God of Cooking

Chapter 186: Chapter 186: The Power of Science (3)

“No need to be nervous, but don’t be too relaxed either. Since many people are focused on us, all we have to do is change their perception.”

In response to Rafael, Cho Min Joon nodded. It was simple. They were at a point where they didn’t need promotion but verification instead. At this point, there was no point in doing any more promotions.

The semi-finalist of Grand Chef, Anderson. The perfect palate, Cho Min Joon. The originator of molecular food trucks, Rafael Yoon. On top of that, the legend, Rachel Rose. There weren’t many restaurants in America that had so many famous people in one kitchen.

What Rachel wanted was to break the thought, ‘They can’t be that great.’ And winning a competition was good enough proof.

The rules of the competition were simple. 4 people per group. 30 minutes to cook. When the demi chefs heard the news from Rachel, they looked iffy. To be more exact, until she said this, “The four of you will compete in the competition.”

“What?”

Cho Min Joon was surprised, too. His jaw dropped and stared at Rachel. Havier spoke in a shocked voice, “But that’s not how it’s done. Regardless of demi chefs and sous chefs, I thought the elite went out to compete.”

“Some places do that. It’s a given if they don’t have that many chefs. But that’s not the case for us. Me and Rafael are faster with our eyes and lips than our hands. So you guys should be the ones to cook. So you have to represent our restaurant because customers will end up eating the dishes you make.”

He understood what she was saying. Cho Min Joon was in awe. He figured that kind of attitude was what made Rose Island rise to the top. But the other demi chefs didn’t look so convinced. Cho Min Joon slowly opened his mouth.

“Did you send out demi chefs in the past, too?”

“Yes. Also…”

Rachal continued, “They’ve never lost even once.”

***

Luckily, Rachel didn’t leave the recipes up to them. It was to be expected. Rachel said the demi chefs had to compete because they were the ones cooking in the kitchen.

While the demi chefs cooked in the kitchen, it was up to Rachel to come up with recipes. So it was right for her to do so for the competition as well.

There were only 2 weeks until the competition. For that reason, Rachel was more strict than usual. If anything went off course, Rachel scolded harshly.

“Let go. If you put that on the frying pan, it’ll be nothing but trash.”

“Imagine if the hall was filled with customers right now. Then you’d make them wait 20 extra minutes!”

“People are going to say Rose Island is a dead corpse in the past.”

Was it because it had actually begun? She was so strict that it was hard to remember her soft side.

What they had to make was a 4-course meal—appetizer, pasta, main, and dessert. And Cho Min Joon was in charge of dessert. He was also the team leader. The reason why he ended up becoming the team leader was simple.

‘You’re the best at molecular cooking, so you must be the team leader.’

It wasn’t a friendly explanation, but it made sense. It wasn’t just Cho Min Joon’s dessert that was going to use molecular cooking. All dishes aside from Anderson’s pasta, or more like gnocchi, was also going to be influenced by molecular cooking.

What he learned while working under Rachel was that her ability to lead a kitchen was chillingly perfect. Her ability to lead was even more respectable than her cooking talent.

Although 4 chefs were cooking at the same time, if one person made a mistake, Rachel immediately knew. If the ingredients were mixed wrong, Rachel immediately knew how it was wrong.

‘… She’s no different from my system.’

What Cho Min Joon was the happiest with about his system was that he could immediately catch a mistake. After all, realizing what was missing after completion was harder than knowing in the middle of cooking.

And through cooking scores, Cho Min Joon was able to know the best path. That was the advantage that no other chef could have. Or so he thought.

But as soon as he became Rachel’s pupil, Cho Min Joon changed his mind. Rachel was the perfect mentor. When he needed it the most, she gave him the right lessons.

As long as they had her for a mentor, they would grow just as fast as Cho Min Joon would with his system. But Cho Min Joon didn’t feel restless because what he wanted wasn’t to be the only one in the hall. He wanted to run together with those he loved. Cho Min Joon was happier being the best together than alone.

Of course…

“… This is tiring.”

Just because he liked it didn’t mean it wasn’t tiring. Havier sat on a chair like a tired dog. Ella, who just returned from kindergarten, took out her children’s vitamin tablets. She spoke in a joking tone, “Are you tired? This will make you feel better.”

“Does that cure everything?”

“Yeah. Mom said this makes it all go away, and Ella’s kiss makes it better, too.”

“Will you kiss me?”

