God of Cooking – Chapter 284

Translator: Hwarang    Proofreader: Arocks141, Flowingcloud

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<Step by Step (3)>

 

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

Teach her. Deborah clenched her fist without saying anything after hearing those words. It pained her to realize that she still needed teaching, but Rachel’s act of reaching out moved her.

“I am not saying that I will do it right away. I have to finish tasting all of your dishes.”

“…all of it?”

“You want me to leave before tasting everything? Don’t worry and concentrate on cooking. And don’t make the mistake like you did right now.”

Deborah became fluster not knowing what to do after hearing those words before making her way to the kitchen. She became focused on making adequate dishes that when she got into the kitchen, she bit her lips

‘Just one.’

She wanted to hear that her dish was good even if it was just one. Although hearing that Rachel was teaching her again was heartfelt, what she needed was hearing that she truly worked hard. Rather than hearing things like you it’s not too late you can do better, she wanted to hear she was really devoted. She wanted to be recognized. Some may criticize that she only filters out the good … but what is wrong with that?

Deborah looked down at her chef’s outfit. There were stains on parts of her white and shining chef’s outfit. Her life was like this. At the young age of thirty, she was the head chef of a Rose Island branch location. It was many chef’s dreams to stand there, but it didn’t get any brighter for her…

‘Fifteen-year Deborah. You can’t crawl your whole life.’

Deborah straightened her outfit before facing the kitchen. She heard the sound of clams mixing on the pan, and the pan hitting the stove. As she looked at each individual chef who had beads of sweat on their faces, and at the muscle fiber on their arms, she felt like a novice director orchestrating a ridiculous play.

She was the main character of the ridiculous play. And she had to make the audience happy with no script and limited acting skills.

Deborah opened her mouth. However, at that moment she knew she didn’t have a script. She didn’t know what to say or where to look at, she was lost. Her mind was completely blank. She curled her toes as she stood. She couldn’t feel her toenail that was stuck on shoes.

‘My voice… Is gone.’

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“You are kinder than I thought. Or should I say stricter.”

Raphael laughed. Rachel looked at Raphael with an inquisitive look. He was dipping foie-gras on a puree made of blood orange before eating. And he gave a reply after tasting it.

“You are kind since you are trying to help out a struggling disciple by leading a kitchen that is foreign to you. However, leading a kitchen run by your disciple who is all grown up and is a head chef on her own is … almost cruel like a punishment. It may sound like you are telling her that she does not have what it takes to lead a kitchen.”

“There isn’t much to discuss here. Deborah was ready a long time ago. But she just lost her way. And no one was willing to tell her the way out since she is all grown up. Whether it’s an adult or a child I believe if someone is in need you need to help them.”

“It’s good that you say that. But this …”

After looking down at foie-gras, Raphael made an ambiguous expression. He spoke as if he was wondering something.

“Today I realized that someone’s heart can be clearly seen through dishes like this. I understand how confident chef Deborah is.”

Jo Minjoon took a bite of foie-gras after hearing Raphael’s words. The dish was composed of arugula and well-cooked foie-gras with puree made of blood orange using sous-vide on figs and honey. Cooking score of 8. And the taste …

‘Weak.’

Jo Minjoon just stared at the dish. Deborah’s cooking level was also a 9. Although she was in a lower tier than Rachel, he thought that she could have made a better dish than this.

‘Where did it go wrong?’

Jo Minjoon closed his eyes. He chased after the flavors of the foie-gras. It wasn’t bad. It was well-refined and polished. However, it didn’t show its full ability, it was as if they were afraid to show it off. It was like a woman who was covered in heavy layers of clothing, so no one knew the beauty that was inside.

“Why did she hide it?”

When he realized that he spoke aloud, he saw Rachel and everyone else looking at him. Raphael looked at him and asked.

“What did she hide?”

“… Oh, her abilities. Her abilities aren’t this low. I am not saying that it is bad. The recipe and the taste are well refined. But that is about it. There could have been something more… it feels as if she laid the foundation but didn’t put more to it.”

Raphael smiled at Jo Minjoon’s response. As he smiled he looked at the other demi-chefs and asked.

“What do you think?”

“… I understand what Minjoon is saying. It is good. But there is no clear message.”

“What would you do next?”

“Well. It is difficult to answer right away but, it would say long the line of changing or adding some different ingredient or technique since there is something missing. But right now, the opinions of this dish will not be so divisive.

Divisive. Jo Minjoon’s eyes brightened as he heard Jannet’s last words. He finally understood why this sort of dish was created. Deborah hated being disliked. If she made a dish that didn’t have a clear color, then she wouldn’t get many complaints about it. But …

‘Not having a clear color will become the weakness.’

