I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 133



Only Noblemtl

Episode 133: The Chefs of Segreto

As PD Kim signals to the camera director, the camera begins to capture the vivid kitchen scene. In the cold part, tomato sauce is being made. The trainees are washing and preparing the tomatoes.

“What are you doing here now?”

Han-Young asks Je-Hee a question.

“It looks like we’re running out of tomato sauce. The sauce needs to mature for a while, so we need to make it in advance.”

“Are you preparing the tomatoes yourself?”

“Most restaurants will probably use canned tomatoes. Korean tomatoes are not bad to eat raw, but they are too watery and not suitable for making sauces.”

“Then all those tomatoes….”

“That’s right. They were imported. They’re an Italian variety called San Marzano (pomodoro San Marzano), which is renowned as the best tomato in the world.

“The reason we use cans is that using fresh tomatoes is more expensive and more troublesome, but it’s also not easy to get a year-round supply of tomatoes. But we have connections from New York, so we can procure them directly.”

“How is it different from canned tomatoes?”

“Canned tomatoes are not all bad quality. In fact, they have many advantages because they can taste the same all year round.

But the problem is sterilization. The taste changes when sterilized. I don’t like that, so I make it myself even if it means enduring the inconvenience and cost.”

“That’s amazing. When you say you make everything yourself, you mean literally?”

“We operate on the principle of farm to table. We get all the ingredients as they are from the farm, process them into the form we need, and cook them. That’s why we need so many chefs.

“We are actually considering taking on interns because we are short on manpower. Several universities have asked for our cooperation.”

“If students gain experience here, it will be helpful to them too.”

“I also started as an intern and worked my way up. But it will be very difficult.”

“Next, the other side is interesting.”

Lee Han-young points to a section in a corner.

“I won’t hide anything today. Come and see.”

The camera crew moves the camera. Then Soo-Jung and Han-Young start to follow Jae-Hee.

“What is this place?”

“Butchery. This is Chris, the demi-chef.”

“Hello.”

Chris greets me in unfamiliar Korean.

“What do you do here?”

As Jehee interprets Han-Young’s words, Chris begins to speak in English.

“There is no designated person in charge here. The head chef’s rule is that all chefs should be able to handle meat and fish. And in fact, no one wants to be in charge of this every day. Today, it’s just my turn.

“I am cleaning the fish that will be used today. My job today is to clean and fillet the fish that comes from the fish market and divide it into appropriate portions.”

Chris skillfully inserts a knife into the gills of the sea bass, separating its head and stomach. After taking out its entrails, he inserts a knife into its back and quickly separates the flesh.

“It’s important not to hesitate. You have to use a sharp knife and cut in one stroke without crushing the flesh. Then you can separate the fish fillets cleanly like this.”

In an instant, the dismembered sea bass is placed on the chopping board.

“Now we weigh it to make sure it’s the right amount. The rest of it will be used as ingredients to make the broth.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you could butcher a fish yourself.”

Chris’ explanation is admirable.

“Our chef is obsessive-compulsive. He believes that every step from the time the ingredients arrive at the farm to the time they are served on the table must be perfect. So every single step of this process must be perfect.”

Chris looks at Jehee and tells her what he emphasized during training.

“What did I say about that?”

“You said it was the care, attention and love for every part of the food.”

“That’s it.”

Jaehee smiles and does a fist bump with Chris.

“Do you butcher other meats here too?”

Ask Chris a question about the modifications.

“Of course. There is no company that can shape the food exactly to fit our needs. Even if they do, most of the time it has to be re-cut, so we do it ourselves from the beginning.”

“Fine dining is really a lot of work.”

“Don’t get me wrong, not all fine dining places do things this way. I’ve been working in New York for a long time, but I’ve never been in a place where there’s this much work. And the quality of the food has gone up.”

Chris looks at the camera and coos.

“Where would you like to see next?”

At Jehee’s question, the staff looked at each other and nodded.

