Chapter 88 - Chapter 88: Fire and pig (3)

[Cho Min Joon]

Cooking Level: 7

Breadmaking Level: 5

Gourmet Tasting Level: 8

Decoration Level: 5

Level 7. He had never loved that number so dearly. It made him even happier than the 8 points that his pork received. He was now on the same level as Anderson, Kaya, and Chloe. Of course, they weren’t really on the same level… But he felt like he was catching up.

Cho Min Joon stared at that number floating in the air with loving eyes. The only problem was that across from the window was Kaya. Kaya noticed Cho Min Joon intensely staring at him and knitted her brows.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

She was bothered by it, but she was too busy to act on it. Same with Cho Min Joon. His level might have gone up, but he still had plating to do.

He purposely didn’t put much on the plates. He wasn’t doing that to copy French dishes that were very empty. He just felt that putting on too much would burden them. Each of the 7 contestants was making 3 dishes each, and they were all pork dishes. No matter how delicious they were, they were easily going to get sick of pork.

Food critics imagined the flavors of the dish before putting it in their mouths. In that case, he had to improve its visuals. For the first time, all of his dishes were 8 points. They were also the last dishes he made as a level 6. It was a meaningful time, so he wanted the outer appearance to reflect it.

Once he put a piece of meat on each of the 3 places, not even 1 minute remained. Cho Min Joon licked his dry lips as he looked at the judges. Allan, who was watching the clock, shouted with a stiff voice, “Time’s up! Hands off!”

The evaluation began. Cho Min Joon looked at the other contestants’ dishes. Only two contestants had 8-point dishes. Kaya and Anderson. Chloe had two dishes that were 8 points, but the other dish was only 7 points.

Ivanna was evaluated first. All of her dishes were 7. It was a decent score. Since the standard of this season was high, she never got the spotlight, but if Ivanna was in the last season, she would have been more recognized. Beyond her cute face, she was very skilled. It wasn’t easy for an amateur to make 7-point dishes.

The judges kept that in mind as well. Of course, they didn’t know if her dishes were 7 points or 8, but they were able to sense its level. Allan thought.

‘I can’t believe I’m disappointed by such a good dish… This season is one for the books.’

There probably wouldn’t be any more seasons with such spectacular contestants, and there was no question about a contestant with a perfect palate.

Ivanna didn’t receive praise, but she got decent compliments. Her dishes were stable. Unless they were a food critic, most people would be happy eating her dishes.

Sasha and Hugo weren’t much different. They had dishes that were 6 or 7 points. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough to pass. The judges were already troubled. They would have been more comfortable if someone made a mistake. At this rate, it was going to be hard to disqualify someone. In the end, they had to be subjective.

“Min Joon, please come on up.”

Evaluating the rest of the contestants came first. Allan looked at Cho Min Joon’s dishes with anticipation. After a certain point, he felt like he was enjoying Cho Min Joon’s dishes more than he was evaluating them. He could see that this contestant was improving, and that could be sensed on his tongue.

“Is there an order we should follow?”

“I recommend that you try the meatball first. It has the weakest flavor out of the 3.”

“Weakest flavor…”

Joseph put it into his mouth. He chewed the chewy meatball along with the flavors of paprika and red wine sauce. The paprika made it crunchy, and the soft yet chewy texture of the meatball graced the top of his mouth.

And the red wine sauce made with balsamic vinegar was pretty typical, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. Just like how one couldn’t complain that barbecue sauce tasted like barbecue sauce.

“You made the red wine sauce in a way that many people would love. It’s not just sweet. It has the perfect level of acidity that goes perfectly with the bitterness of the red wine… Where did you learn this? You can’t find this stuff out on the internet… Oh, that’s right. You’re able to see recipes for any dish you see.”

Allan nodded in understanding. He could find out the recipe for any dish. That was hard to believe, which made it hard to always remember.

He probably didn’t need a mentor either. He just had to go to good restaurants and try their food. Every time he tried a dish that chefs tried to hide, he would become that much more skilled as a chef.

His fork headed back toward the plates. This time, it was the fried pork belly in soy sauce. Unlike the ones he had tried before, this one was particularly chewy, and the juices and sauce soaked his entire tongue. On top of the oily flavors containing Hong Kong herbs and vegetables, the cooking alcohol remained in the sauce. He felt like he was eating at a gourmet Hong Kong restaurant. It was made with so much care that he couldn’t believe it was made in just 2 hours.

Emily opened her mouth in awe.

“I’m impressed that you made this in 2 hours. I thought fried pork belly in soy sauce was all about the time spent on it…”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. Where else could I eat such a delicious dish for free?”

Emily smiled. She looked like a fox at times, but when she evaluated dishes, she looked innocent like a little girl. That was also why Cho Mn Joon couldn’t dislike her.

‘I just wish she’d stop telling me to become a food critic.’

Cho Min Joon smiled bitterly. They moved on to the last dish. The pork ribs. The judges looked more serious than before. Joseph said, “As you probably know, the pork ribs are the most important because it will truly prove your abilities. Also…”

Joseph squinted his eyes and looked over at the pork ribs. He then slowly opened his mouth.

