Chapter 98 - Four people, four dreams (5)

If Cho Min Joon had heard that, he would’ve felt happy and sad at the same time. After all, the skill he had was far from a perfect palate, but Cho Min Joon couldn’t hear any of it. He was too busy coming up with recipes with Chloe.

“You want to make pudding for dessert?”

“Yeah. A chestnut pudding or a refreshing one like mango.”

“We have to do a really good job to win with pudding though, but it does go well with everything else.”

“Great. Then we’ll make trout ceviche, grilled lamb, and pudding… Come to think of it, almond pudding can be served with fruit. How about we serve it with fruit water? We can use mango, clementine, and peach.”

“Peach sounds good. Oh yeah. Avocados. We can mix avocados, lime, and lemon and make a sherbet.”

“Sherbet and seviche… That sounds great. Let’s work out the movements next.”

While Cho Min Joon thought about it, Chloe took a bite of an apple in the box. She then flashed a smile.

“I’m really hungry. I didn’t eat anything after working out.”

“The judges are laughing.”

“Who cares? Chefs should always keep their bellies fed.”

“With just an apple?”

Chloe continued to chew on her apple. Cho Min Joon got a waft of the apple as he said,

“We can go one of three ways. We can split it up according to dishes or parts of the kitchen, or we can just go with the flow. I’d like to go with the last one if we can.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“Just go with the flow?”

“Yeah. We’ll be fine as long as we have good teamwork. Remember when we worked as a team before? I think we can do well this time, too.”

“But we split it up according to dishes that time…”

He had cooked with Chloe twice before, but he didn’t know if they had good teamwork. Cho Min Joon nodded. Since Chloe respected his opinions, he wanted to respect hers. Chloe handed him the apple.

“Do you want a bite?”

“… Just one.”

Cho Min Joon took a bite of the apple. The refreshing flavor woke him up a little. Chloe leaned back at the cooking station. She took another bite and asked, “Didn’t that give you energy?”

“Not quite. But it does make me feel better.”

“That’s good. Now think about it again. Are you sure you’re not confident?”

“It’s not like that was a magic apple.”

In response, Chloe stuck out her lip.

“Don’t you know about the placebo effect? If you believe, the effects will show. Just think that we can have great teamwork. If you think that way, that’s how it’ll be.”

“… Okay. I’ll believe that, but if it doesn’t work out, we’ll switch back to splitting up parts. One person will take over the fire while the other person works on prepping the materials.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll check the proportions for the sauce and pudding.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your feedback as a perfect palate.”

Cho Min Joon smiled awkwardly. Chloe got a feeling that Cho Min Joon felt uncomfortable talking about his perfect palate. She didn’t know why he felt shy about his incredible ability, but she figured having all the attention on him must’ve pressured him. Chloe continued, “You can give me feedback as a chef, too.”

“I don’t have any feedback, but…”

“Time’s up! Please begin!”

“Turn on the stove! I’ll bring the ingredients.”

Cho Min Joon quickly gathered the ingredients from the box and pantry. Meanwhile, Chloe started the stove. Cho Min Joon was the fastest one to gather all the ingredients. That was why it was best that he did it.

Chloe immediately began to cook the almonds over the stove. 2 hours. That was enough to make a three-course meal, but that also meant that they weren’t trying to pressure them, but it would only go smoothly if they didn’t make any mistakes.

In order to prevent any mistakes, they had to follow orders. With the limited time they had, the first thing they had to start on was the dessert. Many people assumed that they had to make it in the order of appetizer, main dish, and dessert… But dessert often took the longest time. Especially cake and cookies, and even pudding, jelly, and ice cream took quite a bit of time.

Of course, Chinese fried fruits didn’t take too long, but when it came to almond pudding, it would take them at least an hour.

“Min Joon.”

She didn’t have to say anything more. Cho Min Joon immediately accepted the cooked almonds. He had to grind it up in a mixer. The one they were making would probably end up with some chunks here and there, but making it themselves would make the flavors come alive.

Chloe put rice powder and milk into a bowl and began to boil almond powder, milk,and sugar in a saucepan. Later, she would mix what was in the pan with the contents of the bowl and transfer it back into the pan. She had to stir it for 30 minutes after that, so one of them had to stay by the pot.

“Min Joon. Anchovy cream.”

“Okay. Can you work on the sugar water for the seviche sherbet, too?”

“Yeah. But you work on the other ingredients.”

They didn’t have to say much. Chloe and Cho Min Joon showed off amazing teamwork. But of course, it was just a three-course meal, so there wasn’t much to be confused about… But for going with the flow, they worked very naturally together. That was surprising since this was the first time just the two of them worked together on a mission.

Cho Min Joon peeled the anchovies and cooked it over olive oil. Once it began to melt down, Cho Min Joon added salt and pepper. He then sprinkled lemon water to get rid of the fishiness. After that, he just had to put it in the fridge. He had to let it settle in for it to taste deeper. If possible, it was better to make it one night before, but that wasn’t possible in the current circumstances.

When he glanced at Chloe, he saw her putting the sugarwater for the sherbet into the fridge while stirring the lemon juice, lime juice, and avocado in the pot. Cho Min Joon approached her and said, “I’ll do it.”

