Chapter 97 - Chapter 97: Four people, four dreams (4)

The relationship between Kaya and Anderson was iffy. But in Korean terms, it wasn’t even that complicated. ‘Close through hatred.’ That was what their relationship was like. After all, even enemies grew attached to each other after fighting, and they were no different.

But in the end, being close through hatred was just that. They just bickered here and there with one of them always leaving in rage. If there was anything that was different with them, it was that even after fighting, they faced each other again.

“… Why you?”

“That’s what I want to ask.”

In contrast to their anger, Cho Min Joon and Chloe were happy. After all, there was no reason for them to hate each other. Cho Min Joon smirked and asked Chloe, “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Do what?”

“Anderson and Kaya. You know they’ll just go at each other.”

“Oh… I didn’t think that far.”

Chloe looked at them with a sad face. Allan spoke loudly, “Now that you’re in teams, please put on your aprons. Chloe and Min Joon, you’re on the red team. Kaya and Anderson, you’re on the blue team.

As soon as they put on their aprons, Allan continued, “Now, let me explain this next mission. You’ll be faced with guests that you won’t see coming. At the same time, they will be your judges. Many people in this world look up to these two people.”

“On an added note, they still make an effort in the cooking industry to this day.”

In response to Joseph’s remark, all four of them looked confused. Joseph was someone who succeeded in the food industry, and he was a world-famous chef with lots of experience, so if even he looked up to them, it was hard to imagine just how impressive they were.

‘Are they not chefs?’

If it was any other industry, he would have understood, but could such a person also act as a judge? That was his question.

But that turned out to be useless worry once Emily called out their names.

“We have two guests at the Grand Chef House today. Chef Rachel Rose and Chef Sergei Demetri Mikheyev!”

‘I feel like a show host.’

While Emily smiled out of awkwardness, a man and a woman walked out of the kitchen. Rachel and Sergei. Sergei smiled as he approached Kaya.

“I heard you came from a market.”

“… Yes.”

“I grew up in a market, too! So I know just how crappy it is, so I’m impressed that you came this far. Can I look at your hands?”

Kaya squinted her eyes. She sighed and showed him her hands. Since an older man was speaking, it was hard for her to refuse. Sergei scanned Kaya’s hand with serious eyes and kissed them. Kaya snatched her hands away and glared.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“… Don’t Americans kiss people on their hand?”

“I don’t think anyone asks to see someone’s hand and then kisses them out of the blue.”

Kaya spoke in a stern voice. Sergei rolled his eyes and stepped back.

Rachel, who was watching the whole time, grabbed her forehead and sighed. He never managed to stay quiet. At that moment, Cho Min Joon was thinking about something else.

‘Who’s that?’

Cho Min Joon didn’t know who he was. He knew famous chefs in Korea, but how could he know any chefs from Russia? If he had restaurants in America, he would have been famous here as well… But he had never heard of his name before, and his face didn’t look familiar either. Rachel grabbed onto Sergei’s arm.

“Stop embarrassing me and come here.”

“Wait, why…?”

Sergei stared at Kaya and expressed the unfairness. On the other hand, Andreson was smiling brighter than usual. It wasn’t because he enjoyed the exchange between Kaya and Sergei. It was because of Rachel’s appearance. Sergei was an impressive chef as well, and they knew each other, but he was different from Rachel. After all, he looked up to Rachel as a role model.

And there was someone else who was also looking at Rachel with different thoughts. It was Cho Min Joon. He couldn’t believe his eyes. She came to the food truck mission, and she even invited them to her Chicago restaurant… But now she was here as a judge.

It was possible that she just came as a fan of the show, but Cho Min Joon had a feeling that he was a big reason why she was here.

‘What does she want from me?’

Did she really just want to train a young chef who showed potential? But there were plenty of other talented people in this world. Even Dave, who learned how to cook under Rachel, was a phenomenal chef. There was no guarantee that Cho Min Joon could make amazing food just because he had a perfect palate.

Rachel and Sergei stood next to the judges. They greeted each other, and Joseph put down two boxes in front of them.

“These are the ingredients of the mission. One of them contains the ingredients Rachel prefers and the other contains the ingredients that Sergei prefers. Each team will cook a dish for each chef, and that chef as well as us, the judges, will give you a final score.

“I’ll open the boxes now.”

Allan and Emily opened the boxes at the same time. Cho Min Joon carefully looked at the boxes with squinted eyes. In one contained beef, salmon, pork, crab, buckwheat flour, and chicken, and the other box contained lamb, deer, trout, different types of cheese, turkey, and fruits, and he had a feeling which box belonged to which chef just by looking at it. Crab and buckwheat flour were popular in Russian dishes while the other side contained very American ingredients.

“I’m sure you have an idea of whose is whose. Yes, this one is Sergei’s, and this one’s Rachel’s. Since Blue team didn’t get to choose their team member, they get to pick first. Kaya and Anderson. Please pick your box.”

In response to Allan, Kaya and Anderson looked at each other. Anderson frowned and then eventually sighed. He glanced at Rachel. He didn’t want to look disgraceful in front of his idol.

“I know you don’t like me. I don’t like you much either, but this is a mission, so we can’t let our emotions get the best of us.”

“I know.”

“Okay. Then let’s think. Sergei or Rachel. Which box do you think will be better?”

Kaya squeezed her lips shut and looked at the boxes. She then spoke in a calm voice, “I don’t care.”

“… You’re so confident.”

At this point, the choice was up to Anderson. He thoughtfully looked at both boxes. He wanted to pick Rachel’s box. This was his chance to show off his skills in front of the person he respected. Of course, he wasn’t quite ready yet, but he still wanted to show her just how much he had improved as a chef.

