Published at 25th of December 2020 01:55:08 PM
Chapter 370: Lovers in Paris (6)
Once it was all said and done, Min-joon’s remarks obviously hurt his pride .
Kaya stole a glance at Min-joon . She had seen him get angry many times, but it had been a while since she saw him acting like an upset child . Maybe that was Dobby’s talent, which got on somebody else’s nerves .
Min-joon looked into Dobby’s eyes . With a war of nerves going on between them, other chefs in the restaurant clenched their fists with an expectant look .
Meanwhile, Chloe turned to Anderson and asked, “By the way, who are these guys?”
“They are from our New York branch . You know Chef June, right?”
“Of course, I do . ”
“That chef is famous as June’s successor . ”
Dobby was June’s successor, while June was one of Rachel’s successor candidates . So, Dobby was a candidate of the candidate for Rachel’s succession . Given that Min-joon was also Rachel’s potential candidate, he should be more competent than Dobby, but unfortunately, his cooking level was lower than Dobby’s right now .
That didn’t mean Min-joon was not confident . If he competed with Dobby as an individual, chances were, he would likely lose . If he relied on the system window for the best possible recipe, he might win, but it was extremely difficult to develop a recipe in such a short span of time . It was almost impossible for him to develop an innovative recipe to close the gap of one cooking level .
But if he cooked with Kaya, he could win . It was not because she was good at cooking, but because he could create a synergy effect when he cooked with her . In fact, they used to come up with a recipe in an instant, which would usually have taken several days to develop . So, they felt like they were a chunk of inspiration to each other . Nowadays, he had started to feel it all the more, so he even thought he might have to work together with her .
“So, what are you going to do? Let me show you how well I can cook . What did you cook here?”
“I made Magret de Canard by adding bisque sauce and something else . ”
“That bothers me a lot . I can’t afford to listen to your explanation . Eva, what shall we make?”
“We spent ten minutes developing a recipe,” Kaya said suddenly .
Not only Dobby but also Min-joon suddenly looked at Kaya, curious about why she mentioned it .
Obviously, she didn’t mention it because she wanted to boast . When they were wondering about her motivations, Kaya said in a voice full of competition, “So don’t spend more than ten minutes coming up with your recipe . ”
“Kaya…”
Min-joon couldn’t laugh or sigh at that, making an awkward expression . He felt Kaya was cute at this moment, but he felt ashamed at the same time .
Kaya opened her mouth as if she didn’t like Min-joon’s attitude .
“Fair play is important in this game . Besides, if you want to bet, it’s more important . So, what are you going to give us if you lose?”
“Let me give you my knife . ”
Saying so, Dobby took out a knife from his cooking bag . It was an old used one, but the wood on the handle and the blade attached to it showed the knife was a precious item with the spirit of a craftsman .
Dobby said in a serious voice, “It’s a knife I received from Chef June . It’s my treasure . ”
“Are you sure you are going to give me this treasure if you lose?”
“Min-joon, you said you would not bet your career on this game, right?” Dobby said sarcastically . “I can even bet the rest of my life in this competition . ”
“Okay . Let me bet my knife on it, then . ”
“Min-joon?”
Watching him next to him, Anderson called his name with a confused look . But Min-joon did not stop . Since Dobby threw down the gauntlet first, Min-joon could not allow his pride to be hurt by avoiding it . Right at this moment, he decided to trust himself and Kaya .
Min-joon took out the Rose knife from his cooking bag, which he had received from Rachel . His eyes trembled, while he was looking at it . He wondered for a moment if it was alright to bet this precious knife on this, but he could not give up .
“This is my treasure, too . I don’t want to lose it . ”
“I don’t want to take it, but I have to because I don’t want to lose my knife, either . ”
They seemed to play words with a smile for a moment .
Dobby then stopped smiling and opened his mouth .
“It doesn’t matter if you want to use the same recipe again . It wouldn’t be bad to make it once again while you are tense . That’s fairer . ”
“No, I don’t need it . ”
“Really?”
“We don’t make a dish without doing our best . The dish we just made a little while ago was the best we could do in that situation . ”
“Okay . Then, let me think about my recipe . You mentioned ten minutes for thinking about the recipe, right?”
Having said that, Dobby and Eva began to discuss the recipe . Min-joon looked at them quite carefully . Unlike Dobby with cooking level 9, Eva was 7 . Obviously, there was a big difference between their cooking skills, but Dobby was listening to Eva’s opinion seriously .
‘Well, even a child can give an adult inspiration anyway…’
At that moment, Anderson approached Min-joon and opened his mouth .
“Are you okay?”
“What?”
“I mean your Rose knife . I just wonder if you can bet such a precious present recklessly . What if you lose it?”
“I won’t lose . Let me trust myself and the dish I made here . ”
Actually, it was a dish that impressed all the chefs here in an instant . It was difficult for him to make the same delicious dish again .
So, when Dobby and Eva finished discussing the recipe in about three minutes instead of ten minutes, Min-joon just looked at them blankly .
“Are you already done talking about the recipe?” Min-joon asked .
“Well, I’m familiar with French cuisine,” Dobby replied in a relaxed voice .
