I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 172



Only Noblemtl

172 Florence Park

“There’s a lot of chaos with risotto these days.”

John Lee lifts his beer glass in disbelief.

Three young chefs are having a meeting at owner chef John Lee’s shop in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul.

They were all 34 years old and were the so-called third-generation chefs. They had been meeting regularly for two years to share information and strengthen friendships.

Bam.

“But if seniors do this every once in a while, wouldn’t sales increase?”

A sharp-faced handsome man clinks his beer glasses and asks.

Kwak Byeong-seo.

He was also the owner-chef of a small casual dining establishment nearby.

“Senior, you’re a piece of shit. Shin Je-hee doesn’t even know you. Even if you die soon, you’re still from the CIA? Aren’t you older than me?”

John Lee speaks as if looking at the military book with pity.

“I saw you when I was going to school, didn’t I? I even said hello. That’s not important…

“Whenever this topic becomes a topic, sales go up. In our restaurant, the number of customers ordering risotto has also increased.”

“It’s good that there are a lot of customers, but there are also more complaints. ‘Chef! Did you make this mantecarre correctly? Is this the right al dente?’ Oh man, I’m getting dizzy. It’s just like that.”

John Lee frowns, as if he is fed up.

“Kekekeke. Is that all you want? He asked me what the name of the rice was.

When people ask if it’s Carnaroli, they say our restaurant uses Arborio. We don’t use Carnaroli! But then they think we’re some kind of third-rate restaurant.

I also test them all and use the one that best suits my cooking, but when Shin Je-hee says something, that’s the standard.”

After studying abroad in Italy and returning home after training there, Florence Park explodes with anger.

“But isn’t it amazing? In Korea, people have been making risotto with cold rice for over a decade, and now they’re turning it into something artistic? The neighborhood pasta restaurants must be going crazy.”

John Lee chuckles.

“It’s amazing. His marketing skills and packaging skills are just natural. He has a lot of money, so he can do whatever he wants and live a truly enviable life.”

One corner of Florence Park’s mouth twists bizarrely.

“Here we go again. When will this hatred of Shin Je-hee stop?”

Park Sun-woo, aka Florence Park, would always get angry and raise his voice whenever Shin Je-hee was mentioned. In fact, this is a common occurrence among chefs.

After Jehee achieved great success, there were both groups of people who looked up to him as a role model and those who looked down on his success.

“An Italian chef who has never even been to Italy. Isn’t that fucking hilarious?

CIA? I’m a fucking ALMA graduate. I came back from fucking training at the hottest restaurant in the country. And I’m actually worse than Shin Je-hee?”

After returning to Korea, he ambitiously received investment and opened a restaurant. However, two years after opening, only enough customers are visiting his restaurant to avoid a deficit.

“I know you’re a good cook. But do you think you earned two Michelin stars by just trying to get a chef? What’s wrong with not having been to Italy? Your teacher is that Romeo Chef. Give him credit where it’s due.”

“I don’t know about anything else, but I have to admit that he has a great sense of taste. As a cook myself, I was so envious that I almost cried. It’s true that his recipes are creative, and to that extent, he’s a great chef.”

Seonwoo sighs as John Lee adds strength to Byungsik’s words.

“Can’t Shin Je-hee cook? Of course she can. But is she the only one who can cook? I’m also confident. But why aren’t any customers coming? Damn it!”

“Is the store having a hard time?”

“I can barely afford to pay the rent. Is my cooking that bad?”

“But didn’t Tobias give it three and a half stars? That’s good enough for a restaurant.”

Tobias’s blog is the most famous restaurant database in Korea. It is a site that is used by critics as well as the general public due to its large number of reviews and well-founded ratings. And the average rating there is no more than three stars.

“So you can’t admit it. Why is Segreto only five stars? I’ve been there and eaten there. Honestly, they use such expensive ingredients, so of course the quality is there. But is that real skill?”

Looking at Seonwoo like that, John Lee asks in a dry voice.

“Are you saying that you do better under the same conditions?”

“At least I don’t support it.”

“You’re kidding. Do you think the customers are real? Do you think Segreto will do so well just because of its name?”

“Are you saying my cooking is old?”

“If it was that great, there would be no way guests wouldn’t come. It’s not that great.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I think I’m the best in Korea at least. There are a lot of people here and there who haven’t been properly educated. If you want to cook properly, you have to learn it locally.”

widely.

He drinks the rest of his beer and puts his glass down.

“I’m going now.”

As Seonwoo left, Byeongsik looked at John Lee. He just shrugged.

“Why is he in worse condition today? Is something wrong?”

John Lee shakes his head at Byeong-sik’s words.

* * *

“Damn it! This is not it.”

In fact, he also knew that his actions were immature.

Back in my 20s, when I was confident, I believed that I was at least the best in Korea, but now when people think of Italian chefs, the first thing that comes to mind is Shin Je-hee.

Still, he believed that if he kept trying, people would notice, but the gap kept widening. Eventually, his name became so famous that it was meaningless to even discuss the gap.

On the other hand, what about yourself?

I felt miserable at my own situation, shaking my hands for a few pennies.

