Chapter 72: Footprints in front of his feet (3)

Before you start reading! The 7 points curd he made on the previous chapter isn’t the complete dish! It’s more like a garnish or some kind of that.So that means that the main dish can be further improved or worsened,

A 7-points curd. For a curd to have that score, it was being perfect. It was to the point that he thought if it was possible to make something beyond that. Jo Minjoon looked at the clock with a confident face. 50 minutes. There were still 1 hour and 10 minutes left. And, what he had to do right now, was to rest for an hour. Because he could finish his dish in 20 minutes and still have spare time. Looking at Jo Minjoon being still, the judges approached him.

“Minjoon. Why are you standing still?”

“Because I have to wait for 50 minutes.”

He said it bluntly. Emily asked with a perplexed voice.

“Do you mean that you have nothing to do for 50 minutes?”

“Yes. Oh, but just because of that, it doesn’t mean that I could have chose the one hour time.”

“……..I understand that. But are you really planning to rest for 50 minutes?”

“I think that it’s not only me doing that.”

Jo Minjoon said that while slightly glancing at his surroundings. It was just as he had said. Even Sasha had spare time because she was waiting for the bread to ferment. Alan let out a sigh.

“It seems like there isn’t going to be any funny scenes.”

“We don’t know. Maybe Martin will get to know the aesthetics of slowness.”

Emily shrugged her shoulders. Joseph didn’t say anything and looked down at his sudachi curd, and lifted a small spoon of it.

“The flavor of the curd, can I try it?”

“Of course.”

There was no need to evaluate. The sudachi curd he made right now was of a better quality than those he had previously made. Of course, the cooking score was the same 7 points as now, but even the particles of this curd were beautiful. It was quite well poached.

Joseph ate a bite and then, closed his eyes and savoured it. And after that he put a soft smile.

“I will be expecting it.”

Alan and Emily took out their spoons with faces that wanted to eat it. Jo Minjoon just served the curd in front of them without saying anything. And after they ate it, they were putting the same face as Joseph. Alan’s corner of his mouth raised.

“I remember that Dave spent a few months to make the sudachi magnificently. You stole those months in just a moment.”

“Because cooking is everyone’s.”

Jo Minjoon said that and smiled brightly. Alan looked at him with a face you couldn’t know what he was thinking. He seemed to want to say something, but turned back. Jo Minjoon glanced slightly at his surrounding. The situation for those who chose the two hours was different. In the case of Joanne she seemed to be busy because she was making chocolate cream to put in the cheesecake, but just as the judges had said, Sasha was just waiting for the bread to ferment.

But the one who who had the most leisure was Jo Minjoon. He didn’t really have anything to do. Although he had to roast the cashew nuts and parboil the celery before the jelly got hard, it was better the later he did it.

The time passed slowly, but without rest. The ones who chose the one hour time also started cooking, and Sasha too put her dough in the oven and started the finishing steps.

Jo Minjoon started to move only when there were ten minutes left. He quickly roasted the cashew nuts in the frying pan, and parboiled the celery. And he put the peeled pear in sugar water and simmered it. There was no need to put it for long. When the sweet flavor of the pear seemed to mix with the sugar sufficiently, that was the time when it suited well with the other ingredients.

And after that, there wasn’t even 5 minutes left. However Jo Minjoon didn’t hurry. Because if he did the finishing touch, he would finish. He went to the freezer and brought the jelly. A transparent and yellow jelly wriggled like pudding.

And the cooking score was 7. When he slightly ate the end parts of it, the jelly was tough but not enough to exhaust your mandible and at the same time had a soft texture.

A smile naturally formed in Jo Minjoon’s mouth. Perhaps, it could become the best dessert he had ever made.

To remove the deducting points while copying a recipe, naturally, there couldn’t be flaws in the process of poaching or freezing. And although he had a time limit today, he had concentrated more than ever and cooked without mistakes. Perhaps, perhaps.

‘Perhaps the same flavor I ate there could appear.’

Jo Minjoon’s eyes were filled with desire. He still couldn’t forget the emotions he got when he made the 8 points risotto. Just as the customers eat your food deliciously, making a high quality dish was also a happy thing.

Jo Minjoon put the sudachi curd on a plate with a round and concave center. And he also put the round jelly on top of that. He placed the celery in a snake like shape after slicing it in half, he grounded the cashew nuts and put it on top and then placed the simmered pears and nastrium. And it was at that moment.

Jo Minjoon put the sudachi curd on a plate with only its center round and concave.

[You have perfectly reproduced the recipe.]

[Sudachi curd with green apple jelly]

Freshness: 97%

Origins: (Too many ingredients to show)

Quality: High

Cooking Score: 8/10

“Yes……!”

Jo Minjoon opened his mouth unconsciously. His heart beat. When he tasted the sudachi curd he thought that it was good, but he never thought that it would end up being 8 points. Because when he practiced alone, it was difficult to get a score above 7.

Jo Minjoon slowly took in some breaths and looked at the clock. The time was almost up. Three, two, one… and Joseph yelled.

“Time is over! Everybody put your hands off.”

There was no one who couldn’t complete their dishes. But of course, it didn’t mean that they all had satisfying results. Jo Minjoon slightly glanced at Peter. In his dish, there was apple pure and baked apple. The appearance seemed quite delicious, but you couldn’t know how it was in reality.

Joseph opened his mouth.

“Are you all satisfied at the results?”

“Yes, chef.”

“We looked at you cooking and picked the three dishes we expect the most. And the one we are going to call right now is the one we worry, expect, and are the most curious about. Minjoon! Come to the front please.”

It wasn’t really unexpected. Because he still remembered the faces of the judges when he said that he could also guess the proportions of the ingredients. Jo Minjoon went to the judges with a calm face and with his dish. Just placing one dish was enough to fill the small table in front of them. Joseph got in front first.

