Chapter 205 - Head Chefs' Courtship (8)

Even after the food tasting event hosted by Rachel was over, the head chefs didn’t leave immediately. Probably, they didn’t leave right away because they were not busy. There was a reason why the head chef was commonly called the most beautiful interior of the restaurant. Some of them could come here because they took vacation leave, but it wasn’t so easy for most of them to fly here comfortably. Even some of them had to fly more than ten hours by plane, so they should have hurried back home because of their tight schedules by now.

But there were really a few who left hurriedly. They felt so attached to this place.

Rose Island Venice restaurant was a spiritual home to them, and Rachel Rose was their spiritual mother. So, it was far from strange that they found it so hard to leave quickly after the tasting event. After all, they came back after ten years to visit their spiritual hometown and mother.

“You will accept our call, right?”

“Yeah. I won’t live like an invisible man anymore. So, don’t worry.”

“How can we not be concerned about you? You’ve spent the last 10 years like that. So, please be ready for our concern for another ten years.”

“I might die even before I appreciate your concern… Anyway, thanks, guys. Don’t stare at me fiercely like that. As an old woman, I take great delight in cracking a joke like this. So, don’t be so mean to me.”

Rachel turned her gaze in embarrassment, looking back at her former trainees staring at her.

If she was young, she would hurl abuses at them for staring at her like that, but she became mellow enough to hold down her hot temper, which made them sad a bit.

‘Oh, I feel sad she is acting old like that.’

It was natural that they felt that way. In fact, Chef Rachel was still up and running. Rather, she was in better shape than before. But as a human, she looked runt and lonely. They felt as one grew old, one was supposed to look like her, but when they confirmed it from her, they felt bitter.

“Raphael. Do me a favor. Please take a good look at Rachel.”

“Well, I’m doing my best, but don’t worry too much. Isaac is with her. Maybe he’s the best manager in the world.”

Min-joon, who was next to Raphael, nodded unwittingly.

Raphael was right. Although Min-joon didn’t experience many managers, Isaac was a perfect manager that nobody could find anywhere else.

There was a lot of work Isaac did, such as managing the Rose Island HQ, and overseeing each branch, as well as connecting and supervising the merchants who supply the ingredients. Besides, he served as Rachel’s personal assistant. So, it was not unusual to think that the moment Isaac disappeared, Rachel would be incapacitated.

‘… It’s a little difficult to deal with him, though.’

Perhaps, Janet and Anderson, who were notorious for being blunt, were not as blunt as Issac.

Right at that moment, Deborah came with a slice of steak with avocado puree, kumquat cream, and demigrass sauce.

“Hey. Min-joon. Would you come over here and taste this?”

“Oh, sure. Give it to me.”

Min-joon took the plate. In fact, he was full. In fact, not only Deborah but so many head chefs wanted him to try their dishes. In particular, those chefs with lower-level stars or those whose stars didn’t increase for some time brought more plates for him to try.

Probably, they wanted to understand what was wrong with their skills by relying on his perfect palate. Because of this, he could hardly ignore their desperate request.

“I would like to repeat my point. The level of my cooking skills is not as high as you might think…”

“You want to say it’s not as high as we think, and you’re just good at discerning the ingredients, right? We’ve heard a lot about that. Min-joon, we won’t be swayed by what you say, so don’t worry.”

“… Okay. First of all, let me say this, it’s delicious. Honestly, it satisfies all the elements we expect from food. If I have to point out any shortcoming, there is less fun here.”

“Fun?”

Deborah asked as if his reply was unexpected.

Min-joon nodded and continued, “I’m not talking about this as one with a perfect palate, but as a customer with a young sensibility. Normally, when you visit a high-end restaurant, you think the taste of food at the restaurant is basically guaranteed. Besides, you want to try a dish that you haven’t tasted once in your life or a dish that keeps you wondering how the chef can make such a delicious dish.”

“Hmm…so you think this steak is so typical, right?”

“It tastes so delicious that I don’t want to downgrade it with the word ‘typical’, but if I may be a bit rude, I think that’s what I want to say.”

“Well, unfortunately, gourmets are always critical. Even this time, they didn’t give more stars for the reason that the dishes were typical.”

Min-joon could not respond to Deborah’s whining. He found it too hard to touch on a head chef’s worries.

As soon as he was done testing Deborah’s dish, other chefs began to approach him, eagerly expecting him to taste their own dishes.

Eventually, Rachel opened her mouth.

“Guys, don’t harass him. As soon as the HQ enters the stable phase, let me stop by your branches and test your dishes.”

“Are you sure? Really?”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled at her announcement. Normally, the head chef would not be happy about being managed by an executive chef, but Rachel was an exception because they didn’t regard her as a rival.

