Chapter 223 - Icing on the cake (2)

Min-joon looked at the pomegranate candy he just made. The cooking score was 8. He needed one more point, compared with the expected cooking score in the system window. But it was okay. The cooking was not over yet because it would be over once he sprinkled pomegranate jam on it anyway.

He knocked on the door of Rachel’s office, holding a tray in one hand. Soon, he heard her saying, “Come on in.”

She watched him entering the office strangely. Looking at the plate in his hand, she thought it was a new menu he developed.

She said, grinning at him, “Oh, you have been anxious to make it so much. So, how did it go? You think you made it good?”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s perfect. Seriously.”

“Okay. Bring it to me.”

“Yes, master!”

Min-joon could not be more excited at the moment. She looked at him warmly as if she was looking at her son. He placed pomegranate candy in front of her and gave her a fork and a spoon.

“Would you like to break it?”

She carefully tapped the candy with a fork when he prodded. It wasn’t as hard as she thought. When she tapped it once, the candy cracked a little, and when she tapped it twice, it collapsed altogether. She admired it, seeing the pomegranate powder ice cream inside it.

“Is it made of pomegranate?”

“Yes. Oh, please don’t eat it yet. There is still one more thing.”

Having said that, he lifted the teapot next to him. In fact, she kept looking at it curiously, wondering what it was. When he tilted the teapot, hot pomegranate jam poured down over the cold candy and powdered ice cream.

And at the same time, a system window popped up before his eyes.

[Pomegranate candy with pomegranate jam and ice cream has a cooking score of 9!]

[You have completely solved the entire process by yourself!]

[Your proficiency in molecular cooking skills increased!]

[Your proficiency in decoration skills increased through attractive plating!]

The system praised him with all kinds of expressions. However, what he expected most was Rachel’s praise.

As expected, she admired his new recipe and at the same time giggled.

“Justine is going to have a real hard time. Washing the dish must be tough for him.”

“Think about it later. What do you think?”

“You made it well. Plating is also good. What matters is the taste. Let me try it.”

She lifted a spoon and put the ice cream in her mouth. And she smiled softly.

When she smiled at him, he asked with a nervous voice, “Do you think it’s okay? Can I put it on the menu for Christmas?”

Rachel replied, “No, you can’t.”

The smile on his face disappeared in an instant.

He asked in a perplexed expression, “Did you say no?”

Since he waited for her reply with so much expectation, he found her words too harsh.

But she couldn’t say that without any good reason.

She calmly opened her mouth.

“It’s delicious. It’s a good dish. It’s fun, too. And the theme of this dish is… Maybe, you wanted to express your heart through the breaking of the pomegranate as if it were a birthday present, right?

“You know it already.”

“Because it’s too obvious. Maybe it can be the best proposal idea if you have a ring over there.”

“Oh, no. Kaya told me last time I shouldn’t do it. She said something like how she couldn’t hold a ring stained with food in her hand.”

“I think she is talking high and mighty. Well, anyway, this dish is still not good enough to be on our menu.”

“Oh I see,” said Min-joon, lowering his head with a dejected look.

She looked at him and smiled kindly as if she was comforting her sulky son.

“Don’t be so offended. It doesn’t mean that your dish is a failure. But it’s not good enough as it is now.”

“What is lacking in it?”

“Well, it’s not difficult to point out its shortcomings. I can advise you on how to improve. But do you think this is a perfect dish?”

When she said that, he thought for a moment then shook his head slowly. He felt ashamed when he remembered he thought of asking her to improve the decisive shortcoming of the dish then claiming it was his own dish.

She said with a smile, “Sometimes just recognizing that you have shortcomings can help you a lot. In that case, you know whether you should try to improve it or not. I hope you can get a good answer, Min-joon.”

“Got it. Thanks for your advice. I’ll come back after improving it.”

He replied, pretending to be calm, but he could not hide the disappointment in his voice.

When he grabbed the doorknob, she asked a question, “Did you let other people try it?”

“Well, no. I brought it to you first.”

“Let them try it. Then you might solve the problem more easily.”

“Okay.”

He came out, pondering over her words that letting others try it would help him solve the problem more easily. As if she was pretty curious about Rachel’s reaction, Janet asked with a bit of anxiety as soon as he entered the kitchen, “What did she say?”

“Well, it’s not good enough.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“By the way, are you smiling now?”

