Chapter 210 - Taking the first step (1)

<You’re open today at the end of the day! Min-joon, this is the day you’ll debut as a chef. I think you have a lot in your mind. How do you feel?>

“Well, my mind is not as complicated as you think. I’m not as nervous as you think.”

<I didn’t ask you if you were nervous. Were you nervous?>

“Well, just a little bit. When I think about how high expectations our customers have for our restaurant, my heart is full, but at the same time, I am determined not to disappoint them.”

<Are you confident?>

“Yes, I’m always confident. It doesn’t mean I’m confident about myself. It’s my confidence in Master Rachel. Our head chef is the best in the world. I am confident about it, and I feel proud of it. And my colleagues are also top-rate chefs who are second to none.”

<What about your own pride, not your colleagues? This is a historic place today. Although you are not the main character, your role is by no means trivial.>

“I am proud enough to be happy. I am proud of myself. However, even if today passes, it doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re going to repeat today over and over again. In other words, every day will be a challenge for us. So, I want to put my pride on hold until I’m done with all the tests and challenges.”

<But you’ve just said you’re going to repeat today over and over again. Do you think the day where you’ll be done with challenges will ever come?>

“I don’t think so. The day will surely come.”

<When?>

“Well…”

***

“I liked your interview earlier,” Maya said, looking at Min-joon standing in front of the kitchen counter.

He smiled nicely and said, “Was I a bit annoying to the reporter?”

“I think so, but it’s your speciality, right? You make them feel annoyed and nervous.”

“I didn’t mean it…”

He lowered his head, with a sullen look. His words were rather straightforward and harsh, but he looked cute like a puppy when he was hotly engaged in the Q & A with the reporter.

‘Is this what made Kaya Reuters have a crush on him?’

Of course, that didn’t mean Min-joon was just as innocent and cute as a child. At times, he was more harsh and tough to Maya than other demi chefs including even Janet, when he stood at the cooking table. He didn’t complain even when Maya was lacking in cooking skills or dexterity.

But sometimes, when she put a mediocre dish on a plate, satisfied with it, Min-joon immediately found it out, often poked her in the ribs and made critical comments as follows:

<Do you really think you did your best?>

<You must have thought that you compromised with your own weakness. But no, you didn’t. You made a compromise with your dish. You made a compromise with your life and your customers.>

<Your customers are trusting you absolutely. They believe that the dish you put on a plate was not just a decent one you made a compromise with, but the one you made with all your heart, your lifelong experience, and efforts without any mistake. You have betrayed their trust.>

<We are chefs. We have to love our customers, and we have to be loved by them.>

<Let’s be chefs who can be proud of ourselves, Maya. Please, you are like a part of me. Help me rely on you, not supervise you. You know what I mean?>

When he gave her a good scolding like that, Maya felt really stressed out, but as time went by, what he said always had her think it over deeply. What he pointed out was not just her mistake, but her attitude toward cooking.

‘Yes, I know my demi chef is the best.’

Smiling brightly, she looked at Min-joon. Although she didn’t experience working with other demi chefs for a long time, she was confident that he was the most sincere and diligent among them. She had never seen him being complacent or cutting corners when it came to cooking. So, she could feel what kind of attitude a cook should have while working with him.

In that respect, Min-joon was a really perfect teacher and senior. Sometimes, his stubbornness made her feel tired, but it always woke her to something worthwhile.

Min-joon looked at Maya as if she was strange.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because I just like it. I’m just happy about working with the world’s best demi-chef at the best restaurant in the world.”

“You’re flattering me too much today, Maya. But it’s not that I don’t like your praise,” he replied, giggling at her.

Of course, she didn’t mean to flatter him on purpose, but she felt he would have appreciated her genuine feelings. He turned his eyes from her and looked in front of the kitchen. Rachel was staring at the hall with a red scarf on her chef’s suit tightly tied.

Her back was small. How big could an old woman’s back be? But no one thought her back was small right now. All of the staff in the kitchen had high expectations of her now. Besides, all the high expectations of the customers also fell on her shoulders.

Min-joon thought the word ‘small giant’ was reserved for a woman like Rachel. What would she think of when she saw the customers visiting this restaurant? What would she be looking at?

When Min-joon thought about it, he found his heart was beating before he knew it because he couldn’t figure it out.

The clock was ticking toward almost 11 AM. In several minutes, they were going to be inundated with customers’ orders.

