Chapter 76: Unexpected collaboration (4)

Jo Minjoon gulped . Honestly speaking, he thought that there would be no way that he would get eliminated, but even so, he couldn’t stop his heart from beating .

He slightly glanced at Marco, and he didn’t look too good . Hugo that was next to him patted his back without any words . Emily said with a calm voice .

“After we announce the results, you will be divided in two classes . The surviving people, and those who couldn’t . Is there anyone that thinks that they would get eliminated?”

At Emily’s question, nobody replied . Because they didn’t want to show an unconfident look . Emily nodded . For there to be silence at this kind of question was an obvious thing . It was at that moment when she was going to turn her head . Marco carefully raised his hand . Emily looked at Marco’s face that didn’t have a trace of laughter . Marco hesitated and said with a voice so low he seemed to be whispering .

“I think that I’ll get eliminated . ”
“…… . Marco . It’s true that your food was eaten by few people . But there are still the votes remaining . Why are you giving up already?”
“It’s not that I’m not confident in my tiramisu . But everyone else are also good chefs . I don’t think that I would get more votes than them . More than anything…… . . ”

Marco smiled bitterly . He forced to speak with a calm voice .

“In the first place, I think that only half of the people that came ate it . And deducting the people that repeated it, they wouldn’t even be half of the half . I can’t help to think that I got more votes than them, from that minority . ”

To tell him to get more confidence, it was really clear that he was acting really pessimistic . Emily’s light in her eyes subsided . The voice that came out from his mouth was even lower compared to usual .

“I understand that you are feeling down . But if you can maybe survive, how will you feel then?”
“First, I would feel good . And…… . . ”

Marco stopped his words for a moment . He looked at the other participants . At Kaya, Jo Minjoon, Anderson…… . . Only after he looked at each of them one by one, he barely opened his mouth .

“I want to keep being with them . They were really good people in my life . ”
“…… . I also hope that you are able to . ”

After Emily’s regretting voice, the conversation ended . Joseph coughed and looked at Alan . Alan looked at the card that was in his hand .

“Before announcing the results of the votes, and the amount of times your food was eaten, we will first tell you the ones we voted for . First, I will tell you who I voted for . ”

Alan hesitated for a moment . Jo Minjoon thought that at that moment, he had made eye contact with him, but the one Alan named wasn’t him .

“Kaya . It’s you . ”

Kaya raised her brows . She looked at Alan as if it was unexpected . Alan said with a calm voice .

“I’m Italian . I know better than anyone else the flavor frittata originally needs to have . Kaya, you made me feel my hometown in this far away land . Honestly speaking, I’m surprised . You didn’t get taught by an Italian chef……No, thinking about it, you wouldn’t even have gone to an Italian restaurant . I’m just surprised because you know what the ideal flavor of frittata is . ”

Kaya silently listened to Alan, and then asked .

“You talked for really long so I didn’t understand, but you praised me right now, right?”
“…… . It’s hundred percent a compliment . ”
“Then thanks . ”

The corner of her mouth raised . It was a provocative smile . ‘Nowadays teens are difficult . ’ Alan thought like that and let out a sigh inwardly . He remembered his childhood . Would the people that were looking at that time be feeling like him?

The atmosphere got awkward for a moment . Joseph slightly opened his mouth .

“It seems that it’s my turn . I have thought a lot between two people . It’s Sasha and Marco . ”

A faint smile could be seen in Marco’s mouth . Joseph smiled brightly and continued saying .

“You too have cooked really good dishes . And it also suited my tastes . As I aged, I got to like more food that exhausted your jaw less . Sasha’s strawberry chiffon cake and Marco’s tiramisu . The point that both of them were soft was really good for me . The balance of the flavor was also perfect, and it didn’t feel excessive . Honestly speaking, these are difficult dishes to say what’s the better one . And the genres aren’t even the same . ”

Jo Minjoon nodded involuntarily . Both of the dishes were 8 points . Of course there were small differences in it, but you could see the overall level of it to be similar . Joseph continued speaking .

“However Marco, the refreshing feeling your tiramisu gave me was less compared to Sasha’s dish . Her strawberry chiffon cake had lemon juice in the cream, and the sourness of the strawberry itself cleaned your tongue . But your tiramisu was just sweet . Of course, for a tiramisu, I couldn’t see many things to point out……Sorry . My vote went to Kaya . ”
“Thank you . ”

Sasha replied with a plain voice . She wasn’t so tactless as to express with a happy voice when right next to her, Marco was putting a dark expression .

