God of Cooking – Chapter 65: At the end of the trip (2)

 

 

The time for comfort ended immediately . Even before it became 9 o’clock, the participants had to go in front of the food truck . They didn’t even have the leisure to express that they were glad to see each other in a long while . After they attached a mic in their clothes, the judges appeared . They had met almost in one week . Joseph opened his mouth with a calm face .

“Last week, did you do well?”

The participants laughed bitterly . Their faces were saying it all . Joseph slacked his lips as if he understood .

“It should have been hard . You lacked sleep, and your back and neck hurt . But looking at the smiles of the customers you can’t even say that you are exhausted, that’s the life of a chef . And your lives should also be like that . The last one week, you can look at it as you have to work the same for the remaining 70 years . ”

Perhaps, because it was the food truck that it was more comfortable . Because it wasn’t a normal one, but a food truck only for the sake of the mission . Normal restaurants would be better in that you don’t have to move, but excluding that, it wasn’t easy at all .

Alan opened his mouth .

“Later, you will be facing more stress than right now . It will be different depending on who you are working for, but as you know the character of most of the head chefs or sous chefs are dirty . And I’m not blaming them . It can only get dirty . It can only get rough . Because if you did even a small mistake, you won’t know what could happen . And what you place on the dish has to be checked as cautiously as a doctor’s hands . And………”
Because if you did even a small mistake, you won’t know what could happen . What you placed on the dish has to be checked as cautiously as a doctor’s hands . And…”

Alan glanced at Emily .

“If epicureans come and comment on the internet or the news saying things full of crap, you will forget why you were walking this road . Some of them will write unreasonable things, and things that make you wonder their comprehension towards cooking . ”
“…… . . Well, even I sigh when I look at those epicureans . And it seems like you had already met sloppy epicureans in the food truck mission . ”

The ones Emily was talking about weren’t the ones who talked bad about their cooking, because that was their obvious right . However, there were also some that wanted to get attention by speaking nonsense . They said that the flavor of an ingredient that wasn’t even used was felt strongly, and some even evaluated with the opinions of those, when they haven’t even eaten it .

“Minjoon . Hugo . Chloe . Because you were team leaders, you should have felt and endured more things than your members . How are you feeling?”

Jo Minjoon glanced at Hugo . Maybe he was forcing himself, but he didn’t look good . He could only be like that . Because if he didn’t lie about his profits, today’s third place would be his team . Hugo wasn’t the type to lie about these things, he was the type to feel all the more responsible in this kind of situation .

The first one who replied was Chloe . She seemed to also be feeling at ease . Her voice wasn’t that heavy .

“It was hard, but thinking about the things you would face in the future, it was quite a good experience . ”
“It’s a wonderful reply . Minjoon?”
“The word responsibility seemed to be more scary than I expected . Of course, I knew that you made me team leader as a reward for getting first in the risotto mission, but it felt more like I was given a test . ”

He hadn’t planned to grumble, but as he spoke, it became more of a nuance . Alan smirked .

“Think of it as an experience . Cooking in the seat of the leader is something impossible with your current experience . ”
“Yes, I know it quite well . ”
“Hugo, What about you? You have the most nervous expression among the three . ”

Hugo smiled bitterly . He hesitated for a while and slowly opened his mouth .

“I’m sorry for my teammates . I had to do well as a team leader, but I had to be a team leader that lacked too much . ”
“…… . . I wonder . I had heard that you did quite well, so I don’t think that there’s a need to lower yourself like that . ”
“Rather than lowering myself…… . . I’m sorry . It seems like I was too nervous . ”
“Cheer up . ”

Emily said with a gentle voice . Next was Joseph . He pointed at the clock in the wall with his finger .

“The business today will start until 4:30 . And, the profits at that moment will be the standard to evaluate . The winners today were going to have a meal at the 1 star Michelin restaurant ‘Coconut Prime’……… But because of a patron, the plans were changed . The place you are going to eat today……”

At this moment, Alan looked at Jo Minjoon for a moment . Even before they could think the meaning of that sight, Alan continued speaking .

“It’s in Rose Island located in Chicago . It’s a place that got a Michelin 3 star . ”

At those words, everyone’s mouths opened widely . At that moment, Jo Minjoon felt a strong desire to win . Michelin 3 star . The meaning those words had wasn’t ordinary . Perhaps…

‘………Would there be a 10 star dish?’

His heart started to beat . There was only $50 of difference with Chloe’s Team . If he worked desperately, maybe they will overturn them . Personally after his absolute sense of taste was known by everybody, thinking that the profits yesterday was higher than usual maybe they would also get good results today .

