Chapter 199 - 36 Head Chefs’ Courtship (2)

“Mr. Pavo.”

The producer stopped wrestling with idle thoughts when someone called him suddenly.

Pavo looked back. Rachel was looking at him.

“Did you call me?”

“I hear they’re arriving soon.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you. Camera team, come over here!”

Leaving the kitchen, he beckoned to his staff.

Min-joon asked, looking at Rachel with a slightly confused expression, “Somebody’s arriving here? Who is coming?”

“You’ll find out soon.”

Rachel smiled meaningfully but did not respond. Of course, she would have answered if he had kept asking. Min-joon didn’t dare pester her with the question because he wasn’t even curious. If they were Rachel’s acquaintances, they were mostly likely gourmets or chefs. Whoever they were, they were probably pretty famous. That was what Min-joon thought, and he didn’t need to know more than that.

However, the number of visitors who came an hour later was much more than he expected.

To be precise, as many as 36 guests came.

***

LAX.

As always, buses were lined up in the parking lot at Los Angeles International Airport. Among them was a bus carrying Rachel’s guests. It was just an ordinary sightseeing bus. There were no special decorations on the bus, so at first glance, it looked just like a tour bus.

Of course, there was someone among the guests who didn’t like it very much. It was a woman with long curly red hair. She shook her head with a sigh.

“When the Grand Chef invited chefs, they even sent us plane tickets.”

“Deborah, that’s Grand Chef. As you know, we’re here to shoot something like a documentary on the chef’s daily life. Besides, the chefs who were on the plane back then were Chef Rachel and Chef Sergey. Two of them deserved to receive such a treatment,” Dave answered.

Dave was the head chef of Rose Island with three stars, which Min-joon visited for the first time.

And the woman named Deborah, who got told off by Dave, replied, tapping her forehead on the glass window feebly, “Well, I admit we are dwarfed by chefs like Rachel, Sergei, or that weird old man… But there are still quite a few with stars here. There are a lot of people who opened restaurants in those areas where the Michelin Guide does not support. If Michelin Guide had done support, they would have gotten even one hundred stars.”

“Well, if we 38 chefs want to obtain 100 starts, we would have to gather all the three stars except for a few. Even you had only one star from the beginning.”

“… That hurts my feelings a bit.”

Deborah turned her head with a sullen expression as if she had nothing to say.

Dave turned around the bus. Less than thirty people were on board the bus, which could accept a little more than 40 people. He stroked his chin, sighing ‘Hummm.’

“They’re late.”

“They are flying not only from the United States but from all over the world. Isn’t it weird for them to arrive at the same time?”

“When was the last time we got together?”

“Well, it’s more than ten years ago. They went out to other countries, not just the United States. As you know, Master Rachel is also our central figure.”

“Rose Island… I’m already excited because I think that name is firmly here to stay.”

“I don’t need anything. I’m so happy to know our master has started to cook again.”

As if to trace her memory, Deborah made a silly smile on her lips that only a sleeping man could.

Right at that moment, somebody said in a husky and low voice, “By the way, did you guys hear that rumor?”

It was a bald white man with a strong build. Looking back, Dave asked, “I don’t know which rumor you are talking about.”

“There were rumors that Master Rachel chose a guy named Min-joon Cho as her successor.”

At that moment, not only the three but also others around them were quiet. What he said was pretty much sensitive.

Dave groaned with his arms folded, and said with a low voice, “Philip. It’s not a matter for us to talk about recklessly.”

“Why? We’re her disciples, and we’re soldiers of Rose Island. If she wants to install a new general… at least we should be able to speak out about that matter.”

“I know what you mean, but Master Rachel hasn’t told us anything about it yet. If we’re speculating about the rumors, we might have further understanding.”

“Well, I don’t want to amplify a misunderstanding. But I’m legitimately curious. I really wonder if our master has great expectations for that kid… Dave, you’ve met him in person. How was your impression?”

Not only Deborah but also other chefs chatting with each other pricked their ears.

Dave frowned as if he was pressured then opened his mouth hesitantly, “I don’t know about him well. He just ate my dish and checked out my recipe. But I know one thing about him for sure. He had a perfect palate. If you remember Master Daniel, you know what it means to have an excellent palate, right?”

“Perfect palate? Isn’t it exaggerated or fabricated, or anything like that?”

“If he really has a perfect palate, our master would not have accepted him, right?”

“You bet.” Deborah nodded.

Min-joon’s perfect palate. Although they were speculating at the moment, he was Rachel’s prospective successor.

Min-joon’s title was really astounding, which was even more meaningful to these chefs at Rose Island.

Philip crossed his arms. A complicated feeling was clearly all over his face.

“I don’t know if I need to be on edge or if I should be happy. You know I would feel thrilled if I heard someone had a perfect palate and cook for him, but since he is my competitor…”

“Competitor? I don’t agree, man. He just earned the title ‘Demi chef.’ You don’t have to be so conscious of him like that.”

