Chapter 556: Unexpected Twist (24)
Min-joon was known for his excellence in bringing out the different flavors of one ingredient. But in fact, it wasn’t his specialty. He just found those kinds of recipes most attractive.
That was why he felt that June’s attempt like this was fresh. Of course, it was not uncommon to overshadow the taste of one ingredient with another. But it was definitely different in June’s case. Her porridge didn’t just kill the taste of snails. It also didn’t end up only reviving the flavor of the snail. She turned the snails into something like herbs.
“It seems that the scent of herbs is everywhere in my mouth,” Min-joon said.
Depending on how she heard what Min-joon said, it might sound like a criticism rather than a compliment. But Rachel and those who tasted the porridge knew why he said so.
Nodding, Rachel said, “This one has brought out the scent of a herb the most of all the porridges I know. I have no choice but to admit it.”
“To be honest, when I tried Chef Dave’s food, I thought he would be the winner of this competition, but I’m not sure at this point.”
The reporters were surprised by what he just said because his words clearly suggested Dave was initially the strongest candidate for the championship of this competition. But neither Min-joon nor Rachel dared to express it clearly. Before Dave started cooking, they seemed reluctant to pick him as the most likely winner. When they had yet to evaluate other chefs’ dishes, it was hard for the two judges to act as if they already decided on the winner in advance.
But it was a different story now. Dave showed his dishes not only to Min-joon and Rachel but also to other head chefs here. As a matter of fact, it seemed that it was these head chefs, not Min-joon and Rachel, who already decided who should be the winner of this competition. The winner was definitely Dave in their eyes.
June was no longer their consideration. The moment they tried Dave’s dishes and the moment they confirmed his perfect cooking was upgraded once more, they instinctively felt that she could surpass him no matter how good she was at cooking in this competition.
“Gosh, this is getting interesting. Who’s going to win?” Nathan muttered in a low voice.
June nicely shattered their intuition. In fact, they felt like they just finished watching a long movie. Of course, the strong impression left in their minds was not just the taste of her dishes. It was their overall impression of her main course. When they finished trying Dave’s dishes, they were impressed with the taste of some particular dishes. But June’s course was really striking in terms of every little detail—the smoke of the overflowing dry ice, the sound of the waves flowing from the conch and its atmosphere, and the dishes that suited the chill.
To be honest, at this point, they had no idea how to evaluate which was better and which was worse. Dave was better when they looked at the taste of the dishes alone, but the restaurant wasn’t there just for the taste of dishes. If they look at the overall aspects of the dishes, however, it was not easy to rank her below Dave.
In the end, the final decision would be made by Min-joon and Rachel. So, the chefs paid all their attention to Min-joon, in particular. They thought the new head of Rose Island would be decided today.
Min-joon was already eating a sandwich. When he took a big bite of the sandwich, savoring the taste of the mushrooms in the beef broth, he could understand people who said that even if they died now, they would have no regrets.
“The broth tastes good. When ordinary people see this kind of tea, they will feel fresh because you put the broth in a teacup. And some will find it interesting to know that you put some mushrooms in it, not just the broth. But I think anybody who has tasted and knows this dish can appreciate the depth of the broth itself, without exception.”
“Actually, I’m even a little touched by this dish. I’ve talked to western chefs about the importance of soup many times, but even if they understand it, not many people have made it their own. But Chef June, you have made it your own. As for this sashimi and perilla paste, you once asked me to review their combination. Actually, I was a little skeptical at the time. Sashimi and perilla? It’s not a combination you can easily imagine. That’s why I can’t help but be more surprised. Even though you didn’t use only perilla, I never imagined that the flavor of perilla would creep so softly into the sashimi.”
Min-joon continued to give his feedback, then Rachel, who watched him quietly, added, too.
