I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 105



Only Noblemtl

I got the omnipotent tongue episode 105

I plan to bomb the wine market.

Today, we decided to go on a date just like Joohee wanted. She said she had a place she wanted to go.

“I didn’t know you still remember that chef?”

“I thought a lot about that restaurant. Is it because it was the first time I went there with my brother? Or is it because it was the day I got the ring?”

On Joohee’s left ring finger, the ring I first gave her still shines brightly, revealing its presence. Of course, I am also now wearing a Submariner that fits my wrist as if it were one with me.

“I wanted to go there too.”

Chef Lee Han-gu is now quite well-known. He has received a lot of investment and is running a restaurant that is well-received by visitors. How much has his food improved since then? I was able to find his restaurant without much difficulty by searching for its location on the Internet.

“The atmosphere is much better than when I came last time.”

The interior is luxurious overall. It is a high-class dining place with a modern atmosphere and slightly dark lighting. It was almost as if I was in a restaurant somewhere in New York.

“The interior design of a restaurant is also important. If you want to raise the price, there has to be a corresponding increase factor.”

A successful restaurant can only be created when everything comes together: the atmosphere, the ingredients, and the chef’s philosophy and skills. After being shown to my seat, I ordered Course A, which featured meat as the main dish, just like I did the last time.

Soon the server brought the champagne, followed by various kinds of cheese and ham. Then the amuse-bouche began to be served.

“Coming here, I can feel that Korean dining has developed a lot. The champagne and cheese are both delicious. The amuse-bouche is also neat.”

The amuse-bouche was served in three batches: salmon tartare roll, confit foie gras and brioche. Then there was the chicken skewers, which seemed to be inspired by yakitori, served neatly with a sophisticated sauce.

“I think foie gras goes well with bread. It’s really good when eaten with brioche. The rich flavor spreads in your mouth, but it’s not too overwhelming.”

Currently, only frozen foie gras is distributed in Korea. Raw foie gras that is not frozen must be vacuum-packed and shipped by air in an ice pack immediately after slaughter. The price is also several times higher, so it can only be tasted in some restaurants in Japan and Singapore where demand is high. I do not want foie gras that much. Furthermore, Korea is a country where it is difficult to eat foie gras. This is because when avian influenza breaks out in France, the government completely bans imports, so there are often times when supply is impossible.

“Are you an expert now? When I came here last time, you just listened to what I had to say.”

When I look at Joohee and smile, she makes a sour expression.

“I’ve been dating chefs for years and you don’t know this?”

“Haha, that’s right. Now I’m a total expert.”

She is now a dining expert, and especially when it comes to wine, she probably has knowledge and experience comparable to a sommelier.

“I’m glad I learned about wine thanks to you, oppa. I should be thankful because it adds another joy to my life. But the wine market in Korea is a mess.”

Joohee takes a sip of champagne and says:

“You mean the price?”

“I understand that there is a tax. If you add a margin to it, it could be twice as expensive as in the US or Europe. But it’s usually more than three times. Isn’t that too much?”

Wine is taxed at 30% to 60% depending on the product. Considering that only very expensive wines are heavily taxed, a price of double is quite excessive. However, domestic wine prices go beyond even this common sense.

“That’s right. Our country’s wine market is not yet mature enough. If we set up entry barriers like this from the beginning, we won’t be able to grow the pie.”

One reason Westerners enjoy wine is because it is cheap. When these cheap wines are brought into Korea, they are packaged as high-quality products and sold for tens of thousands of won.

“So I’m thinking of giving it a try. I’m thinking of becoming a dinosaur in the wine industry.”

Joohee says with a smile.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. The companies I got shares in are doing well without me anyway. If I were to parachute in now, no one would welcome me. I’d rather start my own company. There are a lot of ingredients that aren’t imported from Korea.”

I didn’t know she had this business idea. Now that I think about it, it’s not a bad idea.

“There’s cheese, ham, and vegetables. Things like artichokes and white asparagus aren’t coming in either. Why do you think companies haven’t done it before? Because they spoil quickly. They have to be airlifted. That means the business isn’t profitable.”

“I have my own thoughts. I’ve heard that many companies are entering the fine dining market. Even if they’re not restaurants, the time will soon come when ordinary consumers will be looking for truffles and caviar. The same goes for various cheeses. If you try to import them in small quantities, the unit price will naturally increase two to three times. I want to import them at a reasonable price and distribute them. I’m also going to open a store where people can taste and choose wine directly.”

“You’ve used your head well. Are you thinking of selling caviar, ham, and even cheese there?”

If you can buy reasonably priced wines and various ingredients that are not available in Korea at a high-end store, you will be able to be competitive enough.

“That’s right. I plan to bomb the market with very reasonable prices.”

Currently, the Korean wine market is monopolized by three major companies. So, it would be relatively easy to fix prices, but if Joohee were to pour in a huge amount of money and directly handle everything from importing to distribution and sales, they would not be able to hold out without lowering prices.

“How long have you been thinking about it?”

“From the time I decided on the topic of my thesis, I thought the Korean wine market needed a change. And I also wanted to help my brother do business in Korea.”

“Sourcing ingredients is a big problem. I want to start right away, but there are still many things to prepare. In high-end dining, many ingredients have to be delivered by air, so I wondered if the unit price would be right.”

Caviar, truffles, foie gras, and various vegetables are all items that must be received by air. If I purchase small quantities for my own use, the unit price will go up. It could even be more expensive than New York. If Joohee imports and distributes these in large quantities, it will be a great help.