“On the outside, it looks flawless. It is well marinated, and it’s not burnt, and the meat is seared perfectly. Not burning it is basic yet difficult. Especially if you’re grilling it with sauce.”

Joseph then put it in his mouth. Sauce made of barbecue sauce and soy sauce. It was a flavorful combination, but the wine, vinegar, and the lemon juice made it less greasy, and it also had to do with the fact that rather than pouring the sauce on top, he simply marinated it before cooking.

He felt that Cho Min Joon had grown so much. Without attention to detail, this dish was hard to complete perfectly. That didn’t mean the flavor was much better than the other 2 dishes. There wasn’t much difference in terms of flavor or completion, but anyone who knew about cooking could feel it. The care and attention that went into the pork ribs were not normal. Allan said, “… I’ll be honest. I’m sorry, Min Joon. I didn’t think it was likely that you would win, but after trying your dishes today, I’ve changed my mind. It’s possible that you could win this thing.”

His voice sounded serious. Cho Min Joon smiled without a word. He felt that it would be awkward if he said something. Luckily, Emily saved him.

“We can’t seem to criticize any dishes today, and Min Joon, I think you’ve shown your very best out of all the missions on this show. Actually, every time you complete a mission, I can sense your improvement. I look forward to the next mission.”

That meant he passed. Cho Min Joon smiled and nodded.

And the evaluations of Anderson, Chloe, and Kaya weren’t that much worse. With their hamburger, sliced steam pork, ravioli, and more, they didn’t show any room for criticism, so the disqualified person had to come from the remaining 3. Ivanna, Sasha, or Hugo.

‘I hope they don’t all get disqualified.’

Unless they were going to bring someone back, they couldn’t disqualify that many. They couldn’t do it for the sake of the show.

‘Then who’ll be disqualified…?’

Cho Min Joon looked at the three of them. He didn’t think it was going to be Ivanna. All of her dishes were 7s, but as for Sasha and Hugo, they made two 7-point dishes and one 6-point dish. He couldn’t predict the outcome with scores alone.

“Sasha, Ivanna, and Hugo, please come on up.”

All three of them stepped out with nervous faces. They also knew that they were the bottom 3 of the bunch. Joseph looked at them with tired eyes.

“I’m sure you know why we called you up.”

“… Are we all disqualified?”

“No. Just one person. There wasn’t a big difference between your dishes. You were all decent, but you can’t survive with just decent dishes. If there were dozens of contestants and some people made horrible dishes, it would be a different story, but not anymore. Your skills are lacking at this stage of the show. After all, out of everyone who survived so far, not a single person is poor at cooking.”

No one answered Joseph. After all, they knew better than anyone that their dishes weren’t amazing. Joseph opened his mouth before closing it again. Emily then raised her voice to help him out.

“So we decided to keep the person who we most look forward to watching next round. Sasha!”

Emily paused for a moment. She then asked in a direct voice, “Why do you think I called your name?”

“… Please don’t do this. My heart might explode.”

“I’m sorry. As an apology, I’ll tell you now that you’ve been saved. From what we’ve seen so far, we decided we want to give you one more chance. Please go back to your cooking station.”

“Thank you…”

Sasha answered with a trembling voice before returning with teary eyes. There were only 2 people remaining. Ivanna gulped and clenched her fists. She thought of Joanne.

‘I promised Joanne I’d win for her.’

But this was reality. She wasn’t sure where that determination went. Every time she met eyes with the judges, her heart pounded, and she even got the hiccups. Allan looked at Ivanna and said, “To be honest, the best one out of the 3 was you, Ivanna.”

“Thank you.”

“… But that’s it. It was typical. You’ve never shown us anything unexpected. That means none of your dishes were memorable to us. On the other hand, Hugo made a great ossobuco, and he also showed great leadership. Ivanna, can we expect better from you?”

Ivanna bit down on her lip. Her face was trembling, but she had nothing to say. Just like Allan said, she had never outshined anyone. She was always just decent, but that wasn’t enough. However…

“… Yes, you can.”

“Based on what?”

“A-all I’m good at is cooking, and like you said, I’m typical, but I haven’t given up on improving. I want to show you that I can get better. Please give me a chance.”

Allan didn’t answer. He looked at Hugo instead, and he asked in a low voice, “Hugo, what do you think? Should we give Ivanna a chance??”

His lips shook. He didn’t know what to say. If they gave her a chance, he would be disqualified, but it didn’t sound right to tell them no either. He asked, “Is my opinion important?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just curious. What od you think?”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I’m also lacking. If you liked Ivanna’s dishes more than mine, I think it’s right that you simply make your decision based on that.”

“Then that means you’d go home.”

“… It’d be foolish of me to go after a position I didn’t achieve.”

In response, Allan smiled. He looked at Hugo warmly and asked, “One thing’s for sure. You still have Italian blood flowing through you like me. I like what you just said, and I hope you keep that attitude for what I’m about to say next.”

Silence took over, and after that was a calm announcement.

“Hugo, you’re disqualified. Please return your badge and leave the Grand Chef house.”