“Actually, I feel very sorry for you. I know you have been making lots of efforts all the time, but I couldn’t praise you hastily because you might slack off, even though I know you won’t. I don’t know if I was stupid or not. But at least you’ve come to me proudly like this as a great chef. I understand how deeply you have despaired as a chef who made strenuous efforts rather than surrendering to the wall of talent, and how much you were sick and tired of the efforts when you heard that word. Yeah, now I understand you.”
Some of the chefs looked puzzled while hearing Rachel’s words because they found it hard to understand why Rachel, who was a top world chef, called herself incompetent. But from Rachel’s point of view, it was natural. Just like an adult who wouldn’t say that he wasn’t stronger than a child or just like a professor who wouldn’t take pride in being smarter than a student, the fact that she had a better sense of cooking than an ordinary chef couldn’t be her pride.
She saw a real genius, namely Rachel. She was just a nerd before the genius. If she was simply going to make a great restaurant, nobody wouldn’t have to blame her talent because she had it. But was her talent qualified enough to lead the world’s best restaurant?
“You and I are the same in that we have lived while making up for what’s lacking in our lives. I now know you have made up for it a lot. Good job, June,” Rachel said.
“Yeah. It’s been a long time for me,” she calmly agreed.
Min-joon was drinking ‘Tea of Two Temperatures,’ which was served as a dessert. One side of the tea was hot and the other side of it was cold, which was made with ginger and cinnamon.
He sipped the cold and hot flavors at the same time and felt its heat and chill burning and freezing his throat. The end of his evaluation was near.
June added, “Today will be my last day when I make up for my shortcomings.”
She will be perfect as the new head of Rose Island. Her eyes said that.
But Rachel just smiled meaningfully, looking at her.
‘What the heck is it?’
While looking at Rachel, June felt something strange. Since she spent many years socializing with people in many circles, she could read their minds by examining their expressions. And she realized there was something she didn’t know in Rachel’s smile.
It was hard for her to imagine Rachel smiling like that because she lost to Dave. Just like Rachel said, she cheered for June. Or all the head chefs here cheered for her. So, Rachel wouldn’t be able to smile like that when she lost to Dave, June thought.
But it was also hard for her to even consider Rachel smiling because Rachel gave her a higher grade than Dave. So, June was sure that Rachel didn’t make up her mind yet. She couldn’t decide. She had to decide on her successor who would determine the future of Rose Island.
Unless she was overwhelmingly inferior to Dave’s, Rachel couldn’t favor him. That was why Rachel needed more time to think over.
If that was the case, why did she smile?
‘I just feel uncomfortable…’
June’s eyes narrowed. She wanted to openly ask her what she was hiding, but it was not a good place where she could ask that question. For now, all she could do was wait for Rachel’s evaluation. In fact, she didn’t have to. Rachel and Min-joon’s reaction to her course was good. Actually, it was more than good. It looked like they would not give her a lower grade than Dave.
In fact, it wasn’t today that she had to wait for. The day when Min-joon and Rachel were done evaluating the rest of the chefs and announced the winner of this competition would be the highlight and climax of this competition.
Meanwhile, Min-joon was swallowing the last pudding that was served as a dessert.
Strawberry juice filled with the round pudding, with a faint scent of alcohol, was flowing down his esophagus.
Gulp.
He swallowed it all.
Her game was over. Her own comment on her dishes was over.
Everyone noticed Rachel and June. They paid attention to this historic moment. Min-joon made various comments, so did Rachel. They pointed out June’s efforts one by one, expressed their opinion as best as they could, and congratulated her for making this dish.
But June didn’t pay attention to such comments. It was nice to hear that they recognized her efforts. She liked their praise of her cooking, plating, and recipe ideas.
But what she really wanted was something else. Of course, it was impossible for her to hear the results of their evaluation today.
“Good job, Chef June.”
“Nice job.”
“Thank you,” June replied lukewarmly.
After sorting out her complicated thoughts at the moment, she came up with a certain conclusion.
As expected, she felt a bit uncomfortable.