But he couldn’t make his decision on that alone. In terms of difficulty, Sergei’s ingredients were easier to work with. They were a little bothersome to prepare, but with the right know-hows, nothing was all that difficult, but with Rachel’s lamb or deer, just one mistake could lead to a fishy smell.

It normally would have been worth the try, but he thought it was foolish to take such a risk in a mission. Anderson spoke in a disappointed voice, “We’ll go with Sergei’s box.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d pick Rachel’s.”

In response to Allan’s remark, Anderson showed a troubled look on his face. Everyone knew he went for the easier path, but considering Kaya and the handicap that caused them, he thought that this pick was for the best.

And at that moment, Cho Min Joon and Chloe smacked their lips. They knitted their brows and stared into their box. While they tried to come up with a recipe, Emily opened her mouth.

“Great. Now that you’ve chosen, you will make a three-course meal with those ingredients in 2 hours. We’ll give you 30 minutes to come up with a recipe. Please discuss amongst yourselves.”

Chloe looked at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon spoke in a calm voice, “Let’s decide on the format first. What should we make for the main? I think we should do the deer or lamb. We’ll use the trout for the appetizer.”

“I think it’s a good idea to use the fish as an appetizer. Maybe a trout ceviche. For the main… I’m more comfortable with the lamb.”

“Me too. I’ve never worked with deer before. But if we go with the lamb… I feel like we’ll be criticized for making such a plain dish. If we just stick to the basics, it won’t be good enough for those two. Maybe we should do something special with the sauce or garnish… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“W-what? Nothing.”

Chloe wiped the grin off her face. She thought Cho Min Joon looked attractive when he came up with recipes, but she couldn’t say that to him.

‘I hope neither of us gets disqualified.’

But that also meant she was indirectly hoping for either Kaya or Anderson to get disqualified, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted the two of them to survive together. That was what her heart told her, but she remembered what Kaya said. When she asked if they would stop being friends once the competition was over. She answered that that was never going to happen, but…

‘I’m not so sure.’

She knew nothing lasted forever… But the three months she spent at the Grand Chef House was the happiest time of her life. It was going to end sooner or later, so there was nothing she could do to make it go on forever. Chloe sighed. Cho Min Joon flinched and asked, “… You don’t like my ideas?”

“N-no, that’s not it. You said you wanted to add anchovy cream to the lamb, right? Should we use balsamic or lime juice for the cream?”

“Hm… I think lemon would be better. There are lots of fruits in the box. It’s probably best to use as much of it as possible, and if we use lime, the unique scent will cover up the anchovy.”

“Okay. I think it’ll turn out great.”

“… You don’t have any arguments against it? What if I made a mistake?”

Of course, he had said everything after seeing the cooking scores. He offered quite an impressive recipe, but it was true that Chloe accepted it too easily, so he couldn’t help but feel suspicious, but Chloe smiled and shook her head.

“I’ve seen you cook this whole time, and I always thought your recipes were great.”

“… Thanks.”

Cho Min Joon was slightly anxious. Among the four of them, he was the last to get to a level 7. Just because they were at the same level didn’t mean they were actually equally skilled. That meant that his skills were lacking compared to the other three, so when Chloe picked him, he was happy… because that meant she thought he was the best out of all of them.

But the air around Anderson and Kaya was different. Anderson knitted his brows and opened his mouth.

“We’re going to make what for the appetizer?”

“Let’s grind beef stroganoff and make it like a soup. It’s a thicker dish, so it won’t be awkward.”

“If the appetizer is that heavy, what are we going to do about the mains?”

“We’ll make them heavier. It won’t be hard.”

“No, it won’t, but that’s a risk. Why do we have to take such a big risk?”

“Sigh…”

Kaya sighed with a frustrated face. Same went for Anderson. Sergei saw this and laughed.

“This is something that could easily happen in a restaurant kitchen. Anderson is the type to take the lead in a kitchen, but since his partner is just as headstrong, they can’t get anything done. It’s as if there are two head chefs in a kitchen.”

“It’s not bad to have two head chefs. Just like the Russo couple. The important part is how much they can trust and rely on each other. In that sense, was it Cho Min Joon and Chloe Chung? They look quite amicable.”

“Hmph, with them playing house like that, they’ll end up letting their guard down. That’s how you make a mistake. People think working under a charismatic guy like me is hard, but in the end, it makes for the safest and the most perfect kitchen.”

“You don’t have charisma. You just have a noisy personality.”

“Ha, that sounds weird coming from you. Do you think you’re a new person now just because you’re an old lady who retired from the kitchen?”

In response, Rachel squinted her eyes. She glared at Sergei and then sighed. Allan jumped in.

“Who do you think will win?”

“There’s no winning or losing in cooking, but if I had to choose, I think Red team will win. Not because they’re using my ingredients… but because Min Joon is on that team.”

“I agree that he has a sensitive palate… But he’s not outstanding in cooking compared to the other contestants. Why do you favor him so much? I heard you asked Dave to appear on the show too. You never do that.”

“Think about Gogh’s Starry Night. He expressed it in a dynamic way. He could only paint that way because that’s how he saw the world. The palate of a chef is like the eyes of a painter. He can see and feel things that other people can’t. If that’s possible, the story’s completely different. If it was just a slight difference, I wouldn’t be acting like this, but it’s as different as having your eyes open and closed…”

Rachel took a breath. Her voice rang with excitement as if she was a little girl again.

“He’ll one day produce a dish that’ll make all the other dishes taste fake.”