“Minjoon. Explain your dish.”

“I placed sudachi curd and green apple jelly together. I roasted and grounded cashew nuts for the crispiness. I brought out more of the sour and sweet flavor through a moderately simmered pear in sugar water, and deepened the aroma with nastrium.”

“You said that you have reproduced the dessert in Rose Island, when you recently went there. Ah, there’s no need to point that out. Because imitation is the basics for cooking. Even when Kaya reproduced Alan’s risotto, I have said nothing. Do you remember?”

“Yes. I do.”

“If you have correctly imitated the flavor you ate there, with just that, there will be worth in your dish. Are you confident?”

Jo Minjoon smiled instead of replying and pushed the dish slightly towards Joseph. He looked at Jo Minjoon’s eyes at that moment, and lifted his fork and knife and sliced the jelly. He smeared enough sudachi curd, smeared cashew nuts in that curd and placed a pear on top of the fork.

And that went in his mouth just like that. Joseph slowly opened his mouth. Honestly, he was a little preoccupied. Because there were many cases when you made jelly, that if you made a mistake it would turn a rubber and without flavor. Also, it had the tendency to not suit very well with other ingredients.

The first thing he felt was the refreshing flavor of the sudachi curd. And the cashew nuts that were smeared in the curd, got grounded in his teeth and the oil that came out of it made it heavy.

The pear originally doesn’t have sourness, but the short time it was simmered in sugar water made the sourness disappear and it didn’t disturb the flavor of the sudachi curd at all. In the middle of that, the combination caramel and apple that was felt from the jelly made him clearly feel the ability Jo Minjoon had. He felt the spicy flavor of the nastrium at the last, and Joseph let out a sigh of amazement.

“This…….Is really similar to Dave’s jelly. And the curd is also similar. Really…….. You really reproduced that flavor. It was to the point I felt chills down my spine.”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe, if you put in a little bit more of an ingredient, the balance would have crumbled. And that would have ended as a piece of sugar. Minjoon, your talent surprises more and more. And maybe I should call it skill instead of talent. Even if you did know the recipe and the flavor, to reproduce it this much is clearly your own strength. It was a good dessert. Thank you.”

Joseph talked like that and fell back. This time, Alan stepped to the front. He tried to eat slowly as usual, but his hands were faster than usual. After he ate the jelly without saying anything, he let out a hopeless laugh.

“I’m curious about how David will feel after looking at the broadcast. I will say something to him.”

Alan looked at the camera.

“This doesn’t fall back at all compared to yours.”

–

“Incredible. You are really incredible. Minjoon.”

Interview. Martin said while holding Jo Minjoon’s hands. Jo Minjoon laughed awkwardly and took out his hands. Martin looked at him with shining eyes.

“Where did you say you came from, Korea? Aren’t you lying? Aren’t you an angel that came down from heaven?”

“……..Let’s proceed with the interview.”

“Whew, yes. I’m sorry. I got excited. So how do you feel? You became one of the remaining 10 people”

At Martin’s question, Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly. He said with a voice that wasn’t bright nor dark.

“It would be a lie if I wasn’t happy, but I can’t feel that happy. Because two of the people I used to hang with left.”

“Peter and Leslie…… It has plenty of meaning for them to have reached to this point.”

“I wonder. Even though it may have some meaning to Leslie, but I think that this trip was more of a loss for Peter.”

Leslie from the two hours one, and Peter from the one hour. Peter’s dish was full of sweetness and lacked sourness. It was because he simmered it in sugar for too long, and cooked it for too long. Jo Minjoon said with a regretful voice.

“In the end, Peter left without being able to spread his wings.”

“Do you think that it was cruel?”

“I wonder. Actually, I think that he reaped the fruits of his actions. Not being able to show his skills properly, and not being able to control what he said was also his responsibility. It’s just regretful.”

“All the competitions are like that. Because in the end, only one can laugh in the end. Do you think that you will be able to become that person?”

“…….Honestly speaking, I think that I have to grow more. In this situation, even if I win, it will not be a real victory. I’m planning to improve the most in the remaining time.

At his words, Martin didn’t say anything and just looked at him. Martin seemed to be hesitating for a moment, but soon asked with a silent voice.

“Don’t take it bad. Honestly speaking, I hope that you survive for long. But I don’t want you to win.”

Taking into account that the PD had said that, it was too direct. Jo Minjoon’s face turned strange. It was Martin that had said that he wanted Jo Minjoon to win. Of course, he could see it as a service comment, but he couldn’t know the reason why he was talking like this. Martin continued speaking.

“It’s not because I think that you are lacking or I don’t like you. If you win in this competition, you will be called for events for a year. You will get busy.”

“What do you mean?”

“…….We are preparing a program that is going to be the continuation of Grand Chef. The theme is tasting travelling. I was thinking to connote Emily, but she refused. However a month ago, she told me that if I satisfied one of her request, she will participate. And that was you participating in it.”

Jo Minjoon let out a sigh unconsciously. Emily had approached him that time, but he didn’t know that she had asked for that kind of request. Martin hurriedly continued to say.

“Of course, aside from Emily participating, I think that your character as a chef is very good. People will go crazy if a person with an absolute sense of taste is doing a tasting travel. I assure you.”

“……..So that means that if I get eliminated, you will let me participate. Is it that kind of offer?”

“I’m not planning to listen to your reply right now. Think about it plentily. I need to give you that much of a consideration. Of course.”

Martin laughed.

“Although, it will become a story that never happened if you win.”

< Footprints in front of his feet (3) > End

Translator’s note: Regular chapter!

Thanks for reading and for your support!

Translator : Subak Proofreader : Saihikawa