Published at 30th of November 2020 09:25:19 PM
Chapter 323
Chapter 323: Check and Competition (2)
As with all things, easier said than done . This kind of pudding was by no means easy to make . To put it another way, if one took pomegranate juice in his or her hand and eat it with tuna, that alone might look like a good match, but basically, fruit juice itself would be difficult to bring out such a taste .
‘Oh, I wish the cooking score was about 8 points . ’
Unfortunately, the chef’s amuse-bouche cooking score was 9 . Min-joon understood it .
Given the chef’s excellence in checking the sugar content of the fruit as well as her devotion, even 10 was not enough .
“Man, if June’s cooking score for this pudding is 9, what about the score for her main dish?’
While he was toying with such an idle thought, the next dish came out .
“It’s tartare made from deer meat . The tops are beets and capers, and the yolks are topped after it was whipped beforehand . ”
Was it because the server trusted June so strongly? The server explained the dish before Rachel or Raphael without any hesitation . In some respects, it was natural that the server showed such a confident attitude to customers .
Min-joon removed the wheat flower garnish and stuck a fork into the tartare and put it in his mouth . Personally, he didn’t like steak tartare much, especially tartare served at fine-dining .
When served as an appetizer before the main course in a typical restaurant, tartare was often very salty and sour, which was natural . Otherwise, tartare alone could make one feel full and lose appetite because of its fat .
“Man, this tastes good, too…’
Min-joon muttered gently . It was delicious . This restaurant run by June was so popular that even Rachel recognized it . But what surprised him was not just its delicious food .
‘How can she bring out the taste of ingredients so wonderfully like this?’
In a way, June looked like the chef who brought out the best taste of food, which Rachel always emphasized . And that alone wasn’t her strength . Although it was stamped with a frame, the tartare decorated on the bowl in vivid lighting was almost perfect, except for the part he just stuck with a fork .
Just looking at the plate, Min-joon felt that June was a perfectionist because the personality of a chef was always best revealed on his dish . At that moment, he looked back at the sous chef of June’s restaurant and said, “You put vanilla essence as well as herbs in the tartare . ”
“Oh, you noticed it! I’ve put only a little bit to dilute it . ”
“Well, that one drop removes all the fishy taste of the yolk and the smell that raw meat can give out . ”
“Well, there are almost none who noticed that the vanilla essence was in it . To put it precisely, nobody did notice it . Of course, there were some who guessed that something similar was in it . You must be Chef Min-joon, right? The rumors are right…”
“Wow, I’ve never thought you added vanilla essence to tartare . It’s a new combination to me…”
“Sometimes, I feel like our head chef is a researcher rather than a chef . She likes to experiment with combinations that ordinary chefs wouldn’t even think about . In fact, the money she spends experimenting with new recipes every day is as much as the sales of a typical restaurant . ”
Min-joon gulped as if he was deeply impressed by June’s approach to cooking .
Obviously, he felt envious rather than surprised . While the sous chef was smiling delightedly, he put the remaining tartare in his mouth little by little . It wasn’t too salty or sour . He could clearly enjoy the savory taste of venison seasoned with tartare .
When he ate the rye bread served together with tartare, he thought that the check for the meal was worth it . But this was only the beginning of the chef’s tasting menu .
What was served next was king crabs . Its name was King Crab and Rhubarb . There were tongs, neither small nor too large, along with butter made of Nutmeg . Behind the tongs was the flesh removed from crab legs, wrapped around the rhubarb .
He felt like he saw a small dragon with a claw-shaped head . The butter looked like cintamani, and the crab meat and rhubarb looked like a crab’s body and tail .
The moment he put it in his mouth, he slightly closed it and smiled .
“It tastes like a dragon . ”
“Dragon? I think I know what you mean . ”
“I think I know what it means when Rachel said June was as good as Dave . ”
Fortunately, the cooking score for this dish was 8 . Min-joon remembered the recipes that came to his mind . He wanted to try this kind of recipe someday .
As if it was preserved in wine vinegar, the rhubarb full of sour and astringent taste got mixed with the moist taste of crabs and the oily taste of butter, creating a wonderful flavor . At first glance, it looked like a simple combination, but it looked luxurious thanks to nice plating, which reminded him of Rachel’s table .
And at the same time, Min-joon became more convinced that June was suffering from obsession . It wasn’t because he felt like he was seeing modern art on the plates because that was common in any high-end restaurant .
June’s cooking was consistent . Most of her dishes came out in pairs . Tuna and pomegranate, king crab and rhubarb, and subsequent dishes were all paired . Foie gras and blackberries, red sea bream and green tomatoes, sweet bread and parsley, sirloin chanterelle mushrooms, goat cheese, and plumcot, etc .
And what impressed Min-joon the most was the dessert served last . When the dessert was served, June came out in person and explained to them, which suggested that she felt greatly attached to the dessert .
“The name of this dessert is Arctic Bird’s Nest . ”
It deserved such a name . Three eggs were raised above the brown nest, and beside it was Turkish snacks made of sesame and honey, powder made of halva and crushed chocolate, and blueberries and flowers . As if it had snowed, white ice powder was scattered over it .