“It’s okay because if I import, there are many places to sell it.”

“Your second older brother or sister-in-law?”

“Yeah. I brought it up and the response was good. My sister’s department store also wants to increase the number of high-end food products. They’re not doing it now because it’s obvious that they’ll lose money if they import them, but I’m confident.”

While we were talking, the main topic finally came out.

Because Course A is expensive, lamb ribs and Korean beef were served together. Chef Lee Han-gu came out in person and explained the dish.

“Welcome back, Chef Shin Je-hee.”

He looks at me and greets me first.

“I didn’t think you would notice.”

I visited the restaurant once when I was unknown, and it was surprising.

“Of course I remember. Even back then, you two were quite impressive guests.

“A young man came over for a meal and started reciting my recipe. He was even more impressive because he had a beautiful girlfriend with him. He said he was going to study cooking in the US, but he came back as such a great chef.”

“Thank you for your compliments. The course today was all good. It was really delicious.”

“That’s good. I need to improve myself. I really wanted to introduce you to today’s main dish, lamb ribs. I just added salt and pepper. Please try it.”

We cut the meat with a knife and tasted the lamb ribs.

“Ah.. this lamb is really good quality.”

It has the meaty flavor of pastured lamb. The tender meat of French rack melts in your mouth as soon as you put it in. It is also cooked perfectly. It is seasoned with salt to a minimum and pepper to add flavor. It seems to be Penja pepper from Cameroon. It is a lamb rib steak that has given up on the crispiness of the outside and invested everything in softness. It must have been cooked at low temperature for a long time.

“There is a roastery owner who is really passionate about lamb. He went to Australia himself, toured the farm, tasted each piece, and chose the meat he would use. I asked the owner to give me some good parts as a side dish. I was worried about how to cook it, and decided to make the meat as good as possible.”

“It was absolutely delicious. This single rib alone was worth the entire course.”

I never thought I would be able to taste lamb of this quality in Korea.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had such delicious lamb. Thank you, Chef.”

Joohee also seems to like the ribs and is eating them deliciously.

“I feel proud to hear the compliments from the new chef. I think I will be able to present my dishes with confidence in the future.”

“The blueberries that came as garnish were also good. They were marinated in balsamic vinegar. And the part where you used seasonal Korean ingredients like mingna leaves and oyster mushrooms was impressive.”

Garnishes include carrot puree, blueberries, mint leaves, and various mushrooms. Most of these are ingredients that are served with meat in Korea. A lot of thought must have gone into utilizing these in fine dining.

“Chef Shin, you will soon experience this if you dine in Korea. We cannot receive the same quality and price of ingredients from Europe or the United States. In the end, the only environment that is advantageous to us is Korean ingredients. I think how you utilize this will determine your ability as a chef.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad I came today.”

“Please enjoy the remaining courses as well.”

We left the restaurant only after we had finished all the strawberry mousse, pumpkin cream, and chocolate cake that were served for dessert.

I walked along the streets of Itaewon with Joohee. Itaewon, represented by Gyeongridan-gil, had not yet reached its heyday. Joohee grabbed my arm and snuggled into my arms, feeling cold. I held her shoulder and walked slowly, enjoying the streets of Seoul gradually becoming more like my memories.

“How was the restaurant?”

I wonder what her impressions are.

“to be honest?”

“huh.”

“Compared to Segreto, it is quite far from the trend. However, rather than saying that the quality is poor, I think it is a different genre. I think I now understand what my brother means when he says, ‘Food should surprise you.’ The taste you expect does not impress you.”

Her words were only half right. Even a familiar taste can be impressive if it is much better than expected. This is also a theme I am focusing on these days.

“Now, restaurants that do things properly like that will start to open one by one in Korea. The dining scene in Korea has also changed a lot. These days, customers don’t come to restaurants just because of the chef’s fame. A lot of them will go out of business.”

“What do you ultimately want, oppa?”

“There’s no such thing. At first, I just wanted to get a Michelin star. Of course, I want to get three stars and be on the Top 50 list of ‘The Restaurant’. But I think I’ll be unhappy if I focus only on that. It’ll be like putting the cart before the horse. So I’m just going to do what I want to do.”

“So that’s why you said you wanted to open a restaurant in New York?”

“I want to test the potential of Baekban in New York. It’s so familiar that it’s hard to properly evaluate its value in Korea, but it’ll be different in New York.”

“There are quite a few Korean restaurants in Koreatown in New York that serve side dishes. How is it different from those?”

“I’m thinking of serving up a more authentic side dish. Something of the quality you’d find at a high-end Korean restaurant. But it’ll taste even better if I make it.”

I’ve been to every Korean restaurant in New York. Most of them serve Chinese kimchi and simple, half-baked side dishes.

“Anything you make tastes good. I’ll be looking forward to it. By the way, did you hear the news?”

“Hmm. What?”

“I heard that they are going into fine dining in Daeyoung. I think they are thinking of investing heavily in the food business as well as the dining business. They are also in talks to bring in a few foreign brands.”

“I was wondering where you were, and it was Daeyoung. Is it Cha Myeongjin?”

“That’s right. I heard that you were recently transferred to the food business division. I heard that they’re already recruiting chefs.”

Soyoung came to me a few days ago and told me that she had been headhunted for a job with strange conditions. At the time, I thought she was just a copycat trying to steal my recipe, but I didn’t know that Daeyoung was behind it.

Cha Myung-jin may believe that Korea is his home ground, but fine dining is his territory. Will he be able to overcome the cold judgment of his customers? I am looking forward to the opening day.