GOD OF COOKING – CHAPTER 37: ABSOLUTE SENSE OF TASTE (2)

 

Nobody said a word . They just couldn’t . Even accepting what just happened was hard to do so . No, precisely speaking, it was excluding two people . One of them was Kaya . She was standing with her arms crossed and observing down at Jo Minjoon . And the other one was an unexpected person, Martin .

He could only do so . No one was expecting that kind of ability from Jo Minjoon, and it was the same for Martin . No, was that something that could be explained through tasting? He had just seen what had happened with his own eyes, but even still, it was unbelieveable .

‘This……is great . Great . ’

This scene was the greatest in this season . No, it was also the greatest from all of the previous ones . Because there was no such thing that made you happy and flustered than his ability . Even right now, his heart was thumping so madly that it could almost be heard . It was to the point that he couldn’t wait to see the reactions of the participants . Maybe, some would say that it was made up . The argument would bore an issue, and the issue would come back like a huge snowball in the form of elevated ratings . In Martin’s face could be seen a smile so big that almost seemed to rip .

He had never thought that Jo Minjoon would be a treasure trove . His handsome face and right attitude was just to attract fans, but in the end, this was a cooking program . When his dishes were compared to the other chefs, it couldn’t be seen as anything special . Coupling with Kaya, and looks that caught the viewers hearts . That was what Martin had thought of him until now .

“I was leaving a jewel in the ground… . . ”

Martin sighed while mumbling . He couldn’t hold the regret to have known of his ability just know . It was at that moment . The youngest PD that was next to him whispered in his ear .

“Sunbae . Weren’t the contents leaked?”
“Don’t speak nonsense . The ones who filled the contents of the pocket were the judges themselves . If Minjoon wanted to know the answer, then he would have to buy the judges . Do you think that the judges would sell themselves to this youth?”
“……But even so . He got all of that? Is that possible?”
“Reality is always more fictitious than fiction itself . Keep looking . Because this is an important scene that doesn’t show up much . ”

“Minjoon . Did you have an absolute taste… . . ?”
“…… . It’s similar . ”

Jo Minjoon replied like that . Because it wasn’t like he did have it . But because of that, he couldn’t reveal the system .

Saying the truth, if he had wanted to avoid this kind of situation, he could . Because he could get some ingredients wrong on purpose . But he didn’t want to . He did think of the system as foul play . But he would stop doing so . The danger of getting disqualified stimulated him . Because this was a place where if you lacked something for even a moment, you would fall . It was that kind of war .

And Jo Minjoon even had to show an ability he didn’t really have . He wasn’t in a situation where he could relax .

The reason why he got all twenty ingredients right, was partly because he wanted to promise himself . He wanted to show all of his abilities . He wanted to show everything he had to the judges, and to the people .

Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“Can I go now?”

Jo Minjoon pointed to the place where the eliminated candidates were . Precisely speaking to the place where the confirmed surviving candidates were gathered . Alan flinched and looked back at Joseph . It was the same for Joseph to be surprised at Jo Minjoon’s sense of taste . Joseph said .

“……I will now announce the disqualified people . Selena, Dan, Jordan . It’s unfortunate, but your relation with Grand Chef will be up to here . ”

Selena started to cry . The judges and the people who passed looked at her with a sad expression . Three people got out from the broadcasting place and soon, it was filled with silence . At that moment, Jo Minjoon couldn’t know if they were silent because of him, or because of the three people that left .

Jo Minjoon looked up . All of their gazes were directed to Jo Minjoon . Rather than saying that it was burdensome, it was strange . Did he ever get this much attention? Oh, right . There was one time . When he claimed that the winner was going to be Kaya .

But the sights from them and now were completely different . Envy? Jealousy? Those were sights that couldn’t be expressed with any words . Those were sights he had never experienced before .
Jo Minjoon lowered his head . After all of those gazes, the one who opened his mouth was Joseph . Joseph said hurriedly .

“You posses an ability we couldn’t even think of . I’m impressed . ”
“Thank you . ”

Jo Minjoon replied with a cool expression . However, Joseph couldn’t be as cool as him . Because the more sensitive a chef was to flavor, the better dish he would be able to make . Having a deep understanding to flavor means that he would be able to make that much of a delicious dish .

Joseph opened his mouth for a while . But the words that were supposed to come out remained in his mouth . Those were some heavy words to casually say them . He couldn’t be caught in the moment and just say some random things .

In the end, Joseph could only calm down his excitement . Joseph started to calm down and opened his mouth .

“I ask to the participants upstairs to come down . ”

The participants that were on the second floor conversed between themselves and came down to the second floor . The moment Jo Minjoon turned his head, he could see that Kaya was looking at him . It was at that moment when Kaya was opening her mouth . In front of him, Chloe’s face appeared out of nowhere .

“Congratulations . I didn’t know I would be able to see someone that guesses the ingredients in such a cool way . ”

Before, he thought that she was staring dumbfoundedly, but it seems that she has memorized everything in her head . Chloe smiled and said .

“Do you have an absolute sense of taste? I’m quite curious . ”
“Ahem . ”

Alan’s coughing could be heard . Only then did Chloe realize that the judging hadn’t ended . Chloe’s face reddened and shut her mouth . Jo Minjoon slightly glanced at Kaya . Suddenly, her sight was directed at the judges .

“Congratulations . You 18 people are the ones who get to participate in the next mission . ”

At that moment, everyone cheered rejoicingly . Just then, three people that used to be with them disqualified, but a happy thing was a happy thing . Of course, those who were close to those three just clapped . Emily smiled and said .

