Chapter 253 Weirdo (1)
��You guys really didn��t know this?��
Deborah asked with an incredulous look, earning her an equally confused look from the chefs. Deborah sighed deeply before continuing.
��Michelin inspectors don��t just come once. They have rules, you know. It makes sense that Minjoon wouldn��t know, but what excuse do the three of you have? You��ve all worked in a restaurant before.��
��I don��t think Michelin inspectors ever came to my restaurant. At least not while I worked there.�� Javier answered.
��Alright, fine. But what about you, Anderson, Janet? You two should��ve known better.��
����Don��t really know. I��ve never really thought about them coming to visit.��
��I feel the same way as Janet does.��
Deborah sighed again in frustration. She was shocked, to say the least. The three of them just thought that this one time thing was it for them.
��Rachel��s pretty mean, too.��
Rachel must��ve known that the three here had this misunderstanding. She probably wanted to tease the chefs a little bit by not telling them. After all, they��d be a lot more desperate if they thought the inspectors would only come once.
����Maybe I shouldn��t have told them?��
But the dice had already been thrown. Deborah found herself sighing yet again.
��When visiting a new restaurant, inspectors come around three times. That��s how they can get an accurate assessment of a restaurant. Trying to review a restaurant with just one visit is just plain rude.��
��It��s weird thinking about how these people like food so much, but don��t actually cook.��
��Just a personality difference. Some people like cooking, some people like tasting. What about you guys? Do you like eating more than cooking?��
The chefs just rolled their eyes in response. Deborah smiled inwardly. She could somewhat guess why they were responding like that. Minjoon stepped forward to speak for the others.
��If you��re just talking about fun, of course eating��s more fun. I get jealous of tasters sometimes.��
��Oh�� you do? You must regret turning down that offer to be a taster, then.��
��I don��t regret it though. Cooking��s just a bit more difficult is all. The biggest reason I like tasting to begin with is because I can think about how I can cook a dish after I taste it.��
��That��s right, that��s what a chef is. That��s what makes us chefs, and them tasters.��
��So is there anything else we need to worry about? For Michelin?�� Janet asked.
��Well����
Deborah thought for a second. Rose Island. The main store, of all things as well. If you were a taster, you��d inevitably want to come here. After all, this was known to be the best restaurant in all of the United States. Deborah shrugged.
��Michelin inspectors actually hate reviewing popular restaurants. They��re probably all trying to delay it.��
��Is it because they��d get a lot of threats thrown at them if they reviewed one badly?��
��That too, but the real reason is something else.��
Deborah put up three fingers to the chefs.
��Michelin inspectors can��t visit the same restaurant twice in three years.��
����Ah, I see.��
They all understood. Rose Island was a restaurant loved by tasters. Almost half of their customers were tasters as a matter of fact. It wasn��t like normal customers didn��t like their restaurant. The restaurant was just that popular.
One of the tasters once said Rose Island reminds them of a dish that they had before becoming a taster. That the food here let them enjoy food for what it really was.
The chefs didn��t like staying too traditional, but they weren��t going for anything too modern or complicated either. They were looking for balance. If one were to tell a taster that they couldn��t eat at Rose Island for three years after tasting it�� No taster would find that news to be a good one.
��How many of you put your own recipes on the menu again?��
The demi chefs all looked away nervously, earning a laugh from Deborah.
��If you want to make good memories about the menu, you��ll have to hurry. These people literally come out of nowhere.��
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��So only a few days left until the filming ends, huh.��
The cameraman spoke with a calm voice. Minjoon turned to the man with a smile.
��Thank you for everything. I hope I don��t look like a weirdo on the big screen. I heard that word a lot when we filmed hunger trip.��
��I mean, what can you do? You really are a weirdo.��
��If you��re saying that too�� Doesn��t look like things will change for me any time soon.��
Minjoon smiled awkwardly. The cameraman spoke as he looked at Minjoon through the camera lens.
