Chapter 254 - Not ordinary
Chapter 254: Not ordinary (1)
Most people in the world think of themselves as special but at the same time, ordinary.
If one asked Min-joon if he belonged to those who were ordinary, he would definitely say yes without any hesitation.
As a matter of fact, Min-joon considered himself ordinary. And he was satisfied with it, for they regarded it as virtue to live normally in South Korea. In other words, it was not bad to lead a normal life without inviting others’ attention and without any problem.
It was relatively recent that Min-joon, who thought he was ordinary, came to question his identity as an ordinary man.
‘Cooking level… 7.’
Kaya and Anderson improved their cooking skills steadily and reached Level 8.
But his current level was far from easy. Given that he didn’t know when the two would reach Level 9, he was not sure if he was fast or slow in improving his cooking skills, compared with the two.
‘Well, my level has gone up by two in a year.’
He had several reasons for such a fast improvement. First, he gained lots of experience in cooking. When Min-joon worked as a kitchen body for several years or when he was a student or a teacher, he always tried to cook if he found the time for it.
Although he couldn’t grow properly because he didn’t have anyone to sort out his experiences and coach him, he gained lots of experiences anyway.
With years of experience under his belt, he was suddenly faced with a difficult journey in Grand Chef. He could participate in numerous missions and share the agonies of his fellow chefs. While going through a situation like that, he, a supposedly 30-year-old man, could organize his experiences and put them to good use quickly.
In some respects, his level might not have gone up yet. Maybe it was not his skills that have improved, but he made good use of his original skills.
And now, Min-joon was convinced that the dish he was going to make was the best he had ever come up with in his life and that he had made the best use of his skills and experiences.
‘Parmigiano Reggiano with five flavors.’
It wasn’t just five flavors. He planned to cook Parmigiano Reggiano with different maturation periods in different ways.
“Chef, you’re killing me. Are you going to fill my stomach with cheese?”
“… You have to feel the taste a little more.”
Despite Maya’s worrisome voice, Min-joon was busy feeling each piece of the cheese he split in front of his eyes. In the case of the skin and flesh, not only its texture but also its taste was different. Besides, the difference in the flavor’s depth marked by different years was more pronounced.
‘If I make it as a foam, it will taste better. And this is…’
Maya was dumbfounded, watching him absorbed into tasting cheese. She knew he was far from ordinary as a chef from the beginning, but when she saw him being absent-minded like this, she was just sick and tired of him. She could not understand how he could be so absorbed into something like that. Wasn’t he too inhuman? What if he collapsed while doing so?
However, contrary to Maya’s concern, Min-joon was very excited at the moment.
He realized that he was not ordinary. Rather, he realized that he didn’t have to be ordinary.
He felt a chef needed to be special and creative. When others asked, ‘Does it make any sense?’ he had to be able to make the impossible dish beautifully.
‘If I become content being ordinary, I can’t satisfy anybody.’
Min-joon started making stock from the shell of Parmigiano Reggiano. Maya was just about to help him when the cameraman whispered to her, “Ms. Maya, can I interview you for a moment?”
“Now? Sure.”
“Come this way.”
The cameraman took Maya and headed for the break room. Fortunately, no one was there.
As soon as she sat down, he asked, “What do you think about Min-joon?”
“As a chef or as a person?”
“It would be better if you answer both.”
“Well, he is a very difficult man. I’m not saying that he is hard to deal with, but it’s hard to understand him correctly. Sometimes, he’s like a boy, but sometimes, he’s mature. Sometimes, he is as calm as a lake, but sometimes, he gets hot-tempered like a volcano.”
“When I saw him a moment ago, I was also very curious about him. Is he a genius?”
Maya could not readily answer that question.
Was he really a genius?
In fact, she heard that some chefs were praising him as a genius. He became a demi chef when he was only 21 or 22 now. It was not that rare because some people the same age as him became head chefs of the restaurants that got stars from Michelin.
Given how overwhelmed people were when they heard the word ‘genius,’ Maya sometimes got confused about whether Min-joon was really a genius.
Maya slowly opened her mouth. “I think Ms. Kaya is a genius. Chef Min-joon could get whatever ingredients he wanted, Kaya couldn’t. Nonetheless, she won the Grand Chef competition. I think the word ‘genius’ is suitable for people like Kaya.”
“Then, do you think Min-joon is not a genius?”
“It’s hard for me to say he is not. As you know, Chef Min-joon’s perfect palate is already famous in the world. If he has that palate, he is definitely different from ordinary men. In fact, he sometimes showed he was a genius. For example, look at that pomegranate dessert recently.”