I want to ask someone for advice.

I wanted to escape the swamp of sticky, unpleasant jealousy and devote myself to cooking like before. However, as the end of each month approaches and I start worrying about the monthly rent, I find myself unconsciously growing gloomy.

He is one of the few Korean chefs who studied in Italy and trained there.

This title was the only thing in which he could say he was ahead of Shin Je-hee.

‘As an Italian chef, you must learn cooking locally.’

Making these claims in front of others made me feel like a slightly better chef.

Doo do …

I called up someone who had probably tried both his and Shin Je-hee’s cooking.

-hello?

“Oh, sir. I’m Park Seon-woo. I’m Florence Park.”

CEO Oh Seung-ho, whom I first met on TV, would occasionally visit his restaurant and discuss franchise menus with him. Since he was also close with Shin Je-hee, I thought I would be able to hear a neutral evaluation.

-Ah! Chef. How are you?

“It’s just that I have something I want to ask.”

-What is it?

“Is my cooking inferior to Chef Shin Je-hee’s?”

-Hahaha. Why do you ask that?

“I think you’ll be able to admit it if I talk to you. Please answer seriously.”

I’ve been cooking since I was 20. 15 years since then.

The time and effort I’ve put into cooking so far is something I’m not ashamed of.

He has seen countless instances of success and failure due to issues outside of cooking. If it were an issue like that, he could understand. He couldn’t change the environment. But at least he didn’t want to lose in cooking.

-Shall we meet?

He proposes a meeting.

Seonwoo hurried to the place he had told him to go.

It was a small restaurant, but there was no sign and the kitchen was unusually large.

“Welcome. This is my lab. I make new menus and sometimes sell them. I have to test them.”

It seems to be a test store. Only then did I understand the structure.

“I’m sorry all of a sudden.”

When I see his puzzled face, I feel belatedly ashamed.

Damn, it’s because of Shin Je-hee. I became emotional because I turned people upside down with risotto.

“No. Actually, I wanted to tell someone about Chef Shin.”

“Yes? The CEO?”

“Before the new chef started cooking Korean food, he asked me for advice. He asked me why I used store-bought ingredients. I think he thought they were tasteless and unoriginal.”

“That’s what it was.”

“What do you think I said?”

“Isn’t it inevitable? It’s hard to make a market.”

“People like commercial products, so I told them to buy them and use them instead of thinking about making them.

I have been in the restaurant business for 20 years. I have cooked countless Korean dishes. There is no dish I have not cooked. At least in this area, I thought I was more of an expert.”

“Could that be true?”

“But Chef Shin Je-hee didn’t understand that. He can’t cook with ingredients he doesn’t understand. That person.”

“That’s because you have a lot of money.”

Seonwoo says with his lips sticking out.

“Hahaha. You know that these days, big companies are continuously advancing into fine dining, right?”

“Yeah… . What.”

“But the results aren’t coming out properly. Is it because there’s a lack of capital there?

This time, after seeing Hundred Dishes become a huge hit in the US, I actually reflected a lot. I was rather complacent and only looking for things that were familiar.

Chef Shin Je-hee does not compromise on taste. ‘Don’t like the sauce? Just make it. Don’t like the tofu? Just make it yourself.’ This is her mindset. And even there, she makes sure to keep at least a minimal level of commerciality.”

“Italian is a little different. I don’t use commercial products anyway.”

“Isn’t that actually a problem?”

“yes?”

“How expensive is the unit price?

Even though it’s not a famous dining establishment, you can tell that Seonwoo is an excellent chef just by looking at the fact that he’s able to maintain his restaurant while charging that kind of price.

Seonwoo’s job is to find a point where the cost can be reduced as much as possible without significantly affecting the quality. Pride doesn’t feed you.”

“Chef Shin Je-hee just said there is no compromise. Shouldn’t I do the same?”

“If I opened a Korean restaurant like Hundred Dishes in New York, would it have been successful? I’m very skeptical. It’s not because of the name value.

Do you know what everyone in the industry has in common when they eat his cooking?

“It must be delicious.”

“There is no hesitation. The dishes are full of conviction. ‘This is definitely the best. So you should try it too.’ Chef Shin’s dishes speak to me like this. I have never met anyone who cooks with this much conviction.

I was surprised while watching the broadcast this time.

Parmesan risotto! You can’t hide the flavor with side dishes. I was just confident.”

How was your meal at Segreto?

Seonwoo tries to recall his memories.

I was obviously very impressed, but I didn’t think it was a dish I was technically incapable of making.

How confident am I in my cooking?

“I’m meeting Chef Shin Je-hee today. She said she wanted to ask me something because Hundred Dishes is about to launch in Korea. Let’s meet up sometime.”

“Really?”

Daughter.

While we’re talking, someone opens the door and comes in.

Seonwoo’s eyes widen. It was Shin Jehee.

“Hello. There’s someone I haven’t seen before here.”

“Hello, Chef! I have always admired you.”

Seonwoo’s waist bows excessively, unlike what he had been saying so far.

His heart was pounding. He was always conscious and jealous, but he was his own dream itself.