God of Cooking

Chapter 96: Four people, four dreams (4)

The relationship between Anderson and Kaya was vague. Actually, if expressed in Korean, it would be ‘disliking affection’ rather than ‘vague’. The feeling between them was just that, because when foes saw each others’ faces everyday, they would grow a sort of affection. And it was no different because it was the two of them.

However the disliking affection was, in the end, a disliking affection. When they were together they argued, and at least one of their faces would contort every time. If there was a difference of a hating relation, it was that even after they fought like that, they still looked at each other.

“……Why is it you?”

“That’s something I want to say.”

Compared to them that were faring a psychological warfare, Jo Minjoon and Chloe were really peaceful. It was obvious, but there was no reason for their relation to be bad. Jo Minjoon smirked and asked Chloe.

“Did you aim for it?”

“What?”

“Anderson and Kaya. It was obvious that if you gathered the two of them, they would become a explode.”

“Ah…… I couldn’t think up to that point.”

Chloe looked at them with depressed eyes. Alan raised his voice and said.

“Since the team had been decided, wear your aprons. Chloe and Minjoon, you are the Red Team. Anderson and Kaya, you are the Blue Team.”

As soon as they wore the apron, Alan continued saying.

“Now, I will explain this mission’s key factor. Today, guests that you wouldn’t even have imagined will come. At the same time, they will become your judges. They are people that many people around the world admire and take them as role models.”

“On top of that, I am also one of the people that’s working hard to follow their example.”

Looking at Joseph’s way of talking, Jo Minjoon’s and the faces of the other three became weird. If you were on the level of Joseph, you could say that you have succeeded to a certain amount, and that he was a world class chef that had accumulated a lot of experience. But that Joseph was showing respect for them? They couldn’t guess what kind of outstanding people was going to come.

‘They aren’t chefs?’

If it was a completely different area, it was understandable. But would those kind of people be able to take the role of judges? He got that question.

However, that suspicion was for nothing. The next moment, Emily yelled the name of these people.

“There are two guests that came to Grand Chef’s house today. Chef Rachel Rose and Chef Sergei Dmitry Mikheyev.”

‘It seems like it became a host show.’

At the strange feeling, when Emily was putting a self mocking smile, the door of the kitchen opened and two people entered: Rachel and Sergei. Sergei smirked and approached Kaya.

“They say you came from the market?”

“……That’s right.”

“I also grew up in the market! So I know really well as to what kind of fucked up place it was. That’s why I think you are really skilled to have climbed all the way here. How about it? May I look at your hand?”

Kaya sharpened her eyes, and let out a sigh and extended her hand. Even so, for an old man to act like that, it was hard to act harshly. Sergei looked at Kaya’s hand with serious eyes, and tried to kiss at her hand. Kaya took out her hand and looked at him with cold eyes.

“What are you doing right now?”

“………Don’t Americans kiss on the hand?”

“At least, there aren’t many that say that they are looking at their hands and try to kiss it.”

Kaya said with a blunt voice. Sergei rolled his eyes and fell back awkwardly.

Rachel, who was looking at the two of them, grabbed her forehead and let out a sigh. There wasn’t a case that could be passed silently. Jo Minjoon fell into another thought.

‘Who is he?’

For Jo Minjoon, it could only be difficult to know of him. He would know if he was a famous Korean chef, but how would he know about a famous Russian chef? If he had a branch in the US, he would be quite famous……but at least, it was a name he heard for the first time. He didn’t have any memories of having seen his face. Rachel pulled Sergei’s arm.

“Don’t make me embarrassed and come here quickly.”

“No, why this……”

Sergei was putting an unfair expression while looking at Kaya. On the other side, Anderson was putting a really bright expression. It wasn’t because the situation between Kaya and Sergei was a fun thing to watch, but because of Rachel’s appearance. Although Sergei was an excellent chef and they were kind of acquainted, it was still different with Rachel because she was the role model he had admired since he was small.

On the other side, there was also someone who was looking at Rachel and thinking about completely different things, Jo Minjoon. He looked at Rachel while thinking maybe. She came to find him at the food truck, and she even helped him on the broadcast on her restaurant in Chicago……… Now, she came as a judge?

But there was also the possibility of her coming to this program without any relation to Jo Minjoon. However Jo Minjoon knew by intuition that his influence wasn’t that small on the reason Rachel was here right now.

‘Just what does she want from me?’

Was she simply trying to nurture a junior scholar with talent? If that was the case, he thought that there were a lot more talented people than him. Didn’t Dave, who studied under her, made those delicious dishes in Chicago? Just because Jo Minjoon had an absolute sense of taste doesn’t mean she couldn’t be sure that he would make better food than that.

