God of Cooking

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Battle of Destiny (1)

‘The first condition…?’

Cho Min Joon stared at the words with a confused face. He had never seen such an alert before. Did that mean being level 9 was a whole different level? Anderson looked at Cho Min Joon and thought, ‘Not again.’ To those who couldn’t see the system, the way Cho Min Joon stared into space looked like he was deep in thought.

“Hey, get a hold of yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“You sound like you just woke up.”

“… I did.”

It was a long and deep sleep. Anderson thought strangely of Cho Min Joon’s relieved face. Did he grow in some way again? He didn’t think growing was so easy, but when it came to Cho Min Joon, common sense didn’t apply.

‘… Whether he improved or not, I should catch up.’

He didn’t believe a realization or two would make much difference. After all, it wasn’t only Cho Min Joon who made realizations. As Anderson organized his thoughts, Cho Min Joon looked at Samuel and smiled.

“I’m sorry for the nonsense, Samuel. The food is so delicious that my standards are going up.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Samuel sighed and smiled. Samuel was very nervous. It hadn’t been long since he received the Michelin stars. Sarah and Anderson were still rookies, but Emily and Jeremy were experienced food critics, and Rachel was a famous chef who was respected all over the world. On top of that, since Cho Min Joon was known for his outstanding palate, Samuel got hung up on every word they said.

‘I didn’t think I’d be nervous after getting three stars.’

So he was thankful to Cho Min Joon for what he said. Samuel smiled and whispered in Cho Min Joon’s ear, “I’m actually the most worried about your evaluation. I’m glad I get to hear the words of a perfect palate. You give me courage.”

In response, Cho Min Joon showed a conflicted face. Having a perfect palate wasn’t just honor. It also called upon expectations, and every word he said became that much heavier.

That was what made Cho Min Joon work that much harder. Whether he liked it or not, his words were not simply those of a rookie chef. His words were heavier than those of experienced food critics and chefs.

“Your restaurant is amazing. Localization and globalization? We’ll worry about that later. What I can say for certain is that the food is delicious. I’m sure this place would be that much better when enjoyed with somebody I love.”

“Oh, are you talking about her?”

“… I’m sorry?”

[There it is.]

[Good job, Samuel!]

[Who is he talking about? I have no idea. Lol]

‘… Why is everyone so hung up about someone else’s personal life?’

He heard that America respected privacy. Just as he thought that, he remembered paparazzi in America. And he realized that not all viewers were American. There were viewers from all countries that spoke English.

“Let me order this one. The fois gras steak with apple and onion.”

His order sounded like a change in subject, but Samuel didn’t question it. And then the dish came out. Cho Min Joon smiled.

[Fois gras steak with apple and onion]

Freshness: 93%

Origin: (Too many ingredients for an accurate calculation)

Quality: High

Cooking Score: 10/10

‘… This is what I get once I give up on a 10-point dish.’

But it wasn’t surprising. No matter how simple the cooking method of Japanese food was, fusion food always incorporated other methods of cooking. That meant there were more chances to raise the scores, which meant dishes like this was possible.

‘Is there a better chance for a higher score when the name is longer?’

Cho Min Joon stared at the dish. Grilled beef was placed on top of what looked like a red sauce. On top of that was onions, and on top of that was fois gras that was shiny, and at the top were pieces of apple chips.

“… That looks good.”

“Do you want some?”

“can I?”

“I don’t hate sharing. It doesn’t look good, but that’s not why we’re here. Also…”

Cho Min Joon pointed at his belly.

“I’m getting full.”

“You did eat a lot.”

Anderson smirked and offered his plate. Cho Min Joon put a piece of beef and fois gras on it.

[I wish he’d give me some.]

[Fois gras doesn’t taste good. I can’t get used to it.]

[You have to get used to food like that. Especially when the taste is strong.]

“I used to hate fois gras, too.”

“What?”

“Oh, I was talking to the chat… Anyway, the scent and flavor of fois gras are intense. The oily taste penetrates both your throat and nose, but don’t resist it and leave it to your body. That helped me a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s my favorite food or anything.”

[That expression was so poetic. That guy is weird.]

[Good poetry doesn’t come out of normal minds. That’s why he’s crazy.]

“… What’s wrong with my expression?”

“It’s okay at times but annoying at others. I don’t even know what you’re saying most of the time.”

In response to Anderson’s remark, Cho Min Joon’s face grew sad. When he taught at a high school, his students used to tell him, ‘You’re more mature than your age.’