“If we’re talking about the flower of Italy, wouldn’t it be pasta?”

“I’ll take you to the pasta station. Follow me.”

As Jehee begins to walk, the staff follows him, carrying their equipment.

“At the pasta station, we are in charge of pasta and risotto. This is a busy station because most of the customers who come to our restaurant order at least two dishes. Therefore, the lines are long.”

The camera pans around and reveals six chefs at work.

“Substitution. How’s the work going?”

Substitution was kneading dough. On the table next to him were various types of flour, eggs, salt, olive oil, etc.

“Now all I have to do is finish making the fettuccine dough.”

Hyakchi rolls the dough with a rolling pin. He then puts it in the noodle machine and presses a button. The machine starts and pushes the dough in. After repeating this several times and confirming that the dough is thin enough, Hyakchi changes the machine settings and puts the dough in again.

Wheeing.

The thin dough that passes through the machine is cut into thin pieces like kalguksu noodles.

“Wow! That’s really amazing. You make pasta noodles like this. But is the dough different for each noodle?”

Soo-Jung looks at Je-Hee and asks a question.

“Of course. Fettuccine is a noodle with a high egg content. It is firm and thick among flat noodles.”

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to say, but your face is really pretty.”

The dough, which is bright yellow like the color of forsythia and made with a lot of eggs, is cut into neat ribbon-like shapes.

“Haha. Fettuccine means ribbon in Italian. I wonder if Soo-Jung has similar feelings to Italians.”

“What are other people doing?”

Han-Young asks, looking at the bustling kitchen.

“I have to make the noodles that will be used that day and prepare the ingredients for the pasta. I have to take responsibility for everything from cheese to viscount, pancetta, seafood, and tomato sauce or ragu and make sure they are all perfect. Once the orders start coming in, it’s a battle. I have to be perfectly prepared to finish the day safely.”

“Did you find it difficult working here?”

Sujeong asks the replacement a question.

“Kitchen work is hard no matter where you go. This is my third job, and it’s the most rewarding. Here, all the ingredients, including flour, vegetables, meat, and seafood, come straight from the farm. It was my first time turning those ingredients into delicious dishes without any artificial processes.

We literally start from scratch and create fantastic pasta. It’s a joy to see our customers enjoy the food we worked so hard to make and every time they come back with a clean plate, it’s a real treat.”

“All chefs have this mindset. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to endure such hardships.”

The filming staff nodded their heads at Jehee’s explanation. It was an incredibly difficult task, even for them.

“I suddenly got hungry too. Can I try it later?”

“Of course. Where else would you like to see?”

“Now that you’ve seen the pasta, you can’t miss the main dish either.”

“I will guide you.”

The main cooking section is called the sauté station. Sauté is a technique of cooking food in a short period of time using very high heat and a small amount of oil, but in restaurants, the meaning has expanded to refer to the section where meat is cooked over fire.

“Rachel. How are you today?”

Jehee greets a white female chef wearing a crisp, ironed chef’s uniform.

“Very good. I slept well and the fire listened to me well.”

Behind Rachel, who was speaking like that, there was a huge brazier. The firewood was burning and making a crackling sound.

“What on earth is this place? The facilities are amazing.”

Soo-Jung and Han-Young look around in admiration.

“Because this is where all the dishes cooked with fire go.”

Rachel looks around the kitchen with a proud face. Kitchens with this level of equipment are rare even in New York.

“Rachel majored in French. She is a professional who has worked her way up to the position of sous chef at a Michelin three-star restaurant. I was lucky enough to bring her here. In fact, the main dishes of European countries have influenced each other so much that nationality is irrelevant. Her competitiveness is clear. I will have to travel back and forth between Korea and the United States due to personal circumstances, but Rachel will stay here and take my place.”

“What are you going to cook today?”

Soo-jung approaches Rachel and asks her a question.

“When we come to work, we receive two pieces of paper: a list of ingredients that need to be prepared that day for the next day’s business, and a schedule of dishes that need to be prepared that day.