Rachel and Sergei stood next to the judges. They wondered if they were going to greet each other, but soon Joseph pointed at the two boxes in front of them.

“This is today’s mission’s ingredients. One of them has ingredients Chef Sergei prefers, and on the other one has ingredients Chef Rachel prefers. Each team will cook for one of the chefs, and the score will be given by the chef and us, judges.”

“We will reveal the boxes.”

Alan and Emily opened the lid of the box at the same time. Jo Minjoon sharpened his eyes and looked at the two boxes. In one side, it had cow, salmon, pig, buckwheat powder, chicken, etc. and in another it had onion, deer, salmon trout, various kind of cheeses, turkey, and fruits. Just looking at the contents, one could guess whose box it was. Buckwheat or giant crab were ingredients that suited to Russian cuisine, and on the other side, it gave an abundant feeling of the Northern and Southern parts of America.

“I believe that just looking at the boxes, you will vaguely know whose it is. Yes. This one is Sergei’s and this one is Rachel’s. The right to choose the box will be given to the Blue Team that couldn’t choose the team. Kaya and Anderson, pick a box.”

At Alan’s words, Kaya and Anderson looked at each other. He was putting on a disliking face and in the end, he loosened his expression and let out a sigh. He glanced at Rachel. He didn’t want to seem crude in front of the person he admired.

“I know that you don’t like me, and I also don’t like you much. But this is a mission. You know that we can’t act based on our emotions, right?”

“I know.”

“Good. Then let’s think. Sergei or Rachel. What box would seem better.”

Kaya closed her mouth and looked at the boxes. And then said with a calm voice.

“It doesn’t matter whatever side it is.”

“……An amazing confidence.”

Now that it became like this, the right to choose became Anderson’s. He looked at the boxes laborious eyes. Honestly speaking, he felt more inclined to choosing Rachel’s box. It was an opportunity to show himself in front of the person he admired. Of course, he got the feeling that he wasn’t ready yet, but he did have the heart to show her as to what kind of chef he had grown to.

However, he couldn’t just decide things because of that. Honestly speaking, taking into account the fastidiousness of the ingredients, Sergei’s side was more comfortable. But of course, in the case of the giant crab, it would be a pain to handle it, but if they had a know-how, it wasn’t that difficult to do. But in Rachel’s case, there were a lot of ingredients like deer that if you failed on the process for even a moment, it would smell fishy.

Originally, he would have challenged, but he thought that it was a childish thing to take that danger on a mission. Anderson said with a regretting voice.

“We will choose Chef Sergei’s box.”

“It’s unexpected. If it was you, I thought that you would choose teacher Rachel.”

At Alan’s words, Anderson only put on an embarrassed face. There was no one here that didn’t know that he chose the easy way. But for him to have the handicap to team up together with Kaya, at least it was like this for him, he thought that showing this much was fine.

And at that moment, Jo Minjoon and Chloe were frowning exactly the same and looked at Rachel’s box. The moment they were going to properly design the recipe, Emily opened her mouth.

“Fine. Then the boxes got decide. You will have to make a three-course meal with the ingredients in these boxes for two hours. We will give you exactly 30 minutes to design your recipes. In that time, share your opinions.” Chloe looked at Jo Minjoon. Jo Minjoon opened his mouth with a calm voice.

“Let’s decide on the format for now. What are you planning to make for the main? If we are going to take some risks, I think that the deer or sheep would be good. Let’s leave the salmon trout for the appetizer.”

“I also think that it’s good to use fish as an appetizer. Salmon trout ceviche should also be good. The main…… Sheep is more comfortable for me rather than deer.

“I’m also that way. I haven’t handled deer meat that much. But for sheep……But if we go with the simple method of sheep galbi, we will get some remarks for it being too monotonous. Being loyal to the basics isn’t enough to face those two. It would be good if we gave a special point in the sauce or the garnish…… Why are you looking at me with that expression?”

“Hu, huh? It’s nothing?”

Chloe was smiling merrily, and hurriedly put her expression in order. Jo Minjoon designing the recipe felt really cool, she couldn’t say those words with her mouth.

‘It would be good if we don’t get eliminated. Me and Minjoon.’

Interpreting those words negatively, it would mean that she hoped for Kaya or Anderson to get eliminated. But she couldn’t do anything about it. She hoped for the two of them to survive until the end because her heart was telling her that. She suddenly remembered Kaya’s words, that when the competition ends, their relationship wouldn’t. As she felt touched by it, she replied that it wouldn’t happen……

‘Can it really not end?’

She knew that there was nothing eternal in the world……Even so, the time she spent in Grand Chef house was one of the happiest moments in her life. The start and the ending was already decided. She hated that, but just because she hated it, she couldn’t do anything about it. Chloe let out a sigh. Jo Minjoon flinched and opened his mouth.

“………Was the thing I just said so-so?”

“No, no. You said that you were going to put anchovy cream in the sheep ribs, right? The cream, it would certainly be balsamic or lime juice?”

“Mmm…… I think that lemon should be better. There were a lot of fruits in the box. It will be better to use as much as possible. If we use lime, the aroma will turn out peculiar, and it will be covered by the anchovy’s flavor.”

“Fine. I think that it will turn out well.”

“……Aren’t you accepting it all without any doubts? I can also make a mistake.

But of course, he had said all these things looking at the estimated cooking score. 8 points. Honestly, it was a superior and refined recipe, but even so he thought that Chloe was receiving it all too easily. He could only feel it to be strange. However, Chloe laughed softly and shook her head.

“I saw the dishes you have cooked until now. I believe in you. Aside from that, I thought that the recipe was fine.”

“………Thanks.”

Honestly speaking, there was some uneasiness in the corner of his heart. He was the one that leveled to level 7 the latest among the ones that remained. Just because they were at the same level, it didn’t mean that their skills were the same. That also meant that he was lacking compared to the other three. That’s why he could only be happy when Chloe picked him because she was thinking that he was the best among the three.

However, in the case of Kaya and Anderson, the atmosphere was certainly different. Anderson opened his mouth while frowning.

“What do you want to make for the appetizer?”

“Ground beef stroganoff, separate it with a sieve, and present it as a soup. It’s a dish that is basically thick of the basics, so it won’t be awkward.”

“If you make the appetizer that heavy, just what are you planning to make for the main?”

“You can just make it with more weight and depth. It’s not that difficult.”

“It’s not difficult, but it’s a risk. Why do I have to go through that risk?”

“Ha……”

Kaya let out a sigh with a stifled face. It was also the same for Anderson. Sergei, who was looking at them, laughed as if it was funny.

“I can see all of the things you can see inside of a kitchen restaurant. That dabble Anderson, even if his character isn’t good, he has a strong character so he should take the initiative…… But since his adversary also have a strong character, he can’t do anything. It’s just like having two head chefs in one kitchen.”

“It isn’t so bad that there are two head chefs. The Rousseau couple are like that. The important thing is how much you trust and depend on each other. With that said, look at that kid Jo Minjoon and… was it Chloe Jung? Those two showed us quite a desireable sight.”

“Hmph, if you show that playing-house like atmosphere, although you wouldn’t know by the outside, you will slowly get more slacking. That’s how accidents happen. If you act with an overwhelming charisma like me, although people from below may think that it is difficult, in the end you can make a safe and perfect kitchen.”

“You don’t have charisma, but your character is showy.”

“Ha, I don’t think that it’s something I should be hearing from you. Just because I became an old man that retired from the main line, are you also planning on bringing up my old temperament.”

At Sergei’s words, Rachel’s wrinkles deepened. She glared at Sergei as if she didn’t like him, and then let out a sigh. Alan slightly said.

“Who does teacher think will win?”

“Is there losing and winning on cooking? But I wonder, if I have to name the team I’m expecting more, it’s certainly the Red Team. Rather than because those kids are using ingredients I like……Minjoon, it’s because that kid is there.”

“I recognize that his sense of taste is sensitive……But compared to the other participants, his cooking skills are more outstanding. Just why do you favor that kid that much? Last time, they said that you even asked Dave to help with the broadcast in the restaurant? Don’t you originally do that?”

“Think about the shining stars Gogh drew. He expressed that still and quiet night sky in a dynamic way. He was able to draw that because of the way he saw the world. And the sight for an painter is the same as the sense of taste for a chef. Even after eating the same thing, he can feel what we can’t. If that was possible, the story would change entirely. If it was a small difference, I wouldn’t even be saying these things. However, if that difference is as different as having your eyes open and closed……”

Rachel took in a deep breath. It seems like just bringing this up made her heart beat, and her voice that had aged, ironically rang like that of a girl’s.

“One day, he will be able to make a piece that’s so outstanding, it will make every other food on the world feel like fake.”

< Four people, four dreams (4) > End

Translator: Subak

Proofreader: Saihikawa