I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 109



Only Noblemtl

I got the omnipotent tongue 109

Will it work in Korea too?

Segreto’s day has begun.

All staff members have to come to work in the morning, check the ingredients that came in that day, and prepare them. After finishing cleaning, they start making the sauces and soups that will be used that day. Although sauces can be stored in the refrigerator and used for several days without any problems, Jehee made it a rule to make all the food that goes out that day on the same day.

Du-sik, who was hired as a staff member at Segreto Seoul and was undergoing a training course, was preparing vegetables. He removed the leaves of the basil and parsley that had been washed in advance and removed the tough parts. He had to quickly prepare and plate more than 15 kinds of vegetables, including kale, radicchio, arugula, turnips, and basil. Du-sik saw So-young preparing vegetables in front of him.

‘He’s much younger than me.’

I didn’t ask her age, but she seemed to be five or six years younger than me. He was used to the Korean culture of ancestral rites, so it wasn’t easy for him to treat her as his superior at first. But now he’s completely adapted.

“Don’t think about anything else. The maintenance is slow.”

She says. The kitchen of Segreto was full of ghosts. Doosik graduated from the prestigious culinary school ICE (Institute of Culinary Education) in New York. He is also the owner of an academic background that is not lacking anywhere, but it is not something to brag about at Segreto, where CIA connections are the mainstay. After graduating, he worked at various restaurants, but there was a big difference in the management policy between those places and Segreto.

“Ella. Pasta is busy. Help.”

“Yes, Chef.”

The general public may think that chefs are good at cooking all dishes, but that is a huge misconception.

Restaurants don’t usually change their menus. There are many restaurants in New York that have been serving the same menu for more than 10 years. The chefs working there only cook the dishes they are in charge of. They make the same pasta and bake the same pizza for 10 years. This makes the chefs stupid. At some point, they can’t tell whether they are a chef or a technician. Du-sik got fed up with this situation and changed jobs often. But here, everyone is a multi-player.

Sam is grilling today’s main dish, steak. Then, the head chef’s voice is heard.

“One T-bone, one sirloin.”

Ella, who was grilling salmon steaks next to her, puts the T-bones in the oven and checks the time. Then she turns on the fire in the adjacent oven and starts searing the T-bones that came out of the oven. Sam, who was already cooking steaks and octopus, skillfully takes out the sirloin and starts grilling it. He turns around every now and then to place plates for plating and check the condition of the garnishes.

The vegetable preparation was all finished. Doosik felt embarrassed when he saw the amount of vegetables the two people had prepared. In front of Soyoung was three times as much as the vegetables he had prepared.

Soyoung quickly starts making the sauce as if nothing happened.

‘This chef is really quick with his hands.’

Doosik watched Soyoung blending various ingredients to make the sauce to be used today and was inwardly impressed. She started preparing the amuse-bouche. Doosik followed her and tried to learn as much as he could, but everything was too fast and complicated here.

“Take it slow. It’s okay. We usually do it among ourselves.”

Soyoung sensed Dusik’s impatience and spoke in a kind voice.

“Thank you.”

Turning my head, I see Kim, who was assigned to the pasta station, wandering around like me. Dominic has snatched his fan and is tossing it. It seems like he is not satisfied with something.

“It’s okay because the head chef hasn’t come into the kitchen yet, which means we can still handle things on our own. He’s standing there watching the kitchen. When the orders start to pile up, he comes in at any moment and handles all the orders in an instant. And he does it perfectly. He’s a monster.”

Doosik was about to say, ‘You’re already a monster enough,’ but he closed his mouth because she was concentrating.

Soyoung is picking up caviar one by one with tweezers and plating it. Then she uses a dropper to drop sauce, creating geometric patterns. Dusik suddenly thought that she would have done well if she had been a scientist.

Oops

I need to make honey butter.

