made with white wine and those made with red wine. The one Cho Min Joon used was sweet vermouth made with white wine. It made the color of the grapes come alive while also complimenting the sweet flavors.

There was no need to boil it just yet. It wasn’t time. But if they had used a commercial demiglace sauce, it wouldn’t have mattered. That would have meant they just had to pour the demiglace sauce as soon as the puree was done.

However, they planned to make the demiglace sauce from scratch. They had to boil the grapes as soon as the demiglace sauce was complete. And it all had to be completed by the time they grilled the Fois Gras. Cho Min Joon would probably have to complete the sauce.

Cho Min Joon went on to dice the garlic. But the buzzer went off and Allen shouted, “Switch!”

All of the cooking stations bustled busily. Cho Min Joon put down his knife and backed off. Kaya then grabbed the knife and began dicing the garlic. She then fried the garlic on the pan and poured red wine onto it. At that moment, flames came shooting up from the pan.

Flambe. It was a way of burning away the odors of the ingredients that were being fried using alcohol. Kaya’s hands then stopped. It wasn’t because she forgot what to do. It was just that she had nothing to do but stir until the sauce was boiled down.

She thought it was going to be tedious to just wait. Allen approached and asked, “What are you thinking of making?”

“We’re going to slice the Fois Gras, grill it, and put a grape puree on top.”

“It looks like you’re making the demiglace sauce yourself… Do you think you can do it in time?”

“We’ll have to try,” Kaya responded with a sharp voice.

At that moment, Allen flinched and stared at Kaya. He wasn’t sure if she was mad that he didn’t taste her last dish or if she was just speaking with her normally feisty personality.

But that didn’t mean it was in Allen’s place to say something. Allen coughed and looked at Cho Min Joon.

“Seeing from your order, Kaya will be cooking the Fois Gras while Min Joon will finish off the sauce.”

“That’s right.”

“Kaya, have you cooked Fois Gras before?”

“No, I’ve never even tasted it before.”

“Min Joon, what about you?”

“Me neither.”

To be more exact, he had tasted it before. But it was just from a can in France. So he couldn’t call it a proper Fois Gras.

Allen spoke in a low voice, “Don’t mistake Fois Gras for an average liver. Goose liver is more oily and odorous than other livers. And you’re not supposed to cover the odor, but make it come alive. Please remember that.”

“Yes, Sir.”

After Cho Min Joon’s answer, Allen left the station. Kaya glanced at Allen and then focused back on the dish. He wanted to say something to Kaya, but they had to focus on the dish first. But then again, all that she had to do at the moment was wait.

“Kaya…”

As soon as Cho Min Joon opened his mouth, the buzzer went off. They quickly switched. Cho Min Joon glanced at the pan. The broth was boiled down and bubbling. Cho Min Joon asked, “Kaya, did you boil half of it down?”

“I think so.”

“Okay.”

Cho Min Joon added veal stock into the pan. He then reduced the heat to low and boiled it slowly. He pulled out a new pan and fried the tomato base. At that moment, the buzzer went off again. Cho Min Joon backed off as he told Kaya.

“When the tomato sauce turns brown, add it to the sauce. Add the spices and fresh tomatoes, too.”

“I know.”

15 minutes had passed. And they only had a total of 60 minutes. And the final 5 minutes had to be spent on cooking the Fois Gras. So they only had 40 minutes to make the sauce.

‘… Do we have enough time?’

He wasn’t sure. But that was how it was for dishes that were made with broths such as the demiglace sauce as the base. Even for the master chefs, they had to do it strictly according to the rules in order to get the right flavor. So it was hard to expect perfect flavors to come out of a dish that was made quickly in a place like this.

Of course, they had his system by their side. And the recipe score was good. 7 points. For a sauce made in 55 minutes, that was a great score. But if they happened to use too much heat, a completely different dish could come out. So there was no time to let their guards down.

Cho Min Joon watched Kaya. She put the tomato base into the sauce and added thyme, pepper, and fresh tomatoes into the broth. This was to get rid of the odors of the broth.

At this point, it was really a battle against time. Kaya used the remainder of her time removing the foam on top of the demiglace sauce. The buzzer went off. There were only 40 minutes remaining.

Cho Min Joon immediately heated the pot containing the grapes and Vermouth. It usually took 30 minutes to complete a puree. He had to start now to finish it on time.

‘Why can’t they just let us do this as a team?’