“Phew, thanks.”

Chloe was dripping in sweat. Cho Min Joon took out a towel from his front pocket and wiped it off. This reminded him of old times. Or more like the future. The time when he worked as an assistant at a restaurant and wiped the sweat off the faces of his superiors’ foreheads.

“Don’t work yourself too hard. We’re not in a rush. Relax.”

“… I just don’t want to bring our team down.”

“You’re doing great.”

The judges were pleased as they watched them, but Sergei was an exception. He grumbled.

“Those guys are boring. They should fight and scream more in a kitchen setting.”

“Shut up, Sergei. It’s tiring to even listen to you.”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me. You’re acting like you’re all that.”

In response to Rachel’s remark, Sergei glared back. It was an imprudent look coming from such an old man with experience. Rachel looked over at Cho Min Joon and Chloe before glancing over at the other team. Once Sergei praised Kaya Reuters, she couldn’t help but notice as well.

‘She has good sense.’

It looked like she was just half-assing things, but the way she used the pan and seasoned her dishes was a work of art. Average people were amazed by how she used the knife and pan, but Rachel was a professional. She knew better than anyone that the timing had to be precise for the most perfect result.

And in that sense, Kaya was flawless. Of course, Anderson was decent as well, but Kaya was even more flawless as someone who wasn’t as educated as Anderson. It was hard to believe that she never learned how to cook properly and that she grew up in a market. There was only so much amateurs who could learn. That meant she trained herself.

“They’re pretty quiet over there. I thought they’d fight here and there.”

“I know, right? I’m surprised, too.”

Kaya and Anderson were pretty quiet. They both had strong personalities, but they had to hold it in. They did argue in terms of picking the recipes, but that was inevitable. Chefs were always bound to have different opinions.

The relieving part was the fact that Anderson was being less stubborn than usual. He didn’t want to look disgraceful in front of Rachel. Allen opened his mouth.

“The red team might be in danger. It’s as if the blue team’s only weakness disappeared.”

“Weakness?”

“Yes, when it comes to ability, Anderson and Kaya are the best. In terms of skills, that is. Chloe is decent as well, but she still lacks certainty, and Min Joon has potential, but he’s far from being perfect.”

“So what’s their weakness?”

“Their personalities and their relationship. The only people who can get along with Kaya are Min Joon and Chloe. Unless she’s with either of them, Kaya isn’t a good team member. Especially when she’s paired with a strong personality like Anderson.”

“Are you saying their weakness was that they could fight?”

“Yes. But it looks like they’re controlling themselves today. Anderson seems more laid back than usual… and perhaps, he’s taking it more seriously since the end is near.”

Allan’s prediction led the other judges to watch on with interest. Who would make the most amazing dishes? Their hearts were pounding with anticipation.

Time was almost up. Cho Min Joon and Chloe’s dishes were approaching completion. A sherbet made of lemon juice, lime juice, and avocados. Underneath it was a sauce made of cilantro, shallot, peppers, lime juice, salt, and pepper, and pieces of trout laid around it. There were floral decorations placed on top of the pink pieces of trout, and the avocado sherbet on top made it look even cuter.

The judges gulped when they saw it. They wondered how soft it would melt in their mouths and how sour and sweet it would taste. Rather than displaying spectacular plating, it looked simply scrumptious.

The almond pudding looked clean and savory as well. Chloe placed the almond pudding in a triangular wine glass, and that showed off the white and creaminess of the pudding perfectly. Some pieces of pine nuts were placed on top of the pudding, and that made it look classy.

Compared to that, the main dish, the grilled lamb, didn’t look as impressive. The grilled lamb looked delicious with the anchovy cream and roasted vegetables, but it didn’t give off a strong impression. Chloe put the grilled lamb on the tray. That was it. Chloe smiled and looked at Cho Min Joon. They were soon going to be judged. She wanted to enjoy this moment until then.

“Good work, Chloe.”

“… It’s all thanks to you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No, you did a lot for me. Thanks.”

Chloe stuck out her fist. Cho Min Joon stared at her fist for a moment before putting his fist on hers. He felt Chloe’s warmth for a second, but that warmth didn’t melt away Cho Min Joon’s nervousness because he saw points in her eyes.

All of their dishes were 8s. Cooking scores weren’t everything. That was what he always thought to himself, but the cooking scores always ended up being right.

So Cho Min Joon didn’t have the confidence to look at Kaya and Anderson’s dishes. He was scared. 8 was a great score, but he was afraid their scores were better.

That fear made him look away from their scores, but he was still curious. Because if their scores were less than expected, his anxiousness would go away. Cho Min Joon glanced over as if someone was pressuring him. But the result… was the same.

Chloe looked at Cho Min Joon. She felt bad for him as he looked nervous. She wanted to give him strength. Just like when he listened to her rant when she was having a hard time. She wanted to be someone he could lean on.

Chloe reached out her hand. Her small, thin, and warm hand touched Cho Min Joon on the shoulder.

“Don’t be nervous. We’re ready to accept any result that’ll come our way. We did our best. That’s all we can do.”

“… Yeah, you’re right.”

It was tasting time.