“Usually chefs are given one or two dishes a day, but I often get to do three or more. Today I have to make braised lamb. It’s a popular dish that sells very well at our main restaurant in New York.”

“We would appreciate it if you could cook for us without worrying about anything.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. First, I need to take out the knife.”

As Rachel unrolls the rolled up rag, a dozen knives are revealed.

“Do you use knives this much?”

“Every chef has his own knife that fits his hand. I’ve been using these for over 10 years. Of all the knives, this small knife is my favorite. It’s great for cutting vegetables.”

Rachel takes out a small knife and shows it to me.

“I’ll start with braised lamb. This dish takes a long time and requires a lot of ingredients.

Cooking should always start with fresh herbs. It is the most tedious and time-consuming. All the herbs here now were harvested by our staff from the farm this morning. It couldn’t be fresher.

“I use only the best Italian parsley leaves. I use the stems for stocks and sauces. I also use marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and chives. I also put garlic in with the skin on. When it goes into the oven, the garlic with the skin on has a deeper flavor. I’ll strain it out later, so you don’t have to worry about eating the skin.”

Rachel carefully prepares the herbs by hand and arranges them on a large stainless steel tray.

“Next, I’m going to pour the mirepoix (diced vegetables sautéed in butter for a long time) here. I used onions, carrots, and celery.

Then pour in some red wine that has been sufficiently oxidized. Since tannin leaves a bitter taste, a medium-bodied wine like Merlot is suitable. Wine adds aroma and flavor to the dish and removes any unpleasant odors. It also helps to create a beautiful color.”

“That was an incredibly complicated dish.”

“This is nothing. Among Chef Shin’s recipes, there are many dishes that are really difficult.

Okay! Now, add the tomato puree that the chefs in the cold part made earlier. The tomatoes add umami and give the sauce the texture we want. If it’s too thin, it won’t braise properly.”

“Is the meat finally coming in now?”

Soo-jung asks as Rachel brings in a huge chunk of lamb.

“This lamb arrived last night on a plane from Australia. I heard that Korea doesn’t raise many sheep, so it wasn’t easy to choose the meat. I’ll use shoulder meat. I’ll put it in whole.”

Rachel begins placing the lamb on a tray with vegetables and sauce.

“Now just pour in the beef stock, cover the lid and put it in the oven.”

“Is it finally over?”

“No. After about an hour in the oven, the sauce will start to boil and braise. From then on, you’ll need to turn the lamb every 15 minutes.”

Kim PD liked this dish so much that he installed a fixed camera in a place where the oven was clearly visible. Viewers will be able to see the entire cooking process in time-lapse. While the cooking was in progress, he interviewed the chefs and staff of the restaurant who were taking a break one by one, trying to secure as many sources for editing as possible.

So three hours passed and finally the lamb came out of the oven.

The braised lamb is still sizzling on the surface even after it comes out of the oven, as the sauce made from wine and tomatoes evaporates. The browned meat looks delicious. The staff gulps.

“It is cooked when the shoulder blades separate slightly.”

Jehee puts on his gloves and begins to separate the sheep’s bones. The bones gently come out of the flesh.

“Remove all the bones like this. Then, you have to strain the sauce through a sieve. Rachel?”

“Yes, boss.”

Rachel brings the container. Then Jaehee picks up the container and pours the contents into it.

“The flavors of herbs, lamb, wine, tomatoes and various vegetables that have been condensed in the oven for hours come together here. We’ll make a sauce out of it and it’ll be ready in time for dinner service.”

“It seems like an incredibly complicated and long process. Can we try it?”

Lee Han-young looks at Je-hee with earnest eyes and asks.

“You all worked hard filming today, but what do you think of the braided lamb that just came out?”

yes!

Whee.

As soon as Jehee gave his approval, exclamations and whistles could be heard here and there. Jehee started making the sauce. Then, the staff, without exception, left their cameras behind and gathered at the staff table, waiting for the food to be prepared.