Doosik measured out the Izuni butter and put it in the mortar. Then he added some Siberian Altai honey (Altay Flower Honey). Add a little lemon juice and sea salt and grind it to make a refreshing honey butter. While grinding for a while, he heard a voice from behind.

“Mr. Doosik, I’m sorry to say this, but I can’t use that butter. The head chef is going to throw it away anyway, so how about you make it again?”

Soyoung says cruel things with an innocent face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Add butter and honey and grind until you have enough texture, then add a little lemon juice. And you should add a little salt at the end. This will keep the smell of seaweed from going away. Didn’t you get a recipe when you were trained? Mr. Dosik just put all the ingredients in and grinded them.”

“I’m sorry. It’s become a habit.”

Doosik realized that he had made honey butter the way he had learned in culinary school. No one there had told him to make butter with such care for every single texture. But he suddenly became curious.

“But is there a difference? Ramen tastes the same whether you put the soup in first or the noodles in first.”

“There is definitely a difference. The head chef would never make a meaningless recipe. All the chefs, including me, strictly follow his recipe. It’s not just because it’s a rule. It’s because it’s actually the most delicious.”

Soyoung speaks with a serious expression.

“All right.”

Doosik reflected on himself for cooking with a complacent mind.

‘What a waste.’

Dusik shut his eyes tightly and threw away the spoiled butter. Dozens of dollars had evaporated without meaning because of his own mistake.

The lunch time that felt like war is over.

The lunch course is mainly made up of dishes that can be prepared in large quantities, but the dishes change slightly every week. No one knows exactly why except the head chef. I guess it could be due to the supply of ingredients, or it could be the head chef’s spontaneous decision.

For chefs working in the kitchen, changing the menu is extremely stressful. There are more recipes to memorize, and the pressure of having to learn new ones instead of the ones you are used to is burdensome.

“Doo-shik. It’s break time.”

He is called by his fellow Korean trainee chef, Hwasi.

“Yes, brother. I’m going.”

Doosik looked around.

Lunch time is over and the chefs have finished cleaning up. The person on duty for today’s meal starts preparing lunch. While the food is being prepared, the staff members are free to take a break. Everyone looks tired, as if they had a hard time during lunch time. However, Doosik could read the pride that could not be hidden on their faces. He knew that all the plates that were left for the customers came back empty.

The two went out into the still chilly outdoor garden and sat on chairs.

ha

Yeah

Regardless of whether you or I, when we put our butts on the chair, we hear a death sound. The intensity of labor in the kitchen is beyond imagination. But what is most difficult to bear is the feeling of guilt that I have not yet been able to do one serving.

“Is it worth it?”

Hyeok-chan asks while looking at Do-sik.

“Would you do it? It’s to die for. There are so many different kinds of sauce. It’s amazing how you can make all of them every day.”

Dusik sticks out his tongue. If you make sauces in bulk and use them, the efficiency of the kitchen will increase dramatically. Of course, the taste will deteriorate a little over time, but will the customers be that sensitive? Dusik thought not.

“I’ve worked in many restaurants, but there’s never been a kitchen as tough as this one. I don’t think it’s a successful restaurant for nothing.”

“We were lucky. We learned a lot in a short period of time.”

“That’s right. I heard that they don’t accept unpaid interns who come and work for free. It’ll be a big help when you open your own business later.”

“Are you opening a business?”

“Isn’t that every chef’s dream? I should put my name on it and cook once. But I’ve lost confidence. If I succeed like this, I’ll be ruined.”

Hyeop-hwan was not confident in running a restaurant like this. Not only was the quality of the food high, but hygiene and ingredient management were too strict.

“Aside from Chef Shin, everyone else is of a high standard. I was surprised.”

“It’s a kitchen that’s maintained because of the head chef’s charisma. Everyone seems to have the same personality.”

The kitchen staff members, including the big, fierce-looking Sam, the cynical Dominic, the strong-willed Ella, and the somehow scary Soyoung, are all people who are difficult to fit into any one place. The head chef who brings these people together and creates synergy is strange.

