Chapter 91 - Chapter 91: Weight of Restaurants (3)

Kaya’s face stiffened. Marriage. She never thought of that word before. Cho Min Joon glanced over at Kaya. Kaya flinched and spoke as a reflex, “What? What?”

“… Why are you so startled? All I did was look at you.”

“You looked at me in a cheesy way.”

“My eyes aren’t capable of that.”

Cho Min Joon grimaced and pulled on his eyes. He didn’t have double eyelids, and his eye area didn’t protrude much either, so it was hard for him to give off a look that Caucasians could. Kaya coughed.

“Shut up and just eat your food. Remember the flavors.”

“You were the one on your phone just a minute ago.”

“That’s because of… Never mind.”

Kaya calmed down and chewed on her food. She had a hard time tasting the food properly.

Cho Min Joon quietly scanned the dishes. Most of them were 7 or 8 points. Compared to their reputation, the scores were low, but they could be considered decent dishes. The head chef’s cooking skill was probably much better than theirs, but the head chef’s role was to oversee other chefs rather than cook themselves.

Of course, they practiced the dishes a lot and made them good quality, but that was still not good enough. They weren’t dishes made by the head chef for VVIP customers. There was also the criticism that it was customer discrimination.

That was why Rose Island was so impressive. Not only did the head chef cook and the recipe was phenomenal, but the chefs in each section were impressive as well. They probably put more effort in than usual, but it was still outstanding.

This place was lacking compared to Rose Island, but that didn’t mean On the Lake was a bad restaurant. They constantly had customers, and it wasn’t easy to make 9-point dishes. Even the 2-star restaurant in New York only had one dish that was 9 points.

“Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, it’s not bad. How much are these?”

“It’s hard to say per dish… But if you pick the lunch menu, it’s around 60 dollars.”

“It’s probably worth 60 dollars, but it’s lacking in some aspects.”

Allan didn’t ask for the score. Cho Min Joon didn’t seem to be in awe. It was best not to talk about scores if he wasn’t praising the dishes. That wouldn’t make anyone feel good. Besides, Cho Min Joon had to work in the kitchen of this restaurant soon enough.

As soon as the meal ended, Kaya and Cho Min Joon memorized the recipe in the kitchen. Cho Min Joon asked in a calm voice, “Did you memorize everything?”

“… I’m bad at memorization.”

“Don’t think about it in words and just remember the cooking process, or how about this? You do the grilling while I take care of everything else. Then we can probably produce pretty great dishes.”

“Is that how restaurants do it?”

“I’m not sure. Everyone probably does it differently.”

Cho Min Joon answered in a flat voice. Kaya glared in response and then continued to read the recipe with wide eyes.

The dishes they were in charge of were fish. They were all fish. Since On the Lake was by the water, they were known as a restaurant specializing in seafood, but that didn’t mean they only used fish caught in the Michigan Lake either.

‘It’s a theme.’

Seafood sold at a restaurant on the lakeside. It was a romantic concept for customers. Cho Min Joon glanced at Kaya and asked, “How was the meal earlier?”

“What do you mean? Like the food?”

“That too… But remember what you said last time? You said you’ve never been to nice restaurants. This place is decent. Was it a good experience?”

“… Oh yeah. You’re right.”

Kaya grimaced. It was her first restaurant experience, but it wasn’t enjoyable since it was a mission. She felt like it was unfair. Kaya spoke in an angry voice, “Today doesn’t count.”

“Why not? You didn’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that. I couldn’t eat properly with my back bent over in a place filled with cameras.”

“Don’t most people eat with their back straight?”

“It looks cocky to eat with proper posture. Most people stick their heads to their plates when they eat. It’s so uncomfortable to just move a fork back and forth.”

“Then why didn’t you bend over?”

“Because people will cuss me out again about being uneducated. It’s true, but I hate hearing it.”

Kaya stuck out her lower lip with a sad look on her face. She thought for a moment before speaking in a softer voice, “When I open a restaurant, I’ll let you eat however you want.”

“… When is that going to be?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe in about 20 years?”

Most chefs opened their own restaurants in their mid-30s. Of course, some geniuses even opened one in their 20s and even got Michelin stars, but many things were needed for that to happen. Skill, popularity, and money, but it was rare for anyone to have all three of those qualifications.

“If you think about it, I can probably set one up right away if I win. I heard the Season 1 winner recently became a head chef. There’s a different owner… But it’s impressive that they’re already the head chef after just a few years. So if I win, I can do that, too.”

“…I’m going to win though. Stop talking about another person’s story and keep talking about the restaurant. Where are you going to open it? Not Korea, right?”

“Who knows? Considering my background, Korea would be best…”

“But all your fans are in America. You should just do it here.”

Kaya spoke in a persistent voice. Marrying for citizenship was nonsense, so it was more realistic to become a citizen by working as an American chef. She didn’t like the idea of Cho Min Joon living in a war-ridden country.