That was their last conversation . Dobby and Eva started to bring the ingredients . Min-joon watched them quietly . Paprika and onions, carrots, and pumpkin . Beer, Vermouth sweet red wine, and a large chunk of pork neck .
“Are they going to make…”
Watching the ingredients, Min-joon said something but stopped, shaking his head .
He could not believe the Dobby pair would make such a dish in this situation .
“Roti de porc a la Vierne,” Chloe said in a calm voice .
Kaya asked, frowning, “What did you say?”
“Roti de porc a la Vier . You know Schweinebraten, right? It’s German-style grilled pork . It’s a French version of that . I would say Dobby is going to remake it in his way . ”
Unlike Schweinebraten originally cooked only with beer, Dobby was not putting not only wine but also soy sauce and honey in the sauce for marinating meat . That was obviously far from the authentic recipe .
His cooking process was ridiculously simple . All Eva did was bring the ingredients Dobi asked her to bring . After putting in the oven the peppered meat tied with a string, he didn’t do anything for almost 30 minutes . After taking it out after 30 minutes, he poured some liquor mixed with alcohol again over it and then put it back into the oven .
Kaya looked at Min-joon with a serious expression .
“Are you sure you won’t be mad even if you lose?”
Instead of answering, Min-joon moaned with a nod . He would definitely feel frustrated if Dobby could win with that dish based on a recipe they came up with in less than three minutes .
But Min-joon was aware that cooking was not a formula . If there was anything that comforted him now, the expected cooking score for Dobby’s dish was 7 now . Even if he cooked better than expected, he would still be 8 .
But Min-joon was nervous . ‘Man, why am I having a sense of foreboding?’
Min-joon stared at the oven quietly . 30 minutes, that short time passed slowly .
Finally, the Dobby finished cooking the dish .
[Dobby’s Roti de Porc la Vier, flavored with honey and wine]
Freshness: 95%
Country of origin: (There are several ingredients that are hidden)
Quality: High
Cooking score: 7/10
‘Cooking score is only 7…’
Min-joon could feel relaxed at that, but he still stayed alert . It wasn’t an ordinary level 7 dish .
It was a dish that Dobby with cooking level 9 made . It certainly couldn’t be ordinary .
“Wow, smells so good!”
Forgetting Dobby was her enemy, Kaya uttered exclamations . Since she had a keen nose, she could quickly find out how valuable that chunk of meat was .
The bitter scent of alcohol and the intense aroma of pork, mixed with the aroma of vegetables, was spilling over the kitchen .
With the grilled pork neck cut into steak-sized pieces on a plate, Dobby approached Min-joon .
“Would you like to try it?”
Min-joon had no reason to refuse . He grabbed the plate and sliced the meat . The moment he was about to put the sliced meat in his mouth, Kaya quickly put it in her mouth .
“Hey, you…”
Min-joon tried to say something to Kaya but stopped because her expressions were unusual . He could not know how this dish could impress her so much . Anyway, he also put a slice in his mouth .
“I lost…”
That was what came to Min-joon’s mind immediately .
Dobby’s dish was nothing particular . He just made some changes to the traditional recipe .
But that change alone was enough . He could keenly realize how Dobby could change the existing dish when he made use of his perfect skills, based on his perfect grasp of the basics .
The first thing that stimulated his tongue was the bitter and sweet taste of sweet red wine .
While enjoying the crispy taste of the beer, he could taste the fantastic juices of the meat when he chewed it,
Min-joon’s eyes changed sharply . He regretted why he could not bring out this kind of taste until now . So, he wanted to make it right away .
But the next was voting by the staff to choose the winner . While they were voting by writing the number on the napkin, Dobby spoke to Min-joon, “How about it? Do you like it?”
“Yeah, good . So good as to arouse my anger . ”
“So come to New York! Cook with me! I really want to cook with a chef like you . I have no other intentions . Come to think of it, if I win in this competition, I may leave… Oops, I wish I hadn’t said that . ”
Dobby was talking gibberish like that, but Min-joon did not care about trivial things . After they were done voting, Adrian approached them carefully with the results .
“We’re done with voting . ”
“So, who has won?”
“It’s a tie . ”
When Adrian said that, Min-joon and Dobby looked at each other .
Then they looked back at Adrian and asked, “Tie?”
“Yes, 15 vs 15 . You’re even . ”
Dobby looked at him .
As if he was pondering over something, Min-joon gave the knife to Dobby .
When he looked at him curiously, Min-joon said, “I lost . I respect you since you brought out such fantastic taste in such a simple way . So, let me admit I lost . ”
“Hmm . I don’t like the way things worked out like this…”
Dobby scratched his head for a moment then took the knife back from him .
The moment Min-joon was about to turn with a sigh, Dobby also gave the knife back to him .
When Min-joon looked at him, he said leisurely, “Let’s do it this way . Why don’t we admit we lost to each other? In fact, the result was also a draw . Let’s keep each other’s knife, then give it to either of us who got better results in this upcoming competition . ”
Min-joon did not reply for some time . He looked down at the knife silently then slowly received it . And when he opened his mouth, his eyes were glaring so sharply that he looked like a different man .
“See you next time,” he said curtly .