‘… I thought that was a compliment.’

The realization that it wasn’t made him sad as he ate a piece of the beef.

‘The flavor… isn’t vast.’

It wasn’t bad, but it was ordinary. At that moment, Samuel quickly opened his mouth.

“For that dish, you must cut up the fois gras and eat it with onion and beef. That’s the best way to taste it.”

“Oh, okay.”

Cho Min Joon sliced the fois gras and stabbed his fork into the onion and beef. It almost looked like pork belly. It was as if the fois gras was making up for the fatty portion of meat. Cho Min Joon put the fork in his mouth.

And his reaction was instantaneous. He couldn’t help it. As soon as he chewed onto the fois gras, the juices exploded in his mouth. Compared to the beef, it was quite small, but the flavor was outstanding.

“Oh…!”

He groaned loudly. Anderson didn’t groan, but he was also touched. It was different from eating beef. It was like a pork belly that came from a cow.

The oily flavor of the fois gras remained in his mouth, and the oily beef was delicious. And it wasn’t too oily for his mouth because the spicy sauce and the sweetness of the grilled onion washed it away.

10 points. This time, he ate it without obsessing over it. But was that why? He was able to focus more on the flavors. The conditions of tasting level 9. The conditions had to exist for a reason.

‘Food and tongue. Since there were prejudices between those two things…’

He was disappointed. If he didn’t feel sad yesterday about there being no 10-point dishes… he would’ve been able to enjoy different flavors.

“This… is a great combination.”

“Oh, really?”

“The combination is good, the sauce is delicious, and it was grilled perfectly. I feel like it possesses everything a dish should have.”

“I like your response. Was it the best dish you’ve had tonight?”

Cho Min Joon paused for a moment. It was possible that he would have said yes if it was before he made the realization, but that wasn’t the real answer. Food was about enjoying its essence. And the dish that he enjoyed the most was…

“No. I enjoyed the three pieces of sushi the most.”

“Oh, really? That was unexpected. Many food critics say that the sushi lost too much of its original colors.”

“Original colors…?”

Cho Min Joon smiled. At that moment, Samuel stared at his face blankly. He was still young, so why was it? Was it because of the delusion he had about most Asians? He thought his face was glowing due to knowledge and experience.

“Leaves fall and people grow old, so what reason is there that that color can’t change either?”

***

The meal continued for long after that. He was full, but the meal went slowly because they were talking to the viewers, so there was plenty of time to digest. And it was Sarah who spoke up first,

“So what do we do about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know. The battle between Anderson and Min Joon.”

[Oh yeah. They said they would do that.]

[What’s the theme? If it’s about eating, Anderson would lose.]

[Who knows? Who eats the most? Or maybe they can eat weird stuff. I bet Min Joon can’t eat stinky tofu. His tongue would freak out at that.]

[I feel like he would like it more because of that…]

The viewers thought it was a given that they battled. Cho Min Joon and Anderson looked at each other without a word.

“… What do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

[Huh? They haven’t even decided on what to battle with.]

“I’m sorry, everyone. I only said that out of formality because you were looking forward to it… What do we do?”

“Well, it’s not hard to hold one battle, but the question is about what…?”

Cho Min Joon crossed his arms and fell into thought. At that moment, Samuel opened his mouth.

“You’re both chefs. Why don’t you battle by cooking?”

“… Cooking?”

” I can’t lend you my kitchen, but I can bring over some cooking equipment. Since this is a room, it won’t disrupt the others either.”

“If that’s okay with you, we’d love to. But what do we make…?”

[What’s the point in thinking about it? They should make sushi. It’s probably easy to bring over the torch, too.]

[Yeah. Sushi. That sounds good.]

[Oh, I hate sushi. It’s smelly. How about ramen?]

[I want to see them make hot pot.]

The chat window filled with various dishes. It was obvious, but the one that stood out the most was sushi. Cho Min Joon and Anderson looked at each other. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“Sounds like we need to make sushi. What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. Do you think you can beat me? I’m good at making sushi.”

“Ha, you’re confident. I’m no longer the Cho Min Joon who lost to you. Brace yourself, Ahn Deoku Sam.”

Anderson’s face grimaced.

“What kind of name is that? Ahn… Deoku Sam? That’s hard to pronounce.”

Cho Min Joon grinned.

“It’s the Japanese version of Ahn Deok Sam.”