Chapter 44

It was obvious from her voice that she really wanted to brighten up the vibe. He didn’t know whether to call that fake or innocent. Cho Min Joon didn’t know.

However, what he did know was that he felt better. People felt sad when they heard mean things, but the ones saying it felt sad as well. There was no way Cho Min Joon could say something mean and feel okay afterward.

He didn’t know if Chloe knew that and tried to brighten up the mood, or if she just hated how awkward it was. Nevertheless, Cho Min Joon felt thankful to Chloe. It was all thanks to her that it felt less awkward.

“I don’t have that disease.”

Cho Min Joon got up with a smirk. “Me neither.” Hugo got up. After that, all of the members got up together. Same with Peter and Kaya. They couldn’t stay out of this opportunity. Cho Min Joon looked at Kaya and said, “I think we should make what we’re thinking of making tomorrow. What do you think, Chef?”

Kaya listened to Cho Min Joon’s question but tensed up when he said ‘chef’. So instead, Hugo responded with an exaggerated face, “Come to think of it, you’re the head chef even if you’re temporary. I’ll call you chef, too, Chef.”

“Me, too, Chef.”

“Chef? That sounds good. I feel like we’re in a real kitchen. Are you okay with that, Chef?”

Both Joanne and Chloe smiled at Kaya. Kaya tried to keep her face straight, but her ears were red. Kaya responded, “Just… fix those recipes.”

“Yes, Chef!”

Hugo answered as if he was in the military. Kaya kept her mouth shut after that.

The cooking proceeded in a more comfortable environment. The team members began making their dishes, and the same went for Cho Min Joon. He began making crab bisque.

In Korea, most thought of bisque as a soup made with ground seafood, but that was only half true. To be more exact, bisque was a dish where the broth was made from fish and seafood. There was no need to grind anything.

Cho Min Joon reached for the vegetables first. Celery, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and olive oil. Cho Min Joon chopped the vegetables and put it into boiling water. That was how vegetable broth was made.

For most bisques, chicken or fish broth was more commonly used, but in order to do that, Cho Min Joon had to use something already made, and Cho Min Joon would rather make vegetable broth than do that. And vegetable broth was also the best way to make the other flavors come alive in the cleanest way possible.

He put the broth on the stove and began cleaning the crab. The type of crab was Dungeness crab, one of the most commonly eaten types in America. It was very big in size. It weighed around 1 kilogram.

But he preferred them big. Cho Min Joon twisted its ligaments and carefully peeled off the shell. To take out the crab meat before it was cooked was easy work for someone who worked with crab every day, But Cho Min Joon wasn’t so familiar with it, so he had to be cautious. If he used too much strength, it was possible to break it.

‘Maybe the predicted score is 7 because this part is hard.’

Cho Min Joon smirked. After putting the crab meat on a plate, Cho Min Joon just had to pour the hot bisque over it.

“How’s it going, Min Joon?”

“I’m half done.”

“Whoa, already?”

Chloe was surprised. Cho Min Joon glanced at her. Chloe said she would make the bass, but she was cleaning fish instead. Cho Min Joon asked, “Do you need help?”

“No, I’m almost done.”

“Let me know if you do. I’m almost done.”

“Okay.”

The vegetable broth was already complete. He just had to start making the bisque.

Cho Min Joon put the heat to medium and put butter and canola oil on the pan. Once the butter was melted, he added German shallot. Shallot, which was a type of onion, was thinner and less intense in flavor. When one wanted to use onion but felt it was too strong, shallot was the way to go.

After sautéing the shallot, he added the broth, cream, salt, and pepper. After that, it was the crab’s turn. To be more exact, he had to add its shell and intestines. After boiling that for 5 minutes, he had to boil it again with white wine.

After that, he had to take out the bisque with a strainer. He couldn’t let intestines and shells float inside it. So the better the filter, the better the results.

He poured the soup onto the plate with the crab meat and sprinkled tarragon on top. The sweet yet spicy herb called tarragon was very popular among the French. He believed that it would make the simple taste of crab bisque come alive.

Cho Min Joon tasted some of the bisque soup. At first, he didn’t feel much. It was sweet and salty, followed by a savory flavor.

But when he came to his senses, he was smiling. That was the kind of flavor it had. One that made him smile. Cho Min Joon put a piece of crab meat into his mouth. It was soft and cut through like tofu. He was able to chew it with his tongue alone, and there was no fishy scent whatsoever.

“Is it good?”

Hugo glanced over in the middle of cooking. Cho Min Joon answered with a smile, and he understood. Hugo stirred his puree as he showed him a look of desperation.

“Can I have a taste?”

“No. If you taste it now, you won’t feel anything later. The first bite is very important.”

“I’ll just evaluate it now then. Let me taste it.”

“No. The smell of your puree contaminated your nose and mouth. I can’t give you my bisque right now.”

“Ugh, you’re so strict.”

Hugo grumbled as he looked away. Cho Min Joon smiled. Everyone was in the final stages of their cooking. Hugo, Chloe, and Peter, who were in charge of mains, didn’t touch any meat and were cooking their sauces. Actually, not Peter. He had already put the turkey into the oven.

