Published at 29th of November 2020 02:00:15 PM
Chapter 319
Serhi’s cooking level was 8 on the system window before Min-joon’s eyes . Given Rachel’s Praise, his cooking score was far from high, but Min-joon did not care .
One’s cooking level would go up as one learned to make a lot of different dishes more . That meant that it was difficult for an expert in one field to level up .
Serhi asked with a smile, “Did you know that Italian chefs also came to my restaurant to learn my pasta and pizza?”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m Italian-American . Anyway, I think I’m a bit famous . If you taste my pasta and pizza, you’ll probably stop liking ordinary pizzas . Let me apologize first . For the rest of your life, you might not want to eat any other pizza and pasta than mine . ”
Even Min-joon and Anderson could not help but be dumbfounded by his confidence .
Rachel sighed and shook her head .
“Stop talking and get the menu quickly . Let me order . ”
“Chef Rachel, you need to understand . A chef’s chattering is the most delicious appetizer for customers . ”
Rachel raised her middle finger .
“Bring me the menu . ”
“Yep . ”
Serhi replied quickly and left to bring the menu . Watching him a bit, Min-joon whispered to Rachel in a small voice, “How do you know him?”
“He’s Jeremy’s student . ”
“Oh, Jeremy?”
Min-joon recalled those he knew were Jeremy’s students .
But there was only one involved in cooking . He was none other than Jeremy Bennett, the gourmet on the Hunger Trip journey with him .
Min-joon looked back at Rachel with a surprised expression .
“You mean Jeremy Bennett?”
“What Jeremy are you talking about other than him?”
“But Jeremy can’t cook, right?”
“Well, I would say he doesn’t cook rather than he can’t . ”
At that moment, Serhi came back already .
Looking at Min-joon’s embarrassed expression, he said calmly, “Jeremy wasn’t interested in cooking, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good at cooking . If he had not been a fine chef, he would not have raised a fine chef like me . ”
“You still think that Jeremy has raised you . You don’t think you raised your skills by yourself?”
“Even though I’m a genius, I don’t think I have become such a fine chef without him . I owe my success to Chef Jeremy . ”
“That’s enough . I’m sick and tired of your self-praise . Explain your menu . ”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for . ”
Serhi smiled and handed out the menu to them . Min-joon took one of the menus and slowly read it down . And soon, he lifted one eyebrow . Something was weird . Serhi’s menu didn’t include anything like entrees, appetizers, main dish or desserts .
‘What kind of restaurant is he running?’ Min-joon wondered .
There were only four categories—salad, pasta, pizza and soft drink . It wasn’t just Min-joon who felt confused . Anderson, Maya, Janet, Havier and even Rachel looked a little embarrassed .
Rachel looked at the menu for a while then slowly looked at Serhi .
Serhi nodded as if he knew that they would react like that .
“There’s no food matching or eating order . It’s right that I can serve you salad first, but that’s it . If you want pasta first, then by all means, order it . Or if you want pizza and pasta at the same time, that’s fine with me, too . ”
“I’ve heard the rumors about you, but I’m really surprised . How did you think about giving up on the fine dining style?” Asked Rachel .
“It’s not a great idea . There are a lot of restaurants with sections divided by type of food just like I used to . ”
“Yeah, that’s true . But you were attracting attention and good responses from people . Besides, you got Michelin stars, but it is not common to give up all that privilege and change your cooking style overnight like you . ” Rachel’s voice was full of interest rather than reproach .
Serhi replied with a smile, “You know my personality, Rachel . If I want to do it, I’ll do it . If I don’t want to do it, I won’t . It doesn’t matter to me how Michelin or gourmets rate my dishes . I’m sick and tired of people trying to limit my dishes to their own standards . ”
“But they insist on it because it’s the best way they enjoy the dish . What do you think about it?”
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“Well let me answer it with my dish . Would you like to order first?”
“Man, you’re still the same!” Rachel cynically responded .
Serhi moved up and down his eyebrows with a sullen expression .
While quietly reading the menu, he was startled .
‘How should I interpret this?’
All kinds of names were lined up in the pasta section and the pizza section .
He noticed many authentic and common names such as Spaghetti aglio e olio, Spaghetti Bolognese, Margherita pizza, and Gorgonzola pizza . Along with such common names, he also
took note of such names as ‘Ex-girlfriend Pizza,’ Pork rib Pasta, Applewood Smokey Fruit Pizza . These were provocative names that would only appear in fast food chains .