Rachel smiled softly and said, “You don’t have to welcome my visit so much. I intend to be the pickiest chef in the world. So, just give up your desire to do something right now, and try to make the best meals for your customers. Our basic starts not with skills, but with our heart, after all. Got it?”

Fortunately, Rachel’s announcement seemed to have paid off. Of course, there were still some who wanted to have Min-joon to taste their dishes, but it was not because they looked for an opportunity to overcome the wall they faced, but because they just wanted Min-joon, with a perfect palate, to try their dishes.

Even Dave also handed his own dish to Min-joon. It was sea bream cooked with oil mixed with butter and olive oil using the arroser technique, sprinkled with sugar on the skin, and caramelized with a torch. Lime foam was on top, and a sauce made from avocado and olive oil was spread on the bottom.

It tasted good. Rather, it was not enough to describe it as just ‘good.’ It was comparable to the sea bream that Rachel had them make.

Min-joon looked back at Dave unexpectedly. His cooking level was 9, which was high enough to put him on par with Rachel. Of course, there were some other chefs with level 9, but not many. He was in such a league.

Min-joon whispered softly, “To be honest, I like yours the most among all the chefs’ dishes today.”

“Why are you whispering it to me instead of announcing it to others?”

“Oh, please be patient. I don’t want to be hated.”

Dave smiled mischievously at his joke.

Sitting down by him, Dave opened his mouth.

“If you live as a chef, you will probably have a lot of moments of choice. Maybe you’ve already gone through it several times.”

“Which choice?”

“Well, I would say it was sort of your choice that you were in charge of the molecular cooking section. I heard that the guy who got the best grade was charged with molecular cooking, right? If that was the case, you might have made some moderate effort. But you did your best, and you were chosen for that job in the end. ”

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Min-joon, shrugging.

Dave said, giggling at that, “In my opinion, Min-joon and the molecular cooking section seem to fit each other exactly, just like a cogwheel. I don’t know how large a cogwheel it will connect, but I have great expectations.”

“Thank you. Since a great chef like you is telling me that, I feel like I want to act arrogant. So, what do you think I’m going to choose next?” Min-joon asked curiously.

Just as they hoped for his evaluation with a perfect palate, he also hoped for their advice based on their experiences. Fortunately, Dave was more than qualified enough to give him advice. Dave thought for a moment then slowly opened his mouth.

“In the end, you decide where you belong. There are several types of chefs. First of all, the traditional chef is different from the chef specializing in molecular cuisine. The chef who is only in the kitchen is different from the star chef who stands in front of TV cameras. As a chef, you can sell expensive ingredients targeting luxurious menus, but you can use cheap ingredients to make more popular dishes for the ordinary people. There are head chefs who focus on the supervision of the kitchen, while there are others who think that it is meaningless if they do not make the dishes themselves.”

“It looks like there are no limits to one’s greed. I want to be all the chefs that you have just mentioned.”

“Well, I want to support you, but I haven’t seen anyone who chased and caught all those rabbits so far. You will have to make the choice at the end of the day. And when the moment of choice comes, be prudent. Just keep hesitating until the end. It doesn’t matter if it takes years for you to make the final choice because you have to live with that for the rest of your life.”

“It’s my secret, but I actually like to agonize. So, I don’t feel pressured by what you have said.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Dave smiled at him brightly, which was manly and nice, so much so that Min-joon felt like he wanted to be a chef like him. Min-joon turned his head. He saw Rachel, who was standing proudly among the famous head chefs who came all over the country.

“I want to have a place like this.”

“This place?”

“Yes. It’s a place where a teacher and students meet, discuss their difficulties and agonize together, and join hands together. I love this kind of warmth so much.”

“What are you talking about? Min-joon, you already have it.”

Dave looked at him. He laughed when Min-joon looked at him with a perplexed expression.

“You’re part of this kitchen. You’re part of the warmth here. You don’t have to step back to appreciate it.”

“… Oh you’re right. Very strange, why did I feel out of place?”

“Do you want me to make you feel close?”

Min-joon looked at him, embarrassed.

Turning to the chefs, Dave shouted out loud, “Rachel, guys, let’s take a group picture.”

“Oh, yeah. I didn’t even think about a picture. I don’t think we have any more occasions like this.”

“Let me take a picture!”

“No. Ella, you are too short to take a picture.”

“… I can climb the table.”

She muttered with a sullen look. Min-joon stroked her head with a smile.

“You take a picture with me later. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Though she tried not to express her feelings, she was obviously disappointed.

Chefs as well as servers and bakers stood in front of the kitchen. It was Min-joon who held the camera. He set the timer and quickly stood behind Ella. Then, he pressed down her sullen lips with his finger, whose face stiffened at the moment.

Click.

The camera flash went off.