But Cho Min Joon didn’t understand Kaya. He looked at her strangely.

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“No reason.”

Kaya avoided his gaze. Something felt suspicious, but he didn’t want to keep asking. After all, the other contestants were already cooking.

“Let’s start practicing.”

“… Okay.”

Kaya also knew that this was no time to think about stuff like that. As soon as they looked for fish, a young man in a white outfit handed them a basket. Inside the basket contained fish as well as other ingredients. He smiled brightly with anticipation.

“I skinned it and put olive oil and sauce on it. If you’re not going to add a puree, you can just go ahead and grill it.”

“Oh, thank you. Are you a chef here?”

“Not quite. I’m still learning. I’m enjoying the show. Oh, my name is Eddy Leaders.”

“Oh, I’m Cho Min Joon. And this is…”

Cho Min Joon looked at Kaya, but she simply stared on without a word. Cho Min Joon jabbed Kaya on the side. Kaya grimaced and said, “… I hate introductions. I’m Kaya Reuters, but don’t you already know our names?”

“Hahaha. Your personality is just as it seems on TV. I love people who are real!”

“Then I’ll be real with you again. You’re in my way. We don’t have time for chitchat.”

In response, Eddy lifted both hands and backed away. Cho Min Joon frowned at Kaya.

“I told you to fix that personality of yours.”

“Personality can’t be fixed.”

“… I get that, but why act so mean to someone who’s being friendly?”

“Because he’s annoying. It’s not like he’s a customer or my boss. Why do I have to be nice?”

“You should be nice even to those who aren’t customers or bosses.”

“Stop confusing me. Let’s grill this fish. I need to get a sense of what the stove is like here.”

Kaya put a frying pan on top of the fire. Cho Min Joon brought over the basket and asked, “How should we split up the roles? If we just take over different dishes, we won’t be as efficient. Should one person grill while the other person prepares and plates?”

“I thought he already prepared everything. Was it Ed?”

“Eddy. But when we make the mousse, we still need to skin it and everything.”

“… Okay. Let’s do that. I’ll do all the grilling while you do the rest. Do you think you can handle that?”

“Yeah.”

Cho Min Joon smiled with confidence. His hands weren’t on the slow side, but after cooking for so long and so consistently, he got even faster than before. The rest was up to stamina, but after the food truck and buffet missions, he felt like he was quite experienced.

“Min Joon. If you’re bored, go and check if the fryer is on high.”

“It’s ready. What else?”

“Nothing else. I’m going to start grilling now. Cut the vegetables for me.”

“Okay.”

It felt strange. The last time they worked together like this was Kaya’s disqualification mission. He felt strange back then too. He thought about back then and felt excited at the thought that he was still on the show today.

On the other hand, Kaya focused on her cooking while also wondering how to say it to Cho Min Joon. Actually, rather than saying, she was more worried about convincing him.

‘… I should think about this later. It’s time to cook.’

As soon as she poured white wine on the cooking salmon, the fire flared up and heated up the air around her. She pretended to be familiar, but she always felt scared when she was so close to the fire. One time, she was so startled that she dropped her pan, but she was better now…

“Cool this down while I make the garnish.”

“… There’s nothing for me to do.”

“I’m going to make fried bass after this, so put some potato starch on it.”

“Okay. Here are the vegetables.”

After cooking the vegetables with a little bit of olive oil, it was time to taste it. Cho Min Joon put the salmon steak in his mouth and nodded. 7 points. There was nothing special since it was just salt and white wine, but it was delicious. He actually thought the clean flavor would elicit a great response from the customers.

Kaya looked at Cho Min Joon’s lips. She then spoke out of impatience, “Is it good?”

“Try it. You know more than I do.”

“When I taste my own food, my tongue isn’t as sensitive.”

“That’s true, but it’s good. The customers will like it.”

The problem was that the quality had to be maintained. Kaya sighed and brought the pan to the sink. She was thinking of just rinsing it with water but Kaya then grimaced.

“Why isn’t it coming out?”

Creak, creak. She turned it, but water wouldn’t come out. Just as she thought, it was broken. It exploded like a fountain. The water hit the frying pan to the ceiling. While Kaya froze still from shock, Cho Min Joon’s eyes followed where the water was headed. The fryer. Cho Min Joon screamed.

“Duck!”

His movements were faster than his words. As soon as Cho Min Joon embraced Kaya, the sound of explosions could be heard. The explosions didn’t last for long, but it was long enough for the oil to splatter everywhere. Kaya stared blankly out of shock and then got out of Cho Min Joon’s embrace.

“Are you okay?”

Her voice was trembling. Rather than answering, Cho Min Joon showed a pained look on his face. Kaya looked at Cho Min Joon’s neck. It was red from the oil. Kaya wiped his neck with the remaining oil. He felt pain every time she wiped, but he didn’t mind it. Kaya shouted in a scared voice, “Min Joon, Min Joon! Doctor! Hurry over here!”