Chapter 477 - Between Art and Cooking (4)

Downey looked at Min-joon as if to think what he just said was ridiculous. What Min-joon said was that he would use potatoes, not meat or something like that, as the main ingredient. Anyway, the main ingredient of his dish was potatoes. It was never easy because there was only one menu at June’s restaurant that served potatoes as the main dish.

“Did you say you could make a dish with potatoes that lives up to our restaurant?”

“Why? Do you think it’s hard?”

Honestly, it seemed difficult for Downey to come up with a potato recipe even if he was given six months or a year. When it came to cooking, there was clearly a limit to devising recipes with the given ingredients. But what if Min-joon challenged it?

Downey couldn’t answer his question.

Min-joon cast a pathetic glance at him, then slowly looked at the potato in his hand.

[Potato]

Freshness: 93%

Origin: Idaho

Quality: High

It was an Idaho potato. In fact, he could know it without having to look into the system window.

When he touched it, he immediately found out that it was an Idaho product.

Idaho potatoes were the most common potatoes found in the United States. Starchy potatoes. With low moisture, they were mainly used for fries or steamed dishes, so they were common in America where people often associate potatoes with French fries. In fact, quite a few burger shops use Idaho potatoes in America.

It was a trend that was quite comparable to that of Korea. In Korea, it wasn’t starchy potatoes, but waxy potatoes with plenty of moisture that were usually used. Considering that Korean potato dishes were basically developed for stew or boiled food, it was natural. If they fried sticky potatoes, they could not get the crispy texture of potatoes properly.

‘Okay, let me use this potato first.’

Min-joon didn’t need waxy potatoes for the potato dish he had in mind. What he was going to make now was either mashed potatoes or potato puree. Given that both require a lot of starch, it was better for him to use starchy potatoes.

‘The question is what to choose between the mashed potato and potato puree….’

Min-joon was lost in thought while peeling the potatoes. Someone might ask him if mashed potatoes and potato puree are the same, after all. Both were made like a pastry by mashing potatoes anyway, so they might ask whether there was any difference between them.

As a matter of fact, even chefs sometimes differed on them. They even asked if there was any remarkable difference. Of course, their cooking method was different, but they sometimes made mashed potatoes like puree or puree like mashed potato. In fact, there seemed to be no boundary between the two, but their boundary was rather ambiguous.

However, Min-joon had his own cooking standards. According to him, unlike mashed potatoes, puree must be dehydrated before being crushed, then added with butter, broth, or alcohol.

He kept silent for a long time while looking at the potatoes only.

It was as if he forgot those around him. But those around him couldn’t even think of stopping him because they had seen him coming up with something extraordinary after focusing on something for long.

“Okay, I’ve decided!”

After thinking hard, he muttered in a quiet voice. Of course, people around him couldn’t even figure out what he decided. And it was puree that he chose.

In fact, this topic was quite related to what he often thought about these days, namely artistic value, commerciality, and the essence of cooking. The mashed potato was unexpectedly closely related to the nature of commerciality and cooking. In fact, several hundred years ago potatoes were regarded as something that even dogs didn’t eat, but it was one of the most popular ingredients of the people, regardless of their preferences.

And the mashed potato made them feel the taste as it was without any special processing.

And, in fact, it was easier to capture the taste of many people with its simple taste, rather than adding various things to it.

But he could not afford to walk the path of comfort because he had no reason to do so. He had to make the taste more rich and abundant. It was time for him to show how rich and colorful he could make the taste of potatoes rather than the essence of potatoes.

‘Let me show him what Cinderella’s magic is.’

Min-joon was thinking of putting potato puree on the bottom, then adding wine and veal broth on the top. And on top of it…

“Downey, go get some cauliflower. Bring sweet vermouth wine and dill, unsalted butter, and high-fat fresh cream, too. Also, bring some garlic and starch powder, along with potato starch and cornstarch. Oh, I almost forgot. Chicken broth and veal broth, too.”

“Me bringing them all?”

“Then should I go? I’m cooking all this stuff because of you!”

He couldn’t have trainees or other cooks to bring them to him because this was the problem between Downey and himself. After all, Downey finally brought all the ingredients from the pantry as Min-joon ordered, then Min-joon started slicing the potatoes thinly. A sous chef usually gave directions to his chefs or cooks instead of cooking in person, so everybody in the kitchen opened their eyes wide and watched him cooking after a long time.

“Well, it’s awkward for me to say this, but your cooking skills are terrific, Chef Min-joon!”

Watching him cooking, Osla wondered how Downey could dare to challenge him. Given Min-joon’s cooking skills, Downey should have given up his stubbornness and followed him, but he didn’t. Basically, Downey was too old-fashioned and stubborn.