“Do the best you can . Not everybody can win, but you will all be able to satisfy your customers . I hope that you will be able to . ”

At those words, Hugo’s face froze stiff . It seemed like he had pledged something inwardly . Jo Minjoon thought while calming down his greed . Yes, first came the customers . It wasn’t only selling, but making food that satisfied the customers . He couldn’t forget about that for even a moment .

Joseph said, “Go . The customers will be waiting for you . ”

–

Now, they didn’t even take long getting the ingredients in the market . They had gotten the hang of it, but it was mostly because they had already visited Chicago’s market once .

They had decided to cook first with the rice as usual . He had already repeated this process many times, but it was the most important and difficult part . Rice was a dish that was difficult to cook well . Korean housewives cook rice everyday, but the results always varied . At times it was well-cooked, and at others it was watery .

Perhaps it was fine because they had the rice cooker that kept the quality . But if they didn’t, you wouldn’t know what the result will be . You would only get accustomed because you ate it everyday, but cooking rice wasn’t an easy thing to do .

“How many will we sell today?”

Jo Minjoon shrugged his shoulders . It was still in Chicago, but this place was 2km away from the last place . So he thought that not too many customers would come twice . And even if they did, it meant that they came to eat their norimaki again .

And he couldn’t neglect the effect of the absolute taste . At least taking into account the selling they, he thought that there won’t be a time where they didn’t have customers . The problem was them . How fast could they make the norimaki according to the demand? And today, the other teams seemed to also extend the business hour .

“The mission ends at 4:30 . So should we make 1,500 until then?”
“…Just listening to it makes me feel disgusted . Do you think that it will all sell? If it doesn’t we will only be wasting ingredient fees . ”
“So we will have to act according to the situation . But I think that the total amount of customers will be higher than usual . Because it’s different to having only one truck to having all three in the same place . ”

Anderson nodded as if he agreed . If it was only one, the people who were hesitating about moving to get there . If there were three, then the possibility for them to lift their butts became higher .

Whether they made 1,000 or 2,000, in the end they could make 300 in one time . It was the same work as usual, but Jo Minjoon felt more comfortable . Perhaps it was because of what Hugo had told him . No, it was almost certain that it was because of that . Because he could sleep well in a long while because of that .

As he made the first round of norimakis, Jo Minjoon started to cook the rice immediately . The one that opened the door this time was Anderson . He, who got out of the back door, couldn’t help but feel shocked at the amazing crowd . Saying that the square was full would be exaggerating…… . But at least, there were so many people you couldn’t see the end of them . Some hundred would be too light to say . He got back in the truck and gasped in amazement .

“…… . We should really be able to sell a thousand . There are a lot of people . ”
“Right?”

The first ones to started selling were obviously Chloe’s team, because they had to prepare the bread beforehand and put it on the grill or skewer on the kochi . There were three options the customers could choose from: bread, meat, and sauce . It was simple, but certainly this was a method which could bring many customers .

The price was around $4-$6 . Taking into account that vegetables weren’t put in it separately, it wasn’t that cheap, but even so the amount made people to not complain .

It wasn’t as much as norimaki, but even so it was a dish that was fast to cook . Joanne said with an anxious voice .

“Why are they so fast? That Kaya roasts meat like an art . In that fast time, there’s not one meat that’s overcooked or raw . ”
“She’s from the market, so she would have lots of experience . ”
“Whew… scary . Let’s strain ourselves too . ”

If Chloe’s team raised awareness that much, Hugo’s’ team was the opposite . It was one thing that their line didn’t shorten, but the size of their line was really short compared to Jo Minjoon’s and Chloe’s teams . It couldn’t be helped .

Coffee and cake . Normally, it was a menu that was more appealing to women rather than men . And right now, the people that were lined up were mostly women . It was really hard to look for a man .

Losing male customers wasn’t the only fault of their menu . First, the point that it was a dessert added to that . Of course, there wouldn’t be people that wanted to get full with only eating cake, but their cake was focused in quality rather than quantity . The price was expensive and the amount wasn’t much . The quality would be assured as long as there was Marco, but honestly, you wouldn’t know it before eating it . Because basically, when you look at the menu you would  ‘ugh’ed and stepped back .

Jo Minjoon let out a sigh inwardly . It was regretful, but he didn’t have the leisure to be thinking about them . Jo Minjoon opened his mouth .