‘Did he change his recipe?’

There was a commotion because he said he would serve turkey with mustard. If Peter had common sense, he would have changed it.

Cho Min Joon looked around. His eyes fixed on Kaya next. She was sitting in a chair with a bored look on her face. It was understandable. They were preparing dinner, but they were also practicing for tomorrow’s mission, and Kaya was the head chef, so she didn’t have a frypan of her own.

“I’m done with the bead.” Carlos, who was in charge of breadmaking, spoke up. Unlike his Brazillian name, his face looked Caucasian, and his eyes were so blue it was hard to look into them for too long, but the bagel that came out of the oven looked like the skin of Brazilian people.

Kaya got up from her seat as if she was too bored.

“Great. Let’s eat.”

Everyone stopped cooking and sat down. Carlos’ bagels were baked well, but it didn’t suit Cho Min Joon’s taste. Cho Min Joon didn’t even like bagels. He didn’t like the cream cheese that went with it either. After eating half of his bagel with cream cheese, Cho Min Joon got up. It was his turn next.

The crab meat bisque was an appetizer. Cho Min Joon placed a bowl of crab bisque in front of all the members. He was excited in a different way from when he had judges taste his dishes because he was going to be evaluated by fellow competitors. It was different to be graded by the teacher than his friends, but according to his system, there was no need to worry.

[Crab Meat Bisque Soup]

Freshness: 81%

Origin: (Too many ingredients for an accurate calculation)

Quality: Medium-High (Average)

Cooking Score: 7/10

The quality was only medium-high, but he couldn’t help it. The crab wasn’t fresh but frozen, so he was satisfied with his cooking score.

Cho Min Joon asked with a nervous look on his face, “Is it good?”

“… It’s amazing. I’ve never had raw crab meat before, but it’s so savory. Not fishy at all.”

“Raw fish with bisque, huh…? What an interesting combination.”

They all gave their opinions. They weren’t speaking out of formality. When it came to cooking, they told it like it was. Cho Min Joon smiled out of relief, and Hugo smirked at that. He was handsome in a Spanish kind of way, but he smiled in a cringy way.

“You have the perfect palate, yet you get nervous when other people evaluate you.”

“Of course. My taste isn’t the ultimate standard.”

“Well, don’t worry. Anyone will like this as long as they don’t have an allergy or a fear.”

“Good.”

Cho Min Joon smiled and looked over at Kaya and Peter. The two of them had yet to speak. Peter opened his mouth with an awkward look on his face

“It’s good.”

“… Yeah.”

Kaya answered after Peter, and in response, Peter glanced at Kaya, but Kaya looked away. When Cho Min Joon saw that, he sighed out of relief. It was strange that they were getting along after that fight, but Kaya’s attitude was still not up to par. After all, she was the head chef.

It felt like he was the head chef right now. He didn’t like it. If he had picked the head chef ball, things would have gone a lot smoother because he would have had the right.

But right now, he was just a team member. It was silly to act like Kaya’s guardian and do her work. Cho Min Joon closed his mouth and looked away. Meanwhile, Chloe was approaching with her grilled bass on top of a Gueridon cart. It had a white sauce on top, which looked like veloute sauce.

He just had one thing to say after tasting it. It was delicious. Considering how difficult it was to cook fish, it was crisp and grilled in a professional way that made it comparable to steak.

The veloute sauce was a masterpiece as well. It looked like carbonara sauce from afar, but its not-so-greasy flavor brought the bass to a whole new level. The juices from the bass and the veloute sauce tasted like one.

Cho Min Joon was in awe as he said, “This is really, really good, Chloe.”

Chloe beamed, but instead of being happy, she asked a question, “Really? How many points?”

Cho Min Joon smirked as he answered. How long was she going to keep asking for the scores?

“8 points.”

“Heh… So this is what an 8 looks like.”

Chloe stared blankly at her dish. The team members changed their expressions and took another look at the bass. They knew it tasted good, but knowing it was an 8 made it taste even more luxurious and refined.

But that sweet moment shattered in no time. It was Peter’s turn next. He didn’t do anything in particular, but the problem was his turkey. He cooked the turkey after stuffing it with herbs and vegetables, and it wasn’t so bad, but it wasn’t good either.

To be more exact, it was like home cooking. He added his homemade brown sauce and put green onions in it… But that was also the problem. The brown sauce tasted burnt. This was not acceptable for a restaurant.

The most frustrating part of all was the fact that Peter asked Cho Min Joon how many points it was, and he looked like he was looking forward to hearing it, but he couldn’t tell him a higher score than the one he saw. He didn’t lie when it came to food.

“5 points.”

“Out of 10?”

“Yeah.”

“… Forget it. Eat without me. I’m going to go.”

Peter left the kitchen with a face filled with annoyance, disappointment, and negativity. Despite the down vibe, Cho Min Joon remembered something.

“Hey, he forgot to do his dishes.”