Emily coughed . She slightly looked towards Jo Minjoon and Chloe .

“I tell you this beforehand, but this is simply my tastes . Rather than as a judge, as a customer . And recently, I got more interested in Asian food . A foreign flavor and aroma . Nowadays, I needed something with a different colour . ”

Her mouth opened . Emily pointed her tongue with her finger and said .

“And this tongue told me . That both of the dishes said that it stimulated it in a long while . But of course, I did eat dak galbi and mapo tofu several times…… I can tell you this certainly . It was one of the most delicious dishes I have tried . ”
“Thank you . ”

Jo Minjoon smiled faintly and replied . Chloe just had a confused face as if she also had to reply or not . Emily talked faster than her being able to finish her thought .

“Chloe . I was worried because you put peanut butter in your mapo tofu…… But that was your joker . A soft feeling was added on top of the spiciness . And Minjoon, I felt that your dak galbi was in the middle of **** fork and dak galbi . Could it be called a fusion?”

Jo Minjoon and Chloe didn’t reply and just looked at Emily . Maybe she was burdened by their sights, but Emily laughed awkwardly and continued speaking .

“It’s rather awkward to praise you like this and make one of you fall, I’m sorry . But even so, I wanted to tell that I ate really well . And……The person I chose is Minjoon . ”

In that instant, Chloe’s face shook . She too, forced down her regret and applauded while smiling . Jo Minjoon too wanted to bow unconsciously, but then opened his mouth .

“Thank you for eating deliciously . ”
“I don’t just eat any food deliciously . Minjoon, you have grown up so much in this competition that we could clearly see it with our eyes . At first, it wasn’t this delicious…… . . ”

Jo Minjoon replied back with a smile . Emily looked at him as if she was looking at her grown up cousin and said .

“Just keep it like this . If you keep cooking like today, perhaps, you will really be able to win . But then, my plans to recruit you as an epicurean will crumble…… . But I will keep cheering for you . ”
“…… . . Can you say that in a broadcast so blatantly?”
“Is there something to hide? You will probably be the most promising epicurean in this country, no, in all of history . ”

Making him stand out was also bothersome if it was this much . Jo Minjoon stepped back along an awkward smile . Alan said with a loud voice .

“The votes of we, judges, is merely one vote of the customer . There’s no need to feel so disappointed because you couldn’t get chosen by us . First, I will announce the dishes the customers emptied . Well, I think that you too have vaguely guessed it .

If you cooked once, you could vaguely serve 20 dishes . Hugo, that refilled 5 times, would have emptied at least a hundred dishes . And in the case of Jo Minjoon that refilled 4 times, it was around 80 and 100 dishes . And the only one that refilled twice was Marco . Alan opened his mouth .

“The one with the lowest score is Marco . You made fifty dishes, but only two of them emptied it . What do you think is the cause of your defeat?”
“…… . Is just like you told me . It was too sweet . But of course, there would be some people that want that…… I couldn’t think that they normally prefer sour flavor . It was my mistake . ”
“It’s a relief that you know it . However Marco, the tiramisu itself was fine . There’s no need to get that dispirited . ”

The announcing continued . Hugo got 1st place with 113 empty dishes . Second place was Kaya with 93 dishes . And the next one was right .

“Minjoon, you are third place . You emptied 92 dishes . ”

It was Jo Minjoon . He put a faint smile and hit Kaya with his elbow . Kaya sharpened her eyes as if she was asking why was he hitting her . He whispered in a low voice .

“It’s only one dish of difference . ”
“You will never be able to shorten that difference in your life . ”
“There’s no need to shorten it if it’s only one dish . It’s about the same . ”
“When Usain Belt runs he always runs with a tiny difference, but he is still at the peak of the world . ”
“I wonder . Aside from that difference, there’s no athlete named Usain Belt . ”
“Hmph, then you don’t know about him . Stupid . To be so in the dark in world culture . ”

He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t Belt, but Bolt, but Jo Minjoon stood it . The judges were looking at them with eyes telling them not to keep talking . He remembered his school days when he got reprimanded by the teachers . Kaya grumbled with a voice so low it couldn’t be heard, and dropped her head .

The announcement of the dish scores ended, but there was no one that reacted to that . Because it was just as they had imagined it . The important thing was the votes . Depending on how many points they got, it would decide everything . Alan said with a calm voice .