“Kaya’s team……no . There’s no need to mind Chloe’s Team much . They will feel desperate looking at us . Because they don’t have time to be resting . Oh, yes . Welcome . I will take your order . ”
“Two pork barbecues and one salmon . I saw the broadcast well . Looking at you guessing at the fried tofu pocket, I felt chills down my spine . ”
“Thank you . ”

Honestly, he had heard that many times already . However, he could not smile back when the customer was putting a face that was having fun . He heard the same congratulations, thanked the same way, and laughed the same way . The special thing was that he didn’t hate that conversation to be repeated . Because their faces were filled with goodwill towards him, he couldn’t hate them .

After making norimaki and selling, and repeating that process, it was soon near 4:30 . The comforting point was that until it became 4:30, they didn’t rest even once . The line in Hugo’s team disappeared slowly, and the selling speed of Kaya’s team decreased…… . . Perhaps, they would really…

‘No . Let’s not expect already . ’

However, he couldn’t help but have a smile in his face . And the cameraman was filming his face with a careful angle . Probably, that face was going to be shown as if he was having fun with the customers, and a smile of a chef .

When more customers were getting out of that place, the length of the lines could be clearly compared . The longest one was Jo Minjoon’s Team . It wasn’t simply because they wanted to eat norimaki . Most of the customers that saw the absolute taste scene felt that that broadcast made the person himself as an unique brand . Martin touched his chin and thought .

‘Aside from victory, Minjoon got wings in his back . ’

Even with making normal food, the people found a flavor that wasn’t even in it and praise them . Of course, some epicureans would overdo it like always, but taking into account Jo Minjoon’s absolute taste, it wasn’t that easy to bad mouth .

Much less when Jo Minjoon’s cooking skill wasn’t bad at all . On top of that, he was only 23 . Honestly speaking, you wouldn’t know how much he would grow .

When it became 4:30, there were not many norimakis remaining . Just as the word, there wasn’t much . 7 . Jo Minjoon gave it all away for free to the customers . He couldn’t charge them because the business was until 4:30 .

The kimbaps they made and sold were roughly 1,100 . It was a really amazing number . Normally if he summed up lunch and dinner and sold all that, even if they worked for longer than usual they had really sold a lot .

‘Excluding the oil and ingredient fees…… . It will be a little more than $1,000 . ’

If they could do business like this everyday, all the chefs would become owners of a food truck .

The participants returned to the Grand Chef’s house . They couldn’t announce the results where other people were looking . Of course, the food truck had already spoiled about the survivors, but it was an unavoidable decision because of the mission . If it wasn’t that situation, there was no need to show the progress .

Lobby . The judges were standing as usual and waiting for them . Alan opened his mouth .

“We have the total profit from each team leader . And the losers and winner have also been decided . The funny thing, is the difference between the 1st and 2nd place . How much of a difference do you think there will be? Chloe, what do you think?”
“…… . I wonder? Hmm, about $10?”
“It’s half of that . That’s the difference of the 1st and 2nd place . ”

At those words, everyone started to talk with surprised faces . Jo Minjoon felt his chest burning . Who would be the winner of those 5 dollars? Him? Or Chloe?

Alan opened his mouth .

“However, before announcing the 1st place, we have to first name the disqualifying team . It’s an inconvenient time, but a time we must have . I won’t talk long . The losers today have acquired a total of $5,643 of profit . Right . Hugo! It’s your team . ”

Hugo was shaking with his face having turned pale . Alan didn’t want to say consoling words . He said with a blunt voice .

“Even the idea of doing a cafe truck was a miss . First, your skills of making coffee is not that good . I don’t understand why you have chosen to go that way . Second, you had to think about the size of this truck . Was making bread and coffee all you could think about after knowing that this huge truck could handle 15 people? Perhaps making a moving bakery would have been better than cake . In my opinion, you were so charmed by the idea of doing a ‘cafe truck’ that your horizons became small . Hugo, what do you think about that?”
“…… . It’s my mistake . I have nothing to say . ”

Marco slowly patted Hugo’s shoulder . Joseph just looked at them and opened his mouth .

“If you want to open a restaurant, you have to take into account many things . It’s not only the item or the cooking that should be good . You can’t go with just that . That’s only the basics . With that said, the other teams did really well . They figured out the location and peculiarity, and I could see from the menu that a versatile strategy was used . ”

Joseph took a breath for a moment . And then said .

“The first place got $6,771 of profit . Yes, that’s right . ”

Silence roamed for a moment . The moment Jo Minjoon heard $6,771 he immediately knew the result . He could see the Michelin 3 star right in front of his eyes .

“Congratulations, Minjoon . Your team won . ”

< At the end of the trip (2) > End

 

Translator’s note: Regular chapter!
Thanks for reading and for your support!

Translator : Subak  Proofreader : Saihikawa