While the kitchen staff was looking at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall, Rachel turned to them and opened her mouth.

“Anyone who is scared. Are you there?”

“No. Because I have a teacher. There is something to be afraid of.”

“If the intention was to put the burden on it, it would have been a very successful statement. Your shoulders are heavy.”

At Cho Min-joon’s words, Rachel smiled bitterly and opened her eyes seriously, Rachel slowly opened her mouth.

“Are you guys scared of people?”

“No, we’re not because you are with us,” said Min-joon.

“If you wanted to pressure me like that, you did it well. In fact, I feel pressured a lot.”

She smiled bitterly at his reply. She then opened her eyes seriously.

She said slowly, “I don’t want to make a lame comment, but today is an important day. Depending on how we take the first step, the way we step forward will be different. So, I can’t accept any mistakes. I want to say you have to stay alert, but I guess you also know that when you make a dish in a tense atmosphere, your dish also tastes tough, right?”

The cooks didn’t seem to understand her point completely.

But the demi-chefs nodded unconsciously. They also went through ups and downs to cultivate their own cooking skills. Accordingly, they understood what she was trying to say.

Rachel continued, “Think of your cooking as a play. A play that makes people happy. But, let’s do our best so that everybody can be happy. Let’s make sure no one leaves our restaurant sadly. And let’s enjoy our work.”

As soon as she was done talking, menu order forms were already coming out of the printer next to the vent. Rachel picked up the order nicely and raised her voice.

“Table 9. Two courses! One of the customers is allergic to crustaceans, so replace it with vegetables. The main is one duck confit and one ox cheek. You also remember the alternative menu, right?”

“Yes, Chef!”

“Table 3. Four courses. No special request. Janet, is the amuse bouche ready?”

“Yes, they’re plating it right now.”

Rachel’s voice was never cut off, so was Raphael’s.

Even if the menu was unified, in reality, they had to modify the menu little by little, depending on the customer’s allergy or unbalanced diet. Sometimes, there was an extraordinary situation involving the customer’s taste. For example, if the customer could not eat seafood at all, or if the customer was a vegan, they had to prepare an alternative menu. Of course, it was not very common for vegans to come to Rose Island.

As soon as cooking started, what Min-joon held in his hand was a frying pan. He had to make the bacon foam sauce first. Of course, he couldn’t even hold onto it. He looked at Maya and said, “Maya, take out the jelly.”

“Yes, chef.”

Maya quickly pulled out the aged jelly from the refrigerator. He examined the jelly carefully.

The cooking score was 7. However, there were so many things in molecular cooking that couldn’t be judged by the cooking score alone. First, he had to look at the thickness of the jelly, and even if the score was 7, he had to make sure that its taste was in sync with what the customer wanted.

“Although I’m forced to make it, I somehow got out of the system to cook this.”

Min-joon muttered to himself.

Over the long run, it was good for him. The power of the system was a sweet fruit. It was like a milkshake in front of someone who exercised for long. Relying on that system would make the chef feel comfortable and sweet right now, but in the end, it wasn’t good for him in the long run. Given that the level-up condition of the system had a strong tendency to induce the chef not to depend on the system, it would certainly be good for the chef to improve his cooking skills based on his own judgment.

What they really had to do in the molecular cooking section was plating. At least it was true for jelly. Most of the jellies tended to taste deeper when they were aged on a daily basis. So, they had to make jellies in advance. What they did was cut and plate the aged jellies in a shape suitable for cooking.

“How does it taste, chef?”

“It tastes good. The thickness is also right. If you cut it properly, it’s over. You cut it. Let me make the bacon foam base.”

“Yes, chef.”

Min-joon turned his eyes from Maya and focused on the frying pan again. Making bacon foams wasn’t that difficult. It went like this. First, add smoked bacon and onions with butter, then slowly drain the juice out of it. After that, deglaze with white wine, add cream and water after simmering and boil it again slowly. Through this process, the flavor and taste of smoked bacon could deeply get into the cream. Next, add a little more butter and foam it with a whisk. The process itself was not very difficult. To be exact, forming the bubble shape wasn’t that difficult. But what was important was the taste. How to capture the taste that could harmonize with potato soup was the key. But Janet, not Maya, was in charge of the potato soup. Capturing the delicious taste was only possible when the involved chiefs could understand each other perfectly.

“Janette, taste this bacon foam. Does it taste good?”

“Yes, that’s good. It’s perfect.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”