“I made ice powder with yogurt . Everything that looks like leaves and branches is chocolate . The nest looks like pasta, but it’s a honey tulle dressing . ”
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Min-joon exclaimed, “Ah” at her explanation . Actually, he was wondering what the nest was made of . At first glance, the nest, which looked like a variety of noodles, was like a work of art .
“The eggs on it, the skin, and the whites were made from goat cheese parfaits, and the yolk part was replaced with a curd made from birch berry . ”
While explaining, June seemed so passionate and excited as to make him forget about her cold impression .
Min-joon carefully asked, “How could you think of making something like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, take it as my compliment . I’m really curious about how you came up with such a beautiful combination . I guess you might have gotten some inspiration . ”
“As far as I know, you must have developed a very famous dessert . You already know the answer, right?”
“Well, I don’t get that inspiration when I need it . ”
“Same with me . This came to my mind when I visited my hometown . Even in summer, there was a place where it snowed, and I saw a nest there . A nest in the snow, with summer grass, leaves, and berries . At that moment, I got some inspiration . What I had to do next were trial and error . You know that experience, right?”
Min-joon nodded . Then he carefully took one egg with a fork and put it in his mouth . The yogurt snow melted, and the goat cheese parfaits melted in his mouth, too . When the berry curd of the birch tree touched his tongue, its sour taste soothed his tongue, which was tired of tasting all kinds of flavors .
What he tried next was the nest . When he bit the honey tulle dressing and chewed it, he felt happiness beyond words .
Looking at Min-joon and others’ happy expressions, June said with a smile, “Every menu will change over time . But if there’s only one that won’t change until I die, that’s probably this menu . Lots of restaurants tend not to emphasize desserts, but I personally think the most important thing is dessert . Depending on how you feel when you’re done eating the dessert, you decide whether to visit the restaurant again or not . ”
“I want to come back to this restaurant,” said Janet .
June smiled after making eye contact with Janet .
June replied with a cold and sharp smile, as always, “You’re going to pay for this dish next time . ”
After they were done, Min-joon and others turned to June’s kitchen . They wanted to see clearly with their own eyes how she was managing her staff . They couldn’t see it because this was not business hours . But they could examine the structure of the kitchen in more detail . And they could not help but admire how the kitchen was arranged .
“It’s the definite feature of a modern kitchen . ”
“I don’t save money when it comes to decorating the kitchen,” June answered calmly .
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There was no air of conceit in her voice as if she said it was only natural .
June’s kitchen was the most glamorous of the ones that they had ever seen . Every fryer and griddle plate was equipped with a temperature meter, as well as dozens of buttons whose use was not clear . Molecular cooking utensils with high price tags were also scattered here and there, which could never be found in ordinary restaurants . The most salient feature was the small TV installed on the wall . It showed the details of the orders they received and the specifics .
When everyone was checking the kitchen in amazement, Janet turned to June and gently opened her mouth .
“Thank you . ”
“For the food?”
“No, thanks for showing that as a woman chef, you have been successful as much as this . ”
“Rachel has shown it to you already, right?”
“Yes, she showed it . But you feel sometimes one is not enough . And…” Janet blurred .
But June could see what she wanted to say .
June muttered in a low voice, “Well, Rachel is so different from us . You wanted to say that, right?”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of . I was like you . Do you want my advice?”
“Please . ”
“Well, not really, except for something we all know . Oh, yes, I’ve got one . ”
June looked at Raphael repeating ‘Wow!’ with the demi chefs in the kitchen .
“I heard that man is quitting his sous chef position . ”
“Yeah . ”
“Take over that position by all means!”
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June’s eyes shone coldly .
She continued, “That position will make you perfect . ”
The moment June said that, Janet had a strange feeling . Sous Chef, in fact, was a position that she could take any time if she wanted at ordinary restaurants . But it was different when it came to the Rose Island sous chef .
To put it precisely, her confidence level was different . Janet couldn’t answer confidently .
She felt something skeptical at first . ‘Can I do it?’
And what followed that thinking of hers was her awful self-hate . Biting her lips, she looked at June .
Watching her for a minute, June gradually tilted her head and said, “Are you not confident?”
“If I say I’m confident now, I’m not sure if it means I’m confident or arrogant . ”
“What do you think arrogance is?”
“Well, I think it’s overconfidence in oneself . ”
“Well . I’ve never been less confident than I am now, but that doesn’t mean I have been as excellent as I’m now at every moment . But I believed I was the best without any basis . But I just believed that . That’s not arrogance . Wait a minute . Your name is…”
“Janet . Janet Fay . ”
“Good, Ms . Fay . You seem to think overconfidence is harmful, but you don’t have to think so .
Just like the seat is changing the person, the self-esteem that you get from your confidence will also change you . Well, it’s up to you to accept my advice or not . But this is one thing I want to say to you . ”
Janet looked at June .
June said calmly, “There’s no dog that has won with her tail down unless it’s a really fierce fight . ”