“I would like to order Bolognese and Ex-girlfriend pizza . I want cream cheese chicken salad . ”
“I think you want to break up with your girlfriend since you order it . ”
“Not really . Its name is so compelling . I feel it is rather awkward to order something like Ex-Boyfriend Pizza . ”
“Got it . Let me listen to your excuses later . ”
“It’s not an excuse…”
Havier and Maya giggled, watching Min-joon muttering in an embarrassed voice .
Upon receiving the order, Serhi headed to the kitchen .
With her chin on his hand, Janet gazed at the kitchen where Serhi headed .
“He’s a strange man . ”
“Not really,” Anderson replied, grumbling .
He opened his mouth as if he didn’t like Serhi very much .
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“I don’t like the menu . It’s okay to have a different menu from the typical one . But how can we get any protein food here? The nutrients are not balanced at all . ”
“Do you think we paid any special attention to it when we made the menu?”
“Well, many restaurants don’t pay attention to it . They can’t help it, either . Are you going to stop by a bakery and argue with them why they don’t serve protein food? If you do, you are a wacko . ”
When Janet retorted like that, Anderson couldn’t say anything, just groaning silently .
Min-joon asked, looking at Rachel, “If I later open a restaurant that categorizes dishes like this, what would you say?”
“Let me try his dish first and tell my opinion . It’s still hard for me to judge . ”
When she said that, Serhi served salads . Min-joon looked at the salad placed in front of him . Crispy bread, salad, and some chicken breasts were placed on the bowl . And next to it was a small plate with cheese cream .
[Lemon Cheese Cream]
Freshness: 98%
Country of origin: (There are several ingredients that are hidden)
Quality: High
Cooking score: 8/10
‘Wow, how come he got 8 with this cream alone? It must be very good . ’
Min-joon stuck his tongue out to taste it . He picked up a fork . He dipped only the cream and took it to his mouth . And at that moment, his eyes trembled a bit . Just like its name ‘lemon cheese cream,’ the overall taste was very refreshing and cold .
It looked like cheddar cheese, but he could hardly feel the salty taste of cheddar cheese . With only the scent of cheddar cheese still there, the creamy soft, and fluffy texture of the well-stirred cream melted in his mouth . That wasn’t all .
“He put radish juice in the cream . ”
“Is it radish? Can you feel that?”
Min-joon turned to the side, startled by somebody’s sudden voice .
Serhi was there, looking at him with his eyes wide open .
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Min-joon smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth .
“I’m sorry . You don’t feel good because I am analyzing your recipe, right?”
“No, no, not at all . If you analyze it, that’s fine with me . Man, it’s so difficult to meet someone who can analyze your recipe . But how do you feel about the radish juice? I tried to bring out the unique flavor of vegetables, so you can feel that taste, but it’s hard to pinpoint its exact taste like you . ”
“Well, I can feel it . ”
Min-joon replied, smiling awkwardly . Then, he slowly poured the cream over the salad .
When the sticky cream hung on the end of the bowl and fell off heavily, the salad was scattered and the cream got mixed between them, which was quite beautiful .
Min-joon took a stalk of spinach and lettuce with some cream as well as chicken breast and baked bread with a fork and put it in his mouth . When he wiped off the cream on his lips with his tongue, he already chewed the contents three times and tasted it three times .
“It’s been a long time since I enjoyed such a delicious salad . ”
“Isn’t it so stimulating?”
“I don’t know if I should call it stimulating, but what’s certain is everyone can’t help but like it unless they hate the ingredients in here . Anybody likes delicious food, of course . I think children will especially like this taste . ”
“That’s the right answer . In fact, some children egg on their parents to come to my place because of the salad . ”
Serhi laughed happily . Meeting a customer like Min-joon always made him happy . Min-joon was competent enough to find out the recipe and its hidden ingredients as well as the customers’ reaction and the popularity of the dish with just one try . Serhi could hardly find this kind of sophisticated skills even in experienced gourmets .
Serhi went back to the kitchen and supervised his staff . Shortly afterward, pasta and pizza were placed in front of them at the same time . Min-joon took Bolognese pasta with a fork .
‘Man, it’s really uncomfortable to make any noise while I’m eating noodles . ’
In Asian countries, they usually made noise intentionally when eating noodle soups . But it was different in the West .
Min-joon carefully rolled the spaghetti with a fork then put it in his mouth and chewed it .
‘It’s raw pasta…’
Unlike dry pasta, it didn’t taste stiff, but its unique chewy texture stimulated his tongue .
Besides, the meat juice and tomato sauce that flowed out of the meat mass in Bolognese pasta were very fresh .