Such thoughts crossed his mind, but he understood. Even the other tables had difficulty getting along with their teams. And it wasn’t because they exchanged the recipes properly. But when the recipes were explained, many components were left out. And those missing parts were often replaced with personal preferences. And that was completely unexpected for the other partner.

The result depended on whether they could respect each other’s changes. And most couldn’t help but remain stubborn. After all, they trusted themselves more than anyone else.

However, Kaya and Cho Min Joon were different. They respected each other’s ways, but that didn’t mean they weren’t stubborn either. They just had similar ways of cooking. Even the way they dealt with the stove and knife. And Cho Min Joon knew why.

Kaya Reuters. That name. The name Cho Min Joon was the most jealous of. The person he wanted to imitate the most. He had watched hundreds of Kaya Reuters videos. Videos of how she prepared and cooked dishes.

The truth was that Kaya was Cho Min Joon’s teacher. She was his mentor. For Cho Min Joon, who wanted to live on his dream of becoming a chef, she brought him back up.

For that reason, it made sense why they were so similar. Cho Min Joon grew to cook just like Kaya. After all, she was his biggest influence in the world of cooking. That was also why he was on her side until now.

‘I can’t let her fail.’

Cho Min Joon’s lips slanted sideways.

She saved his life. Even though she didn’t mean to, she was the one who motivated Cho Min Joon to step into the cooking world. She was the one who taught him that cooking was a beautiful thing. It was possible that he made her into his teacher in a one-sided way.

But Cho Min Joon knew how Kaya would grow from now on. He also knew her worth as a chef. And her worth was proven through his program.

Kaya planted a passion for cooking within Cho Min Joon. So he couldn’t let himself be the reason why she would be disqualified. Cho Min Joon carefully stirred the contents of the pot. If he let the sauce sit for too long, it was going to stick. He had to be careful.

The buzzer went off. Cho Min Joon switched off with Kaya. She picked up where he left off. She removed the foam. Kaya removed the foam and sighed.

“I knew this would happen, but this is boring.”

“It’s all about patience. Hang in there.”

Cho Min Joon cheered her on with a smile. Kaya asked while dripping in sweat, “How are the other teams doing? Well?”

“I think we have the best teamwork.”

“… Can you call this teamwork?”

“At least we know what both of us are doing.”

Kaya didn’t answer. The buzzer went off. 30 minutes had passed, meaning 30 minutes were remaining. Kaya sighed as she watched Cho Min Joon stir the pot.

“I feel like this is kind of relaxing. I like that we can switch off to rest.”

“You’re being awfully positive.”

“Do I look like a negative person to you?”

In response, Cho Min Joon thought for a moment. What kind of person was Kaya? The person that he saw in the videos was confident and full of energy. At least after the Grand Chef. But before that, Kaya was different. She was confident, but it was all a bluff, and behind it was hidden anxiousness. He thought of that and naturally answered, “You don’t seem like the optimistic type.”

“Not many are. You have to be stupid to be optimistic.”

Kaya spoke in a sad voice. And that voice made Cho Min Joon curious about the life she had lived. Even on TV, Kaya didn’t really answer any questions about her past. So he didn’t know about her story in detail. He also remembered what she said not long ago.

‘You have no idea what it means to grow up in the slums of America.’

What did that mean? Cho Min Joon had no idea. He didn’t grow up in America, and all of the videos only showed Kaya looking happy. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth. As much as Kaya was a ray of hope for him, he wanted to help her as well.

“No need to be optimistic. Just believe in yourself. I wasn’t lying during my interview. You’re a talented cook, and you have a lot of skill. So don’t be nervous as if you’re a rookie.”

He didn’t want to see her look so nervous. A competitor. No matter how many times he reminded himself that she was his competitor, she was still his teacher and idol. And he didn’t want someone like that to look so down.

Kaya didn’t answer. And Cho Min Joon had no idea what went through her head.

The buzzer went off. There was only 10 minute remaining. That meant he had to wrap up the sauce.

Cho Min Joon filtered the puree. The remnants remained in the strainer while the pale puree was placed on top of the glass like cream. And the next step was simple. He just had to mix in the demiglace sauce with the puree.

It probably looked foolish and funny to some. After all that time of making the demiglace sauce, all they were adding was just two spoonfuls. But he believed that the demiglace sauce was what made all the difference.

And the results of that belief presented itself.