He remembered a dish that Deborah gave him to taste the last time. Ice cream with pork belly, it was a novel but unfriendly dish. Deborah back then was different Deborah compared to right now. Back then she did everything to the extreme, combining everything that she could think of.

But there was a link between the two. To make everyone happy by adding in everything, and not getting disliked by not putting in much. It was like two sides of the same coin.

Jo Minjoon’s disappointment didn’t die down with the next dish. Filet mignon made of Japanese Wagyu beef. It was garnished with hollandaise sauce and fried vegetable and onion rings. Just like before, it wasn’t bad but there was no special color. It was a difficult dish to describe because it wasn’t bad but there was no specific way to describe how it was good.

The dish showed signs of difficulties. Difficult thoughts were embedded into the dish. It might have been obscure to the regular eyes, but it was clear to the eyes of the chefs.

After tasting the desert, Rachel got up without rest. She looked at the demi-chef and spoke.

“Let’s go.”

They didn’t need to ask where. Rachel went into the kitchen. Deborah looked at Rachel with a pale complexion. Her eyes were full of nervousness making an onlooker like Jo Minjoon worried about her. Rachel spoke in a firm voice.

“Deborah. Tell me all the recipes that you serve.”

“Recipes… here… ?”

“Yes. From start to finish. Everything.”

Deborah was hesitant at first, but she slowly described the recipe one by one. Jo Minjoon listens in on the recipes. But the more he heard the more disappointed he became. Because he realized something about this kitchen.

‘That last dish was definitely a 8 … but the expected score was 9.’

This meant that this kitchen was unable to bring out the full flavor of the dish. He was certain something went wrong between Deborah’s leadership and demi-chef and apprentice chef’s coordination.

‘Should I say it is a total mess?’

Jo Minjoon looked at the people inside the kitchen. They looked very defensive at the situation that was unfolding. But Jo Minjoon understood them. Although they shared the same name, Rose Island, they never met so they were total strangers to each other. And suddenly, they were about to take over the kitchen. Who wouldn’t be defensive at that point.

He looked back at Rachel who was looking over all the recipes that Deborah gave her. She was not just looking at the cooking score. She was looking at the time it took to cook, the different circumstances of the kitchen, anything that could have been overlooked, even the different ways to garnish the dishes.

Some time passed and it was showtime. Rachel looked at the demi-chef from the main restaurant and spoke.

“You will be the apprentice chef to the demi-chef today.”

“Apprentice chef?”

“Yes. You know what I want, I am sure you can help them. And all the apprentice-chef… I am sorry but all of you will have to take a break today.”

Although Rachel apologized, their faces were full of disappointment. Maya smiled and nodded.

“Yes. We understand.”

And that was when Rachel’s control began. While maintaining the integrity of the original recipe, Rachel attempted new things that Deborah never thought of. It was like a black and white TV became a colored TV.

While Deborah looked dazed, all the other demi-chefs were amazed in different ways.

‘…how are these people demi-chefs?’

They were also demi-chefs of Rose Island. With their skills, they could have easily been a sous-chef at some other restaurant. They could have even been a head chef at a small restaurant. But Jo Minjoon, Anderson, Javier, and Janet were on a different level.

Their support was perfect. The demi-chefs of the branch restaurant were wondering how they could even compare themselves to the demi-chefs of the main restaurant.

“Foie-gras’s searing is perfect. The Almond bread that chef Rachel ordered is complete. How is the puree?”

“Scallops need to poach more and they will be put back in the water. It is going to take 30 seconds. During that time make the mousseline.”

They didn’t rest even for a second and didn’t make a single mistake. They were like a supercomputer, knowing what they had to do next without thinking. This made the other demi-chef unable to compare themselves to the demi-chef from the main restaurant.

‘…so this is the main restaurant.’

Deborah’s demi-chef clenched their fist. Their pride collapsed, while new desire sparked inside of them. They wanted to be like that, they started to get the desire to reach that state. It reignited the fire that was inside of them.

Deborah couldn’t say anything at this sight. In an instant, the atmosphere in the kitchen changed and Deborah looked like she lost her strength. Rachel looked at Deborah and yelled.

“Deborah. Why aren’t you checking! As a sous-chef, you should check the roasting, puree, and everything else before it gets to me!”

“…”

“Deborah!”

Deborah looked up as if she was surprised. How long was it? That she heard that voice that made her this nervous. Deborah bit her lips. She looked up and hastened her steps. She said something she hasn’t said in a long time.

“Yes, chef!”

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

<Step by Step (3)> End.