Chapter 189 - Chapter 189: The Legends’ Return (3)

Kaya and Amelia didn’t back down despite Fabio’s remark. But that didn’t mean it would get in the way of Cho Min Joon and Anderson’s teamwork either… But Fabio clicked his tongue and mumbled to himself. “Women, they’re so tiring.”

There were less than 5 minutes left of their 30 minutes. Rose Island was already beginning their plating. It was clear which team was relaxed and which team was tense once they got to the plating. Kaya spoke. Her mouth was covered by her mask. But it was clear she was smiling.

“Look how relaxed my Min Joon looks. The other teams only plated a few dishes, but Min Joon is already finished for all of the judges. That’s how a chef should be.”

“Same goes for Anderson. He already made gnocchi batter and bisque in that short time… I’m so proud of our son.”

“Min Joon’s the one who watched over him.”

“Come on. Stop it. So Kaya, are your team members all following your recipes?”

Fabio figured he had to step in so he changed the subject. Kaya paused and then wriggled her lips. She couldn’t answer right away.

“… About half.”

“What kind of iffy answer is that?”

Kaya didn’t answer. She wasn’t thinking about what to say. She didn’t want to say anything. She made a proposal, but the head chef edited it so much that those dishes were no longer hers. If she answered, she either had to tell them that or lie. So it was best not to say anything.

Luckily, Amelia was no longer asking. Kaya crossed her legs and arms. Her eyes behind her sunglasses chased after Chloe.

‘… Chloe’s so cool.’

She was confident and smiled brightly despite being in front of countless people. She was jealous of that house. She wanted to make that face and speak in that voice. Grand Chef was fancy on the outside, but in the end, it was nothing but an empty shell.

‘Who is Kaya Reuters if she didn’t win Grand Chef?’

She couldn’t even come up with a perfect recipe. Kaya’s heart sank. She might’ve been better off if she was in the kitchen as a demi chef like Cho Min Joon and Anderson… But she couldn’t because she was a head chef now. She was only a head chef on the outside… But that was the only position she could have right now.

1 year. She just had to endure 1 year. That was what she thought… But the thought of living as a mascot for 1 year made her feel stuffy. She might’ve sounded spoiled, but she wanted to hold a knife. She wanted to hold a pan and feel the heat. She wanted to feel the softness of the water and smell the scent of vegetables.

Was it because of that passion? Kaya’s eyes looked thirstier than ever as she watched Cho Min Joon and the others cook.

‘I… want to cook.’

Cho Min Joon’s hand stopped in the middle of wiping plates. He slowly lifted his head and stared into the audience. Anderson glanced over and asked, “What? Is something there?”

“… No, I was wondering if Kaya is here yet.”

“Seeing how it’s quiet, probably not. Or maybe she’s undercover.”

Cho Min Joon inspected the plates without a word. All four chefs from Rose Island had 13 plates. They were not only going to serve the judges but the hosts as well. The chefs at other cooking stations shook their heads with disgust.

‘They must be out of their minds. They’re preparing 13 plates when they’re already doing molecular cooking…?’

‘Rose Island is determined today.’

It wasn’t about practicing hard for a few days. It was a matter of how much of the basics they had up their sleeve. And all the chefs there felt it. The demi chefs of Rose Island were different from average chefs.

And in the middle of them was Cho Min Joon. Matthew mumbled in awe, “Is it because of his experience with Grand Chef? Min Joon’s direction is so natural. He looks experienced.”

“He had to work on very hard topics in stressful situations. Min Joon is friendly. If his team members trust him, he can even do the impossible. He was a good leader. The best I’ve ever seen.”

“I see. You’re praising him so much.”

Matthew looked at Chloe in an attempt to read her. But Chloe didn’t meet eyes with Matthew. But he could already tell. During those 30 minutes, Chloe’s eyes were fixed on Rose Island. Cho Min Joon, to be more exact.

‘This woman is walking a difficult path.’

But that was none of his business. Matthew asked in a calm voice, “I’ll announce the end.”

“Sure. Makes sense since I announced the beginning.”

Matthew looked at the clock. Before, he looked at the same clock as a spectator. But this time, he was a host. And that difference felt weird. The difference between the past and the present as well as the new demi chefs of Rose Island. His voice rang through that difference.

“It’s time. Please take your hands off!”

The demi chefs of Rose Island had already taken their hands off. Cho Min Joon quietly scanned the other demi chefs’ dishes. They all looked good. In terms of cooking scores, they were mostly 7 points. There was even one with 9 points. But in terms of Rose Island’s dishes…

‘They’re all 9 points.’

That meant that they made no mistakes because as soon as they made one mistake, their scores would’ve changed. And that was when he would’ve pointed it out so that they could fix it.

“Godo work, guys.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

Anderson spoke in a curt voice. Cho Min Joon smirked and looked beside him. Chloe was speaking in a nervous voice with the mic in her hand.