“As you know, there is a ‘freak’ who learns it in only one year when someone spends ten years learning the same thing. Min-joon is a strong rival. Whew! It was tough for me to deal with your guys, and now I have a tougher rival…”

Although nobody talked about it in public, the position of Rachel Rose’s successor was coveted by all the Rose Island’s head chefs. They were more interested in the representative of Rose Island than the right to ownership of Rachel Rose Restaurant itself. Since they have dedicated their lives to Rose Island, the title of Rachel’s successor meant a lot more to them.

So, if the main restaurant of Rose Island is reopened, it was highly likely that its head chef will be chosen as its representative. Of course, Rachel currently serves as the head chef, so no one had any complaints. But if Min-joon or someone else became the head chef, and their skills weren’t that great in their eyes, there would be a big problem.

The reason why all the head chefs of its thirty-six branches gathered in one place was because they wanted to congratulate Rachel on the reopening of the main restaurant, but also, they were really curious about Rachel’s successor.

When everyone gathered and arrived at Rose Island, they looked very serious when they stepped into the restaurant.

Dave looked around, with a little nostalgic expression. This was the place where he once worked as well. It ached his heart when he looked at the place that was left empty without anyone working on it for the past ten years. He felt rather delighted at the lights coming through the window.

“… Who are those guys?”

“I know some of them. They are chefs. Rose Island head chefs. I wonder if all of them are head chefs.”

Those who seemed to be broadcasting staff weren’t surprised, but the servers and chefs were embarrassed by the sudden arrival of 36 guests.

With a smile, Rachel stepped forward to the chefs.

“It’s been a while since I saw you guys. Not all of you, but most of you… I see some of you who I met during the past ten years.”

“Well, it’s because you haven’t met us, since you stayed put like a sleeping princess.”

Deborah snapped with a sullen voice.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, “Yeah, that’s true. Like you said, I was stuck at home for some time. By the way, looking at the way you speak to me, I feel like you have become a queen, not a princess.”

“You looked very mellow on TV, so I thought you got old, but you are not as old as I think you are.”

“Well, I think I can size you up, given the way you treat your master. You are still one star, right?”

“Oh my… It’s because the gourmets who came on that day ranked me according to their taste. Anyway, they didn’t have anything like professionalism.”

“So, you mean you happened to meet only those gourmets that you didn’t like over the years? Hey, I don’t want to hear that kind of disgusting excuse, Deborah.”

“You’re so mean to me, Rachel. I’m meeting you like this in several years.”

“How can you treat our respected master like this, Deborah?”

Deborah glared at Rachel with a sad expression, as if she was about to cry, but she approached and hugged Rachel tightly. Rachel smiled lightly, not embarrassed.

Deborah whispered in a slightly wet voice, “I really missed you, ma’am. I wish you had taken time to meet me. Seriously.”

“I’m sorry.”

When Deborah kind of appealed to her, other head chefs were about to move away, but Rachel raised her hand to stop them.

“Stop! I don’t think you want me to hug you guys one by one, right? If I do, I’m afraid I’m going to come down with something.”

“You are still as strict as ever!” Dave said.

“Well, who takes care of this old woman other than me? I’ve no other choice but to protect myself,” Rachel responded with a light smile.

Right at the moment, the demi chefs came out one by one. Min-joon was walking along with other chefs but flinched at the head chefs’ intense gaze, who immediately turned their eyes at him. They were looking at him alone, not the other chefs.

He opened his mouth awkwardly, “Hello…?”

“It’s been a while, Min-joon.”

“Oh, Dave. Nice to meet you.”

Min-joon shook hands with Dave and looked at Rachel. It seemed like Min-joon was asking her what the heck was going on.

Rachel said calmly, “These are the head chefs of Rose Islands from all over the world. Even though they are busy, they flew here from faraway countries at my request. Nice guys.”

“Well, you threatened us that if we didn’t come, you would not give us extra pay for one year.”

“Oops. Jabra, didn’t you know I was kidding? You’re dumb, as always.”

A black man named Jabra made an embarrassed expression. Was he really dumb?

When something similar happened before, Rachel didn’t give him any bonus for several months. Of course, Rachel didn’t dwell on it.

She slowly looked at the other chefs.

“There are two reasons why I asked you to gather here. First, I wanted to share this moment with you prior to the opening of Rose Island HQ since its reopening is around the corner. Second, I want you to act like customers and evaluate the dishes in the kitchen yourself. You guys know Daniel well, so I think you remember tasting his dishes well.”

“Do you intend to reproduce his dishes back then?”

There was some slight trembling in his voice. In fact, all of the Rose Island branches tried to imitate or follow the taste of the HQ’s food, but there were none that could completely reproduce its taste, though they could.

They just felt thrilled when they thought about relishing in its taste again.

They didn’t know they were thrilled as a chef or as one who liked cooking.

But at that moment, Rachel said, “No, we’re not going to reproduce the same taste.”

“Pardon?”

“Daniel wouldn’t want me to copy his dishes. I’m going to surprise that less fortunate man a lot. The Rose Island HQ is going to evolve even more than it was. We’re going to develop more,” she declared firmly, “I’ll make it by all means.”