��Do you have anything you want to say to the audience?��
��To the audience? Well�� Just don��t hate me, I guess? Not just me, but Kaya as well. All we care about is food. Nothing else. We��re just normal people other than that.��
��I don��t know if many people would necessarily find you normal.��
The cameraman answered seriously. At least, Minjoon was very abnormal to him. Not just talent, no. Minjoon��s inborn personality by itself made the man quite strange. What with him looking at strange things for minutes at a time��
��You��ll find the interviews very entertaining when you get to watch it later. A lot of people here talked about you.��
����Man, now you��re making me nervous. Should I watch it?��
��I need those views to stay afloat, you know. Please watch it.��
The cameraman playfully said from behind the camera. Minjoon just shrugged in response.
��Sure. But I wish you could��ve stayed long enough to get to see the Michelin inspectors.��
��Well, it��s whatever. Plus, we wouldn��t even know who the inspectors are anyway. But I do hope the rest of the demi chefs manage to get their recipes on the menu.��
��That��d be good, but if they can��t�� It is what it is.��
��You��re calm about it, Minjoon.��
��Is there any reason not to be?��
Minjoon answered calmly. He turned to look at the kitchen. His eyes towards the other demi chefs seemed very complicated. Right then, Janet walked up to him with a dish. Minjoon looked at Janet with a slightly afraid face.
����Again?��
��This��ll pass, I promise.��
��I feel like I��m eating seven or eight meals a day because of you����
��You didn��t get fat, though.��
��That��s because I work so much.��
��Perfect. You��ll just become malnourished without more food. Here, have some of this. It��s lobster bisque. I used cloves and champagne in it. I cooked the claw, and the ceviche underneath was made with the body of the lobster, bell peppers, onions, and sauteed zucchini.��
��Sounds sweet.��
Minjoon tried a bite of it with a mumble. The taste of raw lobster with vegetables was quite a bit different from what he expected. It tasted very�� modern. The bisque melded well with the champagne, and the balance formed by it and the lobster ceviche was rather nice. But��
��This won��t work.��
����Why?��
��The texture��s good. The balance of flavors is alright as well. But that��s it. It��s too obvious.��
��Hah�� Then what should I do?��
��That��s up to you.��
��No suggestions?��
��Eh�� Maybe change the bisque itself, or add something new on it? You might even want to just give up on the bisque entirely. Maybe a bell pepper puree would be nice on it. By the way, since when did you start paying attention to my words?��
Minjoon looked at Janet curiously. Sure, the others thought he was a supertaster. But none of them asked him this directly for advice many times. Janet chewed her lips for a second before answering.
��You always manage to get your recipes ok��d by Rachel. You know what she wants.��
��I don��t know what she wants.��
��Then what is it?��
��Eh�� A blessing of the pig, I guess?��
����The hell is that?��
��Go to the gallery if you��re curious.��
Janet closed her mouth. She didn��t want to admit that she��d gone to all the art galleries in LA after hearing how Minjoon got inspiration from one of them. Anderson turned to ask her a question as she returned to the kitchen.
��What, Minjoon said it wouldn��t work?��
��Yeah. Too average.��
��It did look pretty plain. I mean, you don��t really like complicated things to begin with. You could still go to Rachel. Get her opinion.��
��It��s fine. He��s better than an average taster anyway.��
��Better at cooking, too.��
����You really want to put it that way?��
Janet glared at Anderson with a lowered voice. She continued with an icy tone.
��You really have to make yourself lower than him like that? Is that why you asked to go to the galleries with me?��
��Two things. I��m not intentionally making myself lower than him, it��s just reality. He��s good at cooking, admit it. Second, you asked to go to the galleries, not me.��
��You were talking as if you needed a partner to go with from the start to begin with. Fine, let��s say I face reality. I��m not going to just take it with my head down. I��m going to get through it. I��m going to improve.��
��If you want to argue, go do it with Javier. I have a lot of work to do.��
��Same here.��
Janet and Anderson turned away from each other angrily. Right then, the office door opened. Javier was walking out. The man��s eyes met with the couple��s, and he raised an empty dish with a grin. Janet and Anderston slowly turned to each other.
��We shouldn��t be fighting.�� Anderson said.
����You want to start discussing things?��
The two of them spent the rest of the night trying to surpass the wall that was Rachel. Unfortunately, they couldn��t come up with anything.
And the next day, they came. Without the chefs knowing.
End.
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