After all, Eva opened her mouth as if to double down on Osla’s thinking.

“What did you think of Dobby?”

“Well, I thought he was different because he was a genius cook.”

“Min-joon beat him, you know. He is much younger than Dobby, too.”

It was not something pompous or new. But at this moment, Osla could confirm the veracity of such a fact before her eyes, so much so that she got goosebumps at that.

Yes, Min-joon was such a chef. For his age, who was about the same as them, he grabbed the position of sous chef. He was almost the only one who made June desperately hire him.

Finally, Min-joon began to move his hands.

The potatoes were sliced, fluttering like a cloth. It was as if he used a slicer. Obviously, he had no chance to use his hands in the kitchen, but having such a keen dexterity meant that he did not neglect to practice at home or anywhere.

He chopped all the potatoes in an instant, and he now began to chop the garlic. The speed of him crushing it by the side of the knife was unusual.

And finally, it was time to heat the ingredients. He fried garlic in butter and olive oil for a while, then put potatoes in it and fried it so that it became transparent. After he poured the chicken broth in it and cooked the potatoes thoroughly, he poured fresh cream this time. After cooking the potatoes like that, he put the potatoes in a bucket to cool them down and started checking the wine sauce he tasted from time to time. The ingredients were simple, namely veal broth, sweet wine, dill, and some sugar. He was now going to put the sauce, which looked quite thin because it wasn’t boiled that much, on top of the puree.

The last ingredient he prepared was cauliflower. He was going to mix potato starch and cornstarch in a ratio of 7 to 3, then dip cauliflower in the dough made by mixing cooking oil and putting it in a preheated fryer before completing it. After that, he was going to filter the pre-cooled ground potatoes through a sieve, then add the wine sauce with cauliflower on the top.

It was not very complicated, but it was too good to believe that he made it in less than 20 minutes.

“Done!”

[Fried cauliflower with wine juice and potato puree]

Freshness: 95%

Country of origin: (There are several ingredients, so it is hidden)

Quality: High

Cooking score: 8/10

Cooking level 8 points.

Considering Min-joon’s cooking level, the cooking score might not be great, but in his eyes, this dish looked better than any dish with a perfect score.

“Won’t you try it? It’s going to get cold if you don’t hurry up.”

Min-joon spoke to Downey, who stared blankly at the plate for a long time.

Downey picked up the cauliflower with a defiant expression as if he was upset at Min-joon’s challenge. If the cauliflower, which boasted of a pure white frying coat with plenty of puree and wine juice, looked like a bride in a wedding dress, would that be a bit of a crazy comparison?

He put the cauliflower into his mouth. At that moment, the potato puree melted in his mouth like whipped cream. That was why Min-joon insisted on potato puree rather than mashed potato.

Its light and soft texture began to flow through Downey’s tongue as if it would explode or disappear at any moment. And it actually disappeared.

But what was important was not just its texture. The taste of chicken stock, the taste of fresh cream, the taste of potatoes, the taste of garlic, and the taste of butter. Downey didn’t have a perfect palate like Min-joon, but he was amazed to savor how vivid the taste of each one was.

He even thought that even those who had no appetite would have revived an appetite to eat even a pig after eating this.

But that was nothing more than his appreciation for the potato puree. When the deep-fried cauliflower crumbled between his teeth, Downey was forced to feel a thrill because of its fantastic taste. Considering that they didn’t like fried dishes in high-end restaurants, it was good enough to be included as part of the main course.

He could not believe how Min-joon could create such a luxurious texture out of it. Crispy and chewy texture with a savory taste made him feel like he was eating bread made by a patissier with decades of experience.

The cauliflower in it wasn’t special because Min-joon didn’t do anything special with it.

But that wasn’t his mistake. He didn’t have to do anything extra. Although he gave up the essential taste of potatoes, he didn’t give up the essence of cauliflower.

When Downey couldn’t figure out what kind of taste he was feeling at the moment, there was something that subtly subdued all the flavors. It was the wine juice that was on top of the potato puree. The wine juice, which soaked in both the fries and the potato puree, deepened all the flavors of the puree with an indescribable sweetness, just like dessert.

It was a dish that was not great. That was Downey’s first impression when he saw the potato dish first because it was made up of just puree, wine juice, and cauliflower. But all the cooking skills that Min-joon mobilized into each of them was never what Downey could afford to imitate.

He clenched his fists first, then released them helplessly.

Min-joon opened his mouth, watching him.

“Now it’s your turn to talk.”

Downey looked at him.

“Do you want to leave this restaurant or apologize to me and seriously repent?”