I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 40



Only Noblemtl

The small ball that Chunsik shot

“Hello, viewers. Today on ‘Gourmets’, we have a special guest. He is the most famous food columnist in Korea, right? Tobias, Mr. Kim Chun-sik.”

Kim Ho-jin, the host of Gourmet, introduces Chunsik.

“Nice to meet you. I’m nervous because it’s my first time on TV. Please take care of me today.”

Chun-sik greets the panelists in the studio, dressed in a neat suit.

“Actually, we have been to many delicious restaurants here and there, but we lack experience in fine dining. That is why we had no choice but to invite an expert. Please give us some good advice today.”

“I’m just an ordinary person who writes and shares my experiences on my blog. However, I have no vested interests in the industry, so I will speak honestly as I always have.”

“Well! Since today’s topic is fine dining, our panelists visited some famous restaurants in Korea.

The first place you went to was the Louvre, right? What did you think? Mr. Jeong Hyeong-jin studied music in France, so I think you have some experience with French.”

Hojin looks at Hyungjin. He is a composer who graduated from college in Paris. He is also famous as a gourmet and is a regular panelist on this program.

“It was 10 years ago when I studied abroad, so it’s different now.

“It was my first time at the Louvre, and the food wasn’t bad. But dinner was 150,000 won. If you were to ask, ‘Is it worth paying that price?’, I wouldn’t go.”

Hyungjin drinks a glass of water as if his stomach is burning.

“In what way is that so?”

“When I was living in Paris, I was a poor college student. But I still ate out sometimes. On those days, I ate a course meal at a local restaurant that cost about 60,000 won. Compared to the food I ate back then, the quality wasn’t good.

“In France, there are roughly six courses, and each course is a full menu. Here, there are four courses: appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert. The service is poor compared to the price.”

“Why is fine dining so expensive in Korea? What do you think, Mr. Kim Chun-sik?”

The host passes the ball to Chun-sik.

“The fine dining scene in Korea is still in its infancy. It hasn’t even been five years since full-scale dining began. Naturally, it’s a time when various restaurants open, receive reviews from customers, and close.”

“I see. But what does that have to do with price?”

“If you want to visit a Michelin 2-3 star fine dining restaurant abroad, you have to pay at least 200,000 won per meal. Of course, it’s a lot of money. In that sense, fine dining in Korea is not expensive. Of course, that’s only if it’s worth it.”

“When you say value, do you mean taste?”

“Hojin, can you afford to spend 150,000 won for one meal at an unverified restaurant?”

Chun-sik looks at Ho-jin and smiles.

“Wouldn’t it be a stretch for anyone? Why would you pay a lot of money to eat at a place where the quality isn’t guaranteed?”

“That’s right. Of course, going to a high-end restaurant requires trust. You need to have the assurance that ‘this chef’s food is worth the money.’ In the West, that’s called experience.”

“In Korea?”

“I have visited many restaurants to understand the level of dining in Korea and write blog posts, but I have not been satisfied with them except for a very small number of them. And to be honest, there is no chef in Korea who can charge more than 150,000 won for a meal. At least in the Western fine dining industry.”

The panelists look surprised at Chunshik’s strong wording.

“Isn’t it a bit too much to say that there aren’t any? For example, Chef K said on the show that he was a sous chef at a Michelin 2-star restaurant in Paris, and Chef P said that he worked at a 3-star restaurant in Italy.”

Hojin wipes his sweat. For some reason, he has a feeling that today’s broadcast will be problematic.

“Haha. The restaurant in Paris you mentioned is a place I used to frequent. The sous chef there is Antoine, and he has over 20 years of experience. He has also received several awards. I called him to see if he had retired, and he is still working well.”

Chunsik continues speaking with a cold expression on his face as if he finds it disgusting.

“And I called that three-star Italian restaurant, and they said that Chef P had only worked there as an apprentice for half a year.

In case you don’t know, a Michelin 3-star restaurant usually has about 10 unpaid trainees. They go there and say they want to work for free. After working like that, they return to their home country and act like they were the chefs there.”

“Haha. You’re throwing bombs on air. I’m sweating.”

Hojin looks at the PD. The PD signals for him to continue.

“It is an inevitable trial and error that the Korean dining scene, which is currently going through a transitional period, must go through. It is not just Korea. Japan and Singapore have had this problem as well. And these chefs tend to make up for their lack of career and experience with fame.

So they actively appear on TV shows to promote themselves and inject false careers into the public. In the end, the public trusts these chefs and willingly pays a lot of money to dine with them.”

“I see. I’ve come a long way explaining why the price has gone up.”

When Hojin looks at the PD, he signals to Chunshik to speak more.

“So is that the case for all fine dining restaurants in Korea? If there are no restaurants worth visiting, that would be a sad story in its own right.”

Chunsik smiles. There were definitely good restaurants, even if they didn’t meet his standards.

“Fortunately, that’s not the case. In the case of Chef Lee Hyun-goo’s restaurant, the quality of the food is quite good for the price.

After eating, I asked him about it and he said that he had trained in Italy for four years. It wasn’t a famous restaurant, but his passion for studying and changing jobs for several years to learn the local flavors is highly commendable.”

Chunsik decided to vent everything that had been building up over the years when he got the chance today. He believes that only by exposing all these ills can Korean dining grow further.

“You said that fine dining abroad costs 200,000 to 300,000 won, but are you saying that there are no restaurants in Korea that are worth that price?”

“It’s unfortunate, but paying that kind of price is impossible without trusting the chef. I can’t think of any other Korean chef with that kind