“I don’t have to cry over this, you know.”

Janet shrugged without responding. She then looked back at her cooking table.

The demi chefs including Janet were very sensitive to the question of who would be the first to put their recipes on the official menu of Rose Island.

Min-joon took a spoon at the dish that Rachel just tried.

“It’s delicious…”

Typically, ice cream would freeze the tongue, and it could slow its taste. But in this case, the hot jam sprinkled over the ice cream soothed it. Rather, the cold and hot sensation stimulated his tongue, making his palate more sensitive than usual, so the taste was clear, and the sweetness wasn’t excessive.

‘I just have no idea why it was not good enough.’

It was at that moment that he recalled her words that he had better let others try it.

He held the plate and headed to other cooks and chefs.

Havier said, leaning forward, “It’s really delicious. It’s also fun. I don’t know why she criticized this dish.”

“Anderson, how about you?”

“I agree with Havier. I think the taste is perfect. Sweet and refreshing. As a dessert, this is perfect.”

Min-joon looked at the cooks. As if they didn’t expect he would ask for their opinion, they looked confused at the moment. They then slowly opened their mouths.

Garrick said first, “The three main elements of cooking are taste, the texture of food, and its look. But I think this dish has a good mix of them. So, I really can’t get any sense of how to make this better.”

“I agree. The taste of pomegranate is good, too… What is lacking?”

“Well, don’t you think what she meant was it was not lacking, but you could do better?” Said Maya. She made eye contact with him. Then she turned her eyes from him diffidently.

Min-joon prodded her to go on. “So, what do you think?”

“Oh, come to think of it, I think what I have to say is meaningless.”

“Let me judge it. So, feel free to tell me about what you think.”

“Well, as you know, the uniqueness of Rose Island’s cuisine is not just the deliciousness of the food, right? I think Master Rachel wants something like a fresh idea with which you can make a delicious dish with a certain ingredient, or make the taste of a dish richer by cooking it differently. In other words, she wants to seek perfection in the originality of your dishes. Of course, I’m not saying your dish is not fresh or rich in taste.”

After saying that, she seemed nervous, waving her hand hurriedly for fear he might have misunderstood her.

He said in a friendly voice, “Maya, don’t be nervous. You know me. Even if your comment is harsh, I’m going to take it. So, feel free to talk.”

“To be honest with you, I thought your dish is really delicious, but at the same time, I thought you can have it even when you go to a good restaurant. In that respect, I thought it’s not good enough by the standards of Rose Island.”

“To sum it up, my dish is lacking in emotional appeal, right?”

“Well, maybe. I’m not sure.”

Maya laughed awkwardly. Although she commented as per his request, she found it difficult to criticize another chef’s dish. What was more, if it was her supervisor’s dish, it was much harder for her.

He mumbled, tapping the plate with his finger, “Emotional appeal…”

He found it hard to conceptualize it.

***

Like it or not, there were a few things chefs got used to while working at Rose Island.

The first one was delicious cooking. Rather than having a separate mealtime, they often sampled the dishes they were preparing for the next menu. However, most of the sample dishes were made after going through Rachel’s final check. Besides, such samples were more delicious than any fancy food at other high-end restaurants.

The second thing they got used to was the visits by celebrities. There were all kinds of celebrities in Los Angeles, so the city was famous for many geeks and eccentrics in Hollywood. It was common for entertainers to visit Rose Island, and some of those rich people flew from outside LA in their private jets. Even the second richest in the world visited it a few days ago and left with a lot of accolades.

But even after Rose Island chefs had those experiences, one of them, namely Min-joon, felt uncomfortable with the guests at one table in the hall at the moment. One of the guests was a famous middle-aged man, and the other one was a famous female MC. The third guest was familiar to Min-joon. His name was Martin. But it was not because of the guests that Min-joon was uncomfortable at the moment

“Chloe is old enough to hang out with them.”

Min-joon stared at the table blankly. He couldn’t imagine that she could make such a successful career, who had been living an easygoing life only a few months ago.

Anderson briefly turned up his mouth slightly and said, “Didn’t you know that these days, Chloe’s cookbook was on the bestseller’s list? Besides, she was invited to all kinds of talk shows, too.”

“But why are you looking at her so proudly?”

“No, I am not.”

“Alright, let me give you the benefit of the doubt.”