God of Cooking – Chapter 53: Crossroad (4)

 

8 points . Jo Minjoon looked at that score dumbfoundedly for a long while . He didn’t believe it . He thought that it was difficult to do so until now . And it wasn’t that he had made a dish you were familiar with like Hugo . He wasn’t familiar to, and didn’t even like risotto . He got 8 points with that risotto .

It would be a weird thing if that situation made him only happy . Of course, his heart felt like exploding for the score he had received for the first time in his life, but at the same time, he felt dubious . How in the world could he get 8 points? Was concentration alone enough to do that?

“Well, everybody take your hands off . ”

Even before he could organize his thoughts Joseph yelled . Of course, there was no one to have failed in completing their dish after 1 hour . Because 1 hour was enough to make risotto and paella .

As he slowly checked at his surroundings, his eyes fell on Kaya’s dish . He couldn’t help it . Because he knew that she was showing a not confident attitude . But because of that, he couldn’t help but wonder . Cooking score 8 . He understood that . But…… .

‘Shallots and onions on a 1-1 ratio, parmigiano and reggiano, clam gravy, dry white wine… . . This is exactly the same as Alan’s . ’

The dish Alan had served them just then was copied exactly the same in front of Kaya . Did she originally cook it like this? He didn’t remember well .

Looking that it was 8 points means that she was successful in bringing out the same flavor . But can she get through the creativity?

‘Is not a problem that can get solved for me to worry about . ’

Jo Minjoon looked away . He had made an 8 points dish for the first time in his life . It could be a selfish thing to say, but he wanted to enjoy this miracle to his heart’s contents instead of worrying of something that didn’t even happen .

The first one’s the judges evaluated were Carlos and Marco . Both of them weren’t able to make outstanding dishes . Because Carlos and Marco were 6 points . Jo Minjoon quickly looked at the dishes of all of the participants . And there was only one 5 points dish . Coney . From the remaining participants, she was the only one around her forties, and was also the most silent participant . What she had made was paella with corns and onion, but honestly even at first glance, it didn’t seem that delicious .

He thought that the one to disqualify would be Coney, if there were no upsets . However, it was uncertain for the risotto team . 7 points for Anderson and Hugo . Kaya was 8 points . And the remaining three were all 6 points . You wouldn’t know who of those three would disqualify . Alan ate a bite of Carlos’s risotto and rinsed his mouth with water . Then opened his mouth .

“Carlos . What’s the theme of this risotto?”
“I saved the aroma with basil and pine nuts…… . . ”
“No, I can see that clearly . But why am I chewing more pine nuts than rice grains? The seasoning is good . And it’s the same for the recipe . But the oil of the pine nut is covering all of the flavor . Have you tried it?”
“No, I just…… . Didn’t have the leisure to . ”
“Are you saying that you made risotto without even trying it? You, do you know that much about risotto?”

Carlos lowered his head . And the evaluations that continued from Joseph and Emily weren’t that different . It was averagely good, but the problem was that the pine nuts covered the risotto’s flavor . In the end, Carlos became a disqualifying candidate and went back to his countertop .

And Marco also received a bad evaluation . He made paella that was fried with lemon juice along with a hard baguette, shrimps and saffron . However the fish gravy was weak and was a bit burnt, so in the end he also got to the disqualifying candidates .

After that was Kaya and Coney . The moment the judges looked at Coney’s paella, they showed hesitation, but couldn’t help but to lift their spoon and eat a bite . And then frowned . Emily let out a deep sigh and said .

“You are aware that it is overcooked right?”
“……Yes . ”
“There are a lot of things that are lacking for it to be called paella . The rice grains are damp like cheese, and because of that, I get the feeling that the flavor of the other ingredients are also sloppy . Coney . Right now, you are the most convincing disqualifying candidate . ”

After that was Kaya . After Alan ate a bite of Kaya’s risotto, he said with a casual voice .

“Before when you were preparing to cook, I asked you . If you were planning to imitate my dish . Actually, I said that half joking but you really did so . ”
“……I told you before, that the risotto I ate before was the only time I have tried it . ”
“If you say it like that, I feel sorry for telling you something, but even so I need to say what I have to . Didn’t you think about reforming a little bit of the basics of my dish?”
“Are you able to run before walking?”

That was the most indirect way Kaya could say . Joseph just chewed Kaya’s risotto without saying anything, and said with a soft voice as usual .

“Just like Alan had said, maybe it lacks creativity . Because it’s the same as copying another person’s dish . Alan should have thought that copying his recipe was the best you could make . Is that right?”
“I already told you . That walking is my utmost . ”
“You are right . Alan . I think like that . That it’s a bad thing for a chef to test a customer with creativity that isn’t even theirs . ”

Emily nodded and said .

“Actually, how many participants could there be that had used their own recipes . In the first place, this isn’t even that kind of program . You aren’t cooking what the others had already cooked, but the theme is to cook a delicious thing . I agree on the point that she had made the best she could . Of course, her lack of understanding towards risotto can be a diminutive point, but at least, it seems that she had done her best in her own environment . ”

Alan didn’t refute the words of the two . Because he thought that there was some truth behind their words . The judges sent eye signals between themselves . Alan nodded and opened his mouth .