“We will immediately announce the results of the votes without wasting any minute . I will say it in the order of the ones that had higher scores in the dishes . Hugo, 7 votes . Kaya, 17 votes .

At Kaya’s score, an exclamation saying ‘oh’ was heard . If you added the votes of the judges and the customers, the total number of votes numbered to only 103 . But if she got 17 votes, it was almost twice the average . Perhaps, Kaya could get first place in the votes . It was at that moment when Jo Minjoon was also admiring her .

“Minjoon…… . ”

At this moment, contrary to what he had said of not wasting any more time, he shut his mouth . He continued speaking with a certainly trembling voice .

“……24 votes . ”
“Fucking crazy . ”

Someone cursed . But nobody blamed him . Because they were all feeling the same . Just how could he get 24 votes . Alan’s eyes became sharp . He thought that it wasn’t simply because his dish was delicious .

‘Starship . Fandom . That will be the biggest reasons . ’

It was unavoidable . Not even a quarter of the customers that looked for the restaurant were proper epicureans . Most of them thought that because it was famous and others also said that it was delicious, they also believed that it was truly delicious . Also in the case of famous restaurants, depending on how a famous epicurean evaluates it, the reactions of the customers also changed . Even if they presented the same dish, it was felt more deliciously, and at other times, more disgustingly .

That’s why the thing called brand was important . It wasn’t because a chef like Dave didn’t open his own restaurant, or he worked in one of Rose Island’s branches as a head chef because he didn’t have the capital to make his own restaurant .

Even if Jo Minjoon opened a restaurant with sloppy skills, he would be boasting about all the customers he had . Because his absolute sense of taste would give them confidence, just like a Michelin three star . Perhaps, it wasn’t only between the epicureans, but the cooking business circle would value really sweetly the card named Jo Minjoon . Because if they put him in their menu development team, or even if they don’t and sell a Jo Minjoon’s menu, it would attract a lot of customers .

“Alan?”

Emily’s voice woke up Alan from his imagination . Alan continued speaking with an awkward voice .

“I was in a loss for words because I was surprised . I will continue . Chloe, 10 votes . Anderson, 12  votes . Sasha, 9 votes . Ivanna, 6 votes . Olivia, 5 votes . Joanne, 6 votes . And…… Marco, 7 votes . ”

7 votes . Taking into account that the people that took Marco’s dish wasn’t even 50, it was a really outstanding number . While the participants were calculating in their head, Joseph said with a calm voice .

“I will announce the first place for this mission . The first place got a total of 332 points with 92 points in the dishes, and 240 with the votes . …… . . Well, you have faces as if you had already expected it . You are right . It’s Minjoon . Minjoon,  you will get a special privilege in the next mission . ”
“…… . Thank you . ”

Jo Minjoon replied with a bewildered face . He liked winning, but for it to be 24 votes? Was his dish that allowed him to get such an overwhelming victory? He could only think like that .

2nd place was Kaya . She didn’t get as much as Jo Minjoon, but the amount of votes she got was also overwhelming compared to the others . He didn’t name the next places . Because, it was meaningless . And the lowest score was announced .

“I will announce the lowest score . It’s 121 points . This person got 5 votes, and emptied 71 dishes . You have done well . Olivia . Please, leave Grand Chef’s house . ”

Suddenly, Olivia started to cry . Jo Minjoon just looked at her . Although he couldn’t get close with her until the end, she was a hispanic girl that had brought her dish and asked him the cooking score . Chloe hugged her with a face as sad as hers .

As Olivia left the kitchen, nervousness surged up again . 2 people were going to get eliminated in this mission . Who was going to be the next one, Jo Minjoon didn’t calculate in purpose . He didn’t want to .

“The second eliminated one got 52 empty dishes and got 7 votes . Compared to the empty dishes, the amount of votes was really fine . Marco . ”

At that moment, an awful silence fell . Joseph didn’t get dispirited at that silence . He continued to say with a calm voice .

“Your tiramisu was really good . You have done well . Keep cooking in the future . Your bread was so excellent to the point I would serve it in my restaurant . ”
“………Thank you . ”

Marco didn’t cry unlike Olivia . Although his voice was wet, maybe he didn’t want to also tear up his eyes .

Looking at Marco’s back leaving the kitchen, everybody just looked at him without any words . Before he left the kitchen, Marco turned back . Although they didn’t know who Marco was looking at, he thought that all of the participants would be looking at him .

“Win! Without fail!”

No one could open their mouths and say that they were going to .

< Unexpected collaboration (4) > End