“I’m going to Korea soon, so I hope things go well there as well as here.”

“I think it’s difficult.”

“why?”

“I’ve been working in Korea for a long time. I’ve been working since I was twenty. I’ve heard stories.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that chefs from France and Italy opened many stores in Korea. Without exception, they all failed. They lacked localization.”

“I guess so. Some customers would freak out if you cooked their steak medium rare like we do here.”

“That’s not all. Pasta is probably not what Koreans think it is, but will they accept it without any resistance? Fine dining requires a lot of fixed costs, so in order to maintain a restaurant, you have to make customers regulars. At first, they may come because they are curious and want to show off on SNS, but it’s not easy to make them come back again later. Of course, the food at Segreto is great. But it won’t be easy.”

“We have to do well.”

“He says this, but Chef Shin is someone who has never failed, so I am also looking forward to it. If he gets two Michelin stars next year, it will be a big hit.”

“You’re saying I’ll get it again in a year? I’ve heard that’s rare.”

“Does it make sense to receive it only half a year after opening?”

“That’s true. I think the head chef’s culinary talent is amazing. How can he keep churning out such courses?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m so jealous of Dominic and Jerome’s stories from Korea. They said it was almost a legendary performance. They said that when they got to Korea, the situation was different than they had expected, so they scrapped the course they had prepared and re-planned everything from scratch. And they got such great praise that I can’t believe that’s possible.”

“That’s why people call him a genius. He has a pretty girlfriend and everything.”

“Is she just pretty? I heard she’s a conglomerate.”

“Is that rumor true?”

“Yeah. Everyone knows, right?”

ha

Yeah

“Let’s go eat.”

“Our partner must be somewhere.”

The two men steeled their resolve and went back into the kitchen.

* * *

Even though it’s a holiday, I’m still in the kitchen, thinking about what to cook. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, but I can’t think of a dish that I like.

There are two important things to consider in this course. Existing customers have probably already tried most of Segreto’s menu. It should be a course that can satisfy them. Another thing is that it should be a classy course that can meet the expectations of guests who visit after hearing that it has received a Michelin star.

Up until now, the ingredients I’ve used have mostly been beef and seafood.

This time I want to make a change in the material.

In Italian and French cuisine, veal is considered a high-quality ingredient. In fact, I don’t like veal that much. Veal has almost none of the meaty flavor and texture that beef has. In addition, because the fattening period is short, there is almost no intramuscular fat and intermuscular fat, so it doesn’t suit the taste of Koreans who like the taste of fat. However, it is true that there is no other ingredient that can capture the taste of Westerners who like soft lean meat like sirloin. This soft and featureless meat changes its taste a lot depending on how it is cooked.

Pigeon is also used a lot in France, but it is a burdensome dish to serve now that the Korean market has been decided. I think veal and duck would be good. For the appetizer, I would like to include a metaphor that can visualize the segrito about to fly.

I tried out different sauces and matched them with veal, testing out the ideas that came to mind. But none of them really appealed to me. After thinking about why, I finally figured it out.

I have never had a good veal dish. Even Romeo’s dish did not satisfy me. They say that liking or disliking ingredients is a matter of personal taste, but I have nothing to say to a chef who cannot handle popular ingredients.

I cleaned up the kitchen and went outside. The cold winter wind pierced my collar. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost nine o’clock at night. I walked down the street, looking at the shops on the street. I saw Mark’s grocery store. They were selling prosciutto, ham, and various kinds of ham outside. Suddenly, a strong idea struck my head.

Why didn’t I like veal? It was because it had no flavor. In French and Italian cuisine, they cover it up with sauce and emphasize its tenderness. But I didn’t like that. Isn’t it more delicious to cook meat that has flavor and is tender?

Meat without flavor? Then I will make it flavorful. I hurried back the way I came and headed to the kitchen.