“Good work everyone. We’ll now introduce the judges!”

At the same time, the curtains were lifted. At that moment, Cho Min Joon flinched and trembled. He saw a familiar face.

“Jeremy and Emily… I didn’t expect them here.”

“Well, they’re both great food critics.”

Anderson spoke as if he wasn’t even surprised.

The tasting began. And what Cho Min Joon was surprised by was Emily’s evaluation. Jeremy had always been picky, so it wasn’t surprising for him to criticize. But Emily was different.

“Are these really your best dishes? How sad. It would’ve been better if you said you failed. I don’t think I’ll be visiting your restaurant.”

“The head chef came out. How many employees are there? Oh, then that means you normally just do the plating at the end. Then why did you hold the pan today? I could tell you lost your touch. The meat was overcooked and the puree didn’t taste good. Why didn’t you let your demi chefs handle it?”

“You recently lost your Michelin stars, right? And you said you couldn’t accept the results. But these dishes say it all. You could taste these dishes anywhere. They tasted good. But there was no creativity. Did you lose your passion or your ability to be creative? I don’t think any of those dishes saved you.”

But she didn’t criticize every single team. She only did that to those who didn’t meet her expectations. The problem was that some of the dishes were 8 points or even 9 points. But then again, if a dish was 9 points but it lacked creativity, it could still be deducted in points.

The problem was that all judges had different standards, and when a dish didn’t meet them, they were harsh. Since even Janet was stiff from nervousness, the tension was high.

But Cho Min Joon didn’t let it get to him. When their dishes were placed in front of the judges. Cho Min Joon looked at them with confidence. And one of them asked, “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Rose Island here.”

It was up to Cho Min Joon to answer. He calmly answered, “Yes, so I’ve heard.”

“We’re standing in front of these dishes with both nervousness and worry. I’m scared to even pick up the fork. The main branch of Rose Island. I wonder if our memories there will disappear… or if they’ll just turn out to be a process into getting here…”

“Your memories will disappear.”

Cho Min Joon spoke lowly. In response, they lifted their brow. Cho Min Joon slowly continued, “The main branch is no longer the past that you remember from 10 years ago. Rachel is still alive, and the main branch is doing just fine. No, we’re getting even better. ”

“Are you talking about molecular cooking? It’s not bad that you attempted molecular cooking. It’s a good message to say that Rose Island is open to things outside of traditional cooking. But just because you attempted something new doesn’t mean you’ll bring something new. From what I’ve heard… it’s only been a month since you’ve attempted it.”

“Yes. For us demi chefs that is. But Rachel has worked on this for over 10 years. And we’re here today because of our head chef. What we made is that man’s molecular cooking. So experience shouldn’t be an issue.”

Cho Min Joon then pointed at the appetizer. He calmly continued, “After making the salad into jelly, we caramelized it with sugar. Please try it.”

In response, the food critics picked up their forks. Cho Min Joon wasn’t nervous. They didn’t make any mistakes, and the recipe was perfect. The dish couldn’t have been better for 30 minutes. They tasted the salad and looked as if they weren’t surprised. Nothing was special about the taste of the sugar, and the same went for the jelly. But the situation soon turned around.

“This…”

Jeremy spoke with a surprised voice. Cho Min Joon didn’t say anything because they were probably busy experiencing the scent of the salad that was exploding in their mouths. And the moisture contained inside the gelatin salad was probably exploding as well.

The judges exchanged glances without a word. After the salad jelly was Anderson’s gnocchi. The gnocchi made of carrot was the result of a whole day’s worth of training from Rachel. So it was perfect. While the flavor of carrots was strong, the savory taste of the shrimp bisque stimulated their tongues. Even the shrimp wontons beside the gnocchi were chewy yet soft.

No one said a word. Some were enjoying it while some were reaching for the next dish. Next was Havier’s grilled eel. There was soy sauce jelly on top as well as foamed ginger sauce. The fishy taste was washed away by the ginger foam sauce, and the soy sauce jelly hugged the rest of it. Although it was food, they felt as though they were admiring art with their tongues.

And the last part was Cho Min Joon’s dessert. Some looked at it as if it looked questionable but most looked impressed. They put the spaghetti in their mouths as if they couldn’t wait any longer.

The chocolate in the spaghetti wasn’t sweet per se, but it was more about keeping the cocoa scent alive. As soon as that scent mixed in with the carbonized strawberries, no one expected the flavor. It was explosive. It was the most friendly, beautiful, and lovable kiss.

In the end, some of the judges even cried. They were crying tears of sadness and longing. The four dishes gifted them with the most perfect harmony.

“Rose… Island.”

One of them mumbled that to themselves. Another food critic nodded as if they finally understood. Rose Island.

Cho MIN Joon looked ahead with a dignified face. Not a single dish was left unfinished. Not even a drop of sauce. They were all whispering to one another.

At that moment… the legends had returned.