Janet threw her glove at Havier’s face. It was so loud that it sounded like an actual slap. Janet spoke in a cold voice, “Should I report you?”

“… I’m just kidding! Am I not allowed to have humor? You should watch some comedy shows from time to time. You’re so uptight.”

“You should watch more documentaries then.”

The way they bickered didn’t seem unfamiliar. Anderson stared at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon raised his chin as if he was asking what he was looking at. Anderson opened his mouth.

“Don’t they look just like you and Kaya?”

“I can hear you. Shut up.”

“Kaya used to say that to me, too.”

In response, Janet glared at Anderson. Of course, Anderson wasn’t the type to back down either. In the end, Cho Min Joon stepped up.

“Stop it. We’re a team. We need to work together.”

“… What’s the point? We just have to make our own dishes.”

“Janet, do you really think so?”

Cho Min Joon stared at Janet. He was looking at her in pity, not anger. And that was even harder to endure. If he looked like he hated her, she would’ve fought back, but the way he looked at her with kindness made her feel like the bad one.

‘… Not that I’m a good person.’

And Cho Min Joon was a good chef and a good person. He was a genius who was born with talent and luck that made him into a demi chef at Rose Island at just 21 years old. Since that was Cho Min Joon, Janet always saw him as a competition.

But Cho Min Joon saw Janet as a colleague. In that sense, Janet felt like she lost to him. And the same went for right now. Janet sighed.

“I take that back.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Cho Min Joon flashed a smile. Janet sighed inside her head. She thought of Cho Min Joon’s girlfriend, Kaya. She still remembered how soft she looked only in front of Cho Min Joon. But she also understood. Cho Min Joon wasn’t just someone with a good personality. He had the right attitude, and he never treated anyone as lesser.

The atmosphere was light. Cho Min Joon poked Ella on the nose as he opened his mouth.

“Anyway, isn’t molecular cooking more fun and mysterious the more you do it?”

“You’re starting to rationalize. But then again, if you don’t do that, being in charge of molecular cooking would get too tiring.”

“… Shut up, Anderson. I’m not brainwashing myself. I really think so. It’s fun. I love that I can make liquids into powder. And being able to make pasta with things other than flour is seriously… Rafael said this to me, that I wouldn’t regret taking over the molecular cooking section. And I’m starting to agree.”

“See? You’re rationalizing.”

Anderson spoke with a shrug. Cho Min Joon glared at Anderson before looking down at Ella and opening his mouth.

“Ella, whose cooking do you like the best?”

“Yours”

“See? This is what molecular cooking can do.”

The other three looked down with dejected faces in response. Janet opened her mouth with dissatisfaction.

“That’s not fair. Ella would probably say anything you make is good.”

“Then ask her. Ella, do you like anything I make?”

“Hm… I still hate broccoli.”

“See? She hates broccoli.”

“… That’s different.”

Janet was speechless, but Cho Min Joon didn’t care. He opened his mouth as if he was now a god.

“The power of science is impressive. It destroys the common perception of cooking. I feel like I’ve become an innovator.”

“I agree with that… But I feel anxious, too. If molecular cooking becomes more widespread later on, traditional cooking could be shaken. Will I be able to catch up with that as I grow older?”

“Look at Rachel. She’s older, but she’s just as good at molecular cooking as Rafael… or any other sous chef. You can do anything if you try.”

“… Are you trying to compare me to Rachel?”

Havier asked with a bitter face. Cho Min Joon groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Am I expecting too much from you?”

“After I learned her recipe and know-how, it finally hit me. She has something that isn’t from just experience alone.”

“I’m sure she’ll teach whatever that is to us. So don’t worry.”

Cho Min Joon spoke calmly. No one realized it at first, but Cho Min Joon was starting to sound like the team leader for the competition. But he still would’ve said those things even if he wasn’t.

Cho Min Joon wasn’t the type to lead people into a revolution, but he had the tendency to hug those around him and comfort them. Even during the Grand Chef, all the people who weren’t sure of Cho Min Joon at first became his friends. His ability to be objective yet warm was his talent beyond the system he had.

“All we can do right now is express Rachel’s recipe to the best of our ability. We have to prove what kind of chef she is. And as we keep introducing her to people…”

He laughed. It was a warm laugh.

“Then maybe our hands will become more like Rachel’s.”

In response, the three of them nodded. They weren’t smiling, but they felt warmth in their hearts. Meanwhile, Ella mumbled to herself as if she didn’t understand, “Rachel’s hands are wrinkly though…”