“Kaya . We think that we want to keep watching your cooking . It’s a bit disappointing that in today’s dish, there wasn’t a trace of your color but it was still good . You have expressed it completely like I had thought . You pass . ”
“………Thank you . ”

Kaya turned back with a not happy nor disappointed face . And after that, it was the turn of Jo Minjoon . Precisely speaking, Jo Minjoon and Chloe’s turn . Jo Minjoon glanced at her dish . Sea mussel and shrimp was appropriately placed on top of the sea mussel’s shell so it seemed all the more luxurious . But of course, peeling off sea mussel was realistically more burdensome to do .

7 points . It wasn’t a bad score . At least, she could survive today . After he thought like that, his head got filled to the evaluation he was going to hear . It was his best work in all his life . So it was obvious for him to be expecting what kind of evaluation he would receive .

The first one to be evaluated was Jo Minjoon . Jo Minjoon couldn’t help smiling little by little . Alan glanced at the dish and opened his mouth .

“You said that you weren’t familiar to risotto, do you think that you had made it well?”
“Yes . I affirm it more than any time . ”

Those confident words made Alan momentarily flinch . Alan raised his head and looked at Jo Minjoon . A voice was heard . Not from Alan, but from Emily .

“Minjoon . Last time you said that you had a scoring system . Was that called cooking score? So, what kind of score would you put to your dish? If you are confident, maybe a 7?”

There were rumours in Grand Chef’s house that Jo Minjoon scored a dish, and that he had said that his best was making a 7 points dish . Looking at Jo Minjoon’s confidence there was nothing wrong to say that his dish was a 7 point . But the weird thing was after that . Jo Minjoon replied while smiling brightly .

“No . 8 points . ”
“…… . 8 points? Didn’t you say that it was difficult with your current strength?”
“I wonder . Maybe the word miracle is used at times like this . ”

Jo Minjoon’s words were better than usual, it wasn’t with the meaning to use as broadcast material . The judges, the participants and the casting crew that were looking at him all felt that . Joseph put the risotto in his mouth as if he couldn’t take it more . He closed his eyes trying to feel the grains of rice one by one and soon, the same smile as Jo Minjoon was seen in his face .

“I understand those words . ”

The happiness contained in those short words were really dense . Alan and Emily hurried to lift their spoon and ate the risotto . And at that moment, they could understand Joseph’s words .

Pear risotto . Actually, it wasn’t a special recipe . The combination of prosciutto and pear was used by commoners a lot, and using sage leaves wasn’t all that special either . Because it was a herb used frequently in risotto .

However, the depth of the flavor wasn’t ordinary . Because even if it was the same recipe, according to the amount of dedication you put in and invest time and effort, the flavor would get different . Cooking was about that . Cooking didn’t betray the time invested . Luxurious dishes taking a long time to make wasn’t a coincidence either .

And from Jo Minjoon’s pear risotto, that dedication and time was felt clearly . The ingredients were exquisitely harmonious with each other, as if trying to not ruin the flavor even a little, and through the teeth the texture of rice grains that were chewed and the flavor of the gravy and wine were perfect beyond asking .

Alan opened his mouth . It was a voice filled with satisfaction .

“How did you make this kind of risotto? Minjoon . This risotto kind of risotto shouldn’t be able to be made by someone who doesn’t know about risotto . Just say about seasoning, because that’s entirely up to tasting . Someone like you should be able to catch that easily . However, it isn’t for the rice . It shouldn’t be easy to boil down the gravy this exquisitely……”
“I won’t entirely say that it was all because of my skills . I’m thinking that I was really lucky back then . ”

But just because of that, it didn’t change the fact that it was a good dish . Even if it was by coincidence, they felt good for having seen his potential . Joseph nodded and said .

“Miracle comes to those who are ready for it . Minjoon . It’s your luck and skills . Congratulations . If it’s 8 points it means that it’s the first time you have climbed your wall . The wall you have climbed once, will be easier to do so the other times . ”
“Thank you . I would like it if it’s like that . ”

Jo Minjoon smiled and replied . Alan slightly glanced at the other judges . However, there was no need to ask them their opinions . Jo Minjoon had already said that his dish was 8 points . And the judges agreed to that . It was the best this he had made so far . Alan opened his mouth .

“Minjoon . People are focused about your tasting right now . I also was like that . However, an excellent chef is not always an excellent epicurean . Even if you didn’t have that sense of taste of yours, you should have still made an excellent dish . Because you are a person that can pour all of the attention in one risotto . That concentration will become your weapon . ”
“I agree fully with Alan . Minjoon . If you place this risotto in any restaurant, it would never get a complaint . You are calling this moment to be a miracle, but if you keep working like this I believe that your everyday will be filled with these kinds of miracles . I ate well . ”

Emily continued to say after Alan . She was putting on a really big smile, maybe because of the risotto she had ate . Alan coughed and opened his mouth .

“Go and treat your hand first, Minjoon . ”
“…… . Did I pass?”
“The answer is on the plate . ”

Alan lifted his finger and pointed the plate . Risotto, no, the plate that contained the risotto . It was a really clean one .

< Crossroad (4) > End

 

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Translator : Subak
Proofreader : Maled