“Everything about you will be decided after today passes,” Joseph said in a clear voice.
But Peter resisted Joseph’s words deep down because he thought that only the winner of the Grand Chef competition, not everything about him, would be decided.
Peter wasn’t as obsessed with winning the competition as others thought. In fact, after he was put to shame during the Grand Chef Season 3, he gave up the sweet thoughts about the Grand Chef for a long time.
The reason why Peter wanted to win was simple. He wanted to show his victory to those who liked to slander him even when he proved he changed. Compared with Gwen’s desperate wish to win, it might look trivial, but he decided not to care about it. Just as Gwen made up her mind to not be conscious of him, he would do the same. The fact that he had affection for her didn’t matter much now that he came to compete with her in the finals.
“Peter, you are the one who starts first. Prepare the full course from now on. You should make enough for every other chef here to try it,” Min-joon said calmly.
The number of chefs who were invited additionally totaled 30. Of course, 30 people were not big, but given that each of the chefs was the best chef in the country, their presence here carried a big meaning, for Peter or Gwen would most likely make a mistake while serving their dishes to each of them.
The method of calculating scores was simple. The judges had a five-point vote, and the invited chefs had a one-point vote. So, 15 points for the judges and 30 points for the chef. A total of 45 points in total. Therefore, one of the two who scored 23 points or more would win this competition.
‘Who wins this competition depends on Peter,’ Min-joon thought to himself.
In this competition, Peter had to cook dishes with a unique Indian taste by all means because that was his specialty. The moment he gave up his specialty, he would be destined to lose.
Of course, it didn’t necessarily mean he would win because he made Indian dishes. Indian cuisine was basically not a good choice for a course meal. For example, the taste of spices such as masala was not easily eliminated even if one ate sherbet with such a strong flavor.
That was the dilemma of Indian cuisine. If one brought out the taste of the spice, it would kill the taste of the next dish, but the problem was that one couldn’t call it an Indian cuisine anymore if they killed that spice. In other words, Indian cuisine was not inherently suitable for a course meal. Then, how would Peter solve this problem?
Min-joon deliberately did not hear what kind of dishes Peter was making. For he was afraid he might not enjoy the pleasure of unexpected surprise if he knew it in advance. He wanted to accept Peter’s dish without any prejudice.
Peter started cooking. Next to him were professional cooks assigned by the Grand Chef, who was helping him in one way or another as he instructed.
To be honest, when it came to leadership, Peter wasn’t that good. He basically had a personality that had nothing to do with charisma, with which he had little experience.
He was quiet, but he began to prepare what he was supposed to do one by one. He wasn’t skillful, but he wasn’t reckless. While he was at it, Min-joon could not help but be surprised by his calm preparation because it was not so easy for anybody to stay calm and relaxed in stressful situations like the finals.
So Min-joon took notice of Peter’s unusual passion. He could feel how seriously Peter was taking this opportunity. Peter didn’t have a bold personality. How long had he been preparing for this kind of match while trying not to get cold feet?
A little later, Peter served his first dish.
“This is roasted Camembert cheese made with cinnamon, cardamom, and rosé wine. I’ve coated it with breadcrumbs made from crushed croutons for a crispy texture.”
“What a surprise! I didn’t expect you would replace Amuse-bouche with Camembert cheese like this. You want to be a bit adventurous,” Min-joon said in a low voice.
As he said, Peter was not trying to be adventurous by presenting Camembert cheese instead of the typical Amuse-bouche. The deep flavor of Camembert cheese often made those who tried it stay away from its taste rather than stimulating their appetite. When Min-joon checked its combination, he instinctively felt this dish might lose his points rather than enhancing its taste.
Peter didn’t respond to Min-joon’s initial feedback. Instead, he looked at Min-joon quietly, suggesting he should try it first. So Min-joon lifted a fork in response to his silent protest. He chewed the chewy melted cheese in his mouth and enjoyed its flavor. It was delicious. The deep flavor of the cheese tickled his tongue. But that disappointed him.
Min-joon looked at other judges. Both Joseph and Kaya also made somewhat strange expressions. And it wasn’t just the judges. All the invited chefs tasting it showed the same expressions.
Peter’s grilled Camembert cheese was a good dish. But it wasn’t a good Amuse-bouche. When they tried it, they already began to feel full, and they hated its lingering taste. The cheese itself tasted greasy, but it was a jam made with Cardamom and rosé wine on top of it!
Even though Min-joon wanted to argue with Peter about it, Peter already went back to his place after he was done explaining. Min-joon began to feel concerned about him. He even wondered if Peter didn’t understand a course meal fully.
‘Well, this is only the beginning of his course meal. It’s only Amuse-bouche. Let me trust him.’
Min-joon thought it was hard to imagine that Peter was so unprepared like this. However, each time Peter came out with an appetizer, his face got grimmer and grimmer. Peter did not try to make Indian cuisine as he expected. Instead, he presented flounder soaked in the deep flavor of smoked paprika, fried tofu with oregano flavor, then served ravioli with lamb marinated in basil, parsley, and turmeric as its base.
Obviously, there was no unity in his cuisine, confusing Min-joon all the more. The invited chefs had no choice but to harden their expressions as if they wondered if they flew all the way here to evaluate this kind of dish.
After all, Min-joon could not stand it anymore by the time Peter presented his main dish.
He said, “Peter, do you feel there is no unity in the dishes you’re making?”
As a matter of fact, Min-joon didn’t want to ask him about this if he could avoid it because he knew that such a question would disturb his concentration. But the problem was that even the current dish he was making would most likely ruin his main dish.
That was why Min-joon had to ask him. If he didn’t, it was certain that Peter would lose to Gwen.
It was at that moment that Min-joon felt something strange. Peter wasn’t embarrassed at all when Min-joon asked that question. No matter how much he stayed detached from the competition, his relaxed attitude obviously made Min-joon suspect his motivations. How could he be so calm when he was pointed out by Min-joon, one of the three judges here, that his dish had a problem? Was he making a strange dish on purpose?
‘Is he really making such a dish on purpose?’
At that moment, Min-joon smelled a rat and recalled the dishes he already tried one by one.
But he could not figure it out.
Peter quietly shook his head and said, “I know what I’m cooking, Chef Min-joon. So don’t worry.”
“But…”
It was the moment when Min-joon was trying to say something. Kaya grabbed his hand. Startled, he looked at her. She looked at him quietly. It was as if she caught him doing something.
Peter went back to his place.
As if he was faced with a riddle that he could never solve, Min-joon sat down again with a sigh.
Shortly afterward, Peter served the main dish. It was quite a fresh dish. There were spinach-made herbs, fries like Chinese spring rolls, grilled chicken sticks on the top that could be eaten with one bite, and a huge chicken breast on the plate. It wasn’t just an ordinary chicken breast. It was a chicken breast that had been cooked in sous vide style for a long time, then grilled with a chicken skin on the outside. And in the center was a hard-boiled egg wrapped around a sesame leaf.
There was nothing to complain about as far as the dish itself was concerned. In fact, each of the dishes he served until now was not that bad. The only problem was that there was no unity in the various dishes.
As if he felt frustrated, Min-joon lifted the fork. If Peter had cooked properly as Min-joon wished, he could have won the competition. Then, why did he refuse to accept his suggestion?
Why?