“… So what’s your conclusion?”
“I have no conclusion. Chef Min-joon himself is just a question that makes us think and ask for its answer. That’s why I like him. I would like to follow the chef who climbed up the hill rather than a genius who climbed the top of the mountain that I can’t even see.”
Her reply was a little difficult, but the cameraman understood.
Maya said with a smile, “Well, I think I like him because he is not a perfect genius from the beginning. We are human. So, it’s better for us to look a little bit clumsy just like a human rather than a perfect machine. Aside from your question about being a genius, I like him as a chef. He is one of the best men I’ve ever met.”
“Oh, you have a very good opinion of him.”
“You can’t even say bad things to your boss, right? Besides, you broadcasters can’t keep my secret,” she replied, chuckling with a smile.
When the two returned to the kitchen, Min-joon was still absorbed in cooking.
Looking at Maya, Min-joon smiled with a sorry expression.
“I’m sorry to hold you late at night, Maya.”
“That’s fine. Since you are here, I definitely should be here, too. And above all…”
Maya glanced around the kitchen. Not only Anderson, Janet, Havier but also their cooks stayed in the kitchen until now. The reason was simple. All of them were working on new recipes.
There was a war of nerves among them over the matter of who would be the first to come up with a successful recipe.
The cameraman muttered in an awkward voice, “Didn’t you say the other day that developing a recipe together would be faster?”
“Everyone knows it. But this time, we are having Michelin Guide Inspectors. So, they seem to be zealous about developing their own recipe. I mean the type of recipe that you contributed to developing, but you directly developed.”
In particular, Havier was more ambitious than others. He didn’t forget to cooperate with his coworkers, but he had a big ambition to develop his own recipe this time.
The cameraman asked as if he was curious, “I know you used to say your dish should be free from your greed and that bad minds lead to bad dishes.”
“Well, greed is not a bad thing. Of course, if you want to make the customers pay a lot for your dishes, that’s bad greed. I think this is our dream rather than greed. A chef’s dream is to make delicious and great dishes. Well, it’s up to you how to describe it.”
“Wow, you took it out of my mouth. So, do you feel you were rewarded for making your own recipe?”
When the cameraman asked, Min-joon smiled silently. His smile was full of confidence.
“I’ve already got the answer. You’ll see soon what kind of taste you will enjoy.”
“It’s an appetizer, right?”
“Yes, but now I have switched it to dessert.”
“Uh, why?”
“At first, I thought the appetizer would be more appropriate because of the salty taste of cheese…”
Min-joon took a deep breath. It seemed that he was so thrilled about his upcoming recipe that he even found it hard to breathe properly.
“You will know it soon.”
Min-joon, who was watching the oven, started moving. The first thing he did was to make a foam sauce. Air and foam, the first thing he made was air. He grounded the 40-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano’s crust, its stock made from the shell, and one with 50-month-maturation, then mixed it at room temperature. After that, he filtered it through a filter paper for coffee. Min-joon cooled it in the refrigerator then added lecithin to it and ran the blender to get the air source. Making the form was simple. He boiled the chicken broth in a Thermomix, the automatic cooker, then added Parmigiano Reggiano with 30-month maturation. Then he put it in the siphon gun and added liquid cream. It was over then.
Next was Galette. It was a French dish with a crispy texture bordering somewhere between bread and biscuits, famous as a dessert.
Min-joon made a dough by kneading the 40-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano, melted butter, and cornstarch. Then, he put the dough in the oven and baked it for 2 minutes for a Galette dish.
Now, he had only two more to go, but he was done with both already. One was a cheese sauce made from a 36-month-long Parmigiano Reggiano boiled with cream, chicken broth, and salt in the Thermomix. Min-joon filtered the sauce through a sieve and plated it on a plate.
Then the next was soufflé. He mixed the lightly smoked ricotta cheese with Parmigiano Reggiano and creamy emulsion. He mixed the soufflé with egg meringue and baked it in the oven. He took out only the raw flesh from the soufflé. He put it next to the cheese sauce and added foam and air to the side. And the moment he inserted a thin piece of galette between the foam and the soufflé, everybody in the kitchen exclaimed admiration.
“Wow!”
Not only Maya and the cameraman but others who watched him cooking it all were amazed at his perfect dish. Although he didn’t use any special cooking skills to make it, it was a stylish dish full of elegant luxury.
Right now, numerous system windows were appearing before his eyes. But he got rid of them immediately. He didn’t want to see anything other than this dish now.
“I’ll be back.”