“Until the next mission, you are free . I hope that you get a comfortable time . ”
“But you mustn’t relax . Don’t forget that you are gathered in a place where many amateur chefs came to realize their dreams . This is a place that demands your pride, and responsibility . ”

Alan said with his usual cold voice . But he, who was looking at all the participants, fell his gaze on Jo Minjoon, and laughed .

“But it seems that you will have to talk about many things today . Now, go . Go and rip your prey to your hearts contents . ”

Alan talked like that and turned back .

It was at that moment, almost all of the participants turned their heads to look at Jo Minjoon .

–

After Alan’s not so considerate consideration, Jo Minjoon went to the interviewing room . He had already come before the disqualifying mission, but the atmosphere was different . Jo Minjoon looked at Martin’s sparkling eyes and could know, for the first time in his life, what a real sparkling eye was . And he thought that it was quite a burdensome and harsh expression . Jo Minjoon said with his voice trembling .

“Martin, until when are you planning to look at me like that?”
“Don’t you know that feeling? When you pick a rock without thinking of anything and that rock turns out to be a valuable jewel worth tens of thousands of dollars . That’s what I’m feeling right now . ”
“……Is that supposed to make me happy? In the end, it means that you used to look at me like an ordinary rock . ”
“But it also means that now I look at you like a jewel . ”

Martin talked like that and smiled letting all of his teeth be shown . Jo Minjoon could confirm . That from all of those times he saw Martin, he was the happiest right now . But he could understand him . Because for a PD, there was nothing more precious than an excellent scene . And the scene from Jo Minjoon in the eliminating mission was such a scene .

“So, the interview?”
“First, let’s go with the basic things . How are you feeling right now?”
“Saying the truth, I don’t feel bad . Because I survived . It’s not a situation where I should be sad . ”
“What did you think when you got to know that it was going to be a tasting mission?”
“I survived . ”

Jo Minjoon didn’t hesitate and replied . Martin nodded as if he understood him .

“It means that you were confident in tasting . ”
“It’s similar . ”

Jo Minjoon replied bluntly . He felt like he was being praised for cheating on an exam and getting a full score . But he started to get more shameless . Because even if he answered through his tasting or through the system, the result was that it was still his ability .

“Why didn’t you tell us until now? If we knew that you had an absolute taste…… . ”
“Because it’s another thing than cooking . There was no need to say it . Of course, there was also no need to hide it, so I showed it like this . ”
“Does the score you told us about last time related to your tasting?”

At that question Jo Minjoon flinched . He didn’t know what he should reply . But because it was the same function of the system, it was better to just say that it was because of his tasting . Jo Minjoon nodded and said .

“Yes . ”
“Then the top score would obviously be 10, right?”
“That’s right . However, I never ate a 10 points dish . Because it’s not just the flavor, it’s also the skill and experience of the chef that I evaluate . ”

If it was the same as before, he would just say that he was bluffing, but looking at his absolute taste, such thoughts didn’t even show up . Martin put on a smile and looked at Jo Minjoon . At that smile that seemed to appreciate him with whatever he did, Jo Minjoon backed off a little .

“Saying that you haven’t experienced a 10 points dish means that you did for a 9 points?”
“Yes . Only once . At East rabbit garden . The sheep ribs over there were an absolute art . ”
“Just once… . . I think I get what you are talking about . Then what about the 8 points?”
“Only being an 8 points dish can make your whole day happier . I have eaten such a dish in this competition . Hmm……”

Jo Minjoon started to think . Saying the truth, he had seen many 8 points dishes . Kaya’s grilled eel was 8 points, and her salmon tataki salad was also 8 points, but because it didn’t match the theme, it couldn’t be eaten by the judges . Chloe’s pan fried scallops were also 8 points… . For it to be an amateur competition, there were a lot of 8 points dishes . It was also that this season’s level was high .

But the 8 points dishes he could name right now, were the ones he had tried . Because he couldn’t judge a dish he didn’t even eat . And there was only one dish . Chloe’s pan fried scallops . The foie gras he had made by Kaya was also 8 points, but because he was being evaluated by the judges, he didn’t have the time to try it . Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“In my opinion, the pan fried scallops Chloe made when we teamed up was an 8 points . Beyond that, I wouldn’t know because I haven’t tried any . ”
“So what’s the highest you can make with your own hands?”
“……Unfortunately, I still can’t cook an 8 points dish . Making a 7 points one is my utmost . ”

Maybe, it could be a rather funny scene . Because even when Michelin restaurants were evaluated, there were many restrictions and strictness on the evaluation . And that person was evaluating a dish just by himself .

‘But it’s different when he has an absolute taste . ’

Martin thought like that and still didn’t erase that big smile that seemed to rip . Compared to what Jo Minjoon had given him, this treatment was nothing .

The interview lasted for a long while more . It was a longer interview than usual . And because of that, Jo Minjoon didn’t feel like doing anything . Being interviewed was more taxing than cooking .

I will slowly get back and rest . That’s what he thought, thinking about it, even when he got back he would be interviewed by the participants . It was when he was leaving the interviewing room without strength . After he opened the door, Jo Minjoon stopped his steps . A long and curly blond hair was fluttering in front of him . When he was looking at the nape of that woman, she turned back . Jo Minjoon opened with his voice trembling .

“………Emily?”

< Absolute sense of taste (2) > End

 

Translator’s note:   I’m in serious need of donations ;/ If you each donate 0,5 dollars it will be more than enough . Other than that, enjoy the chapter . Thanks for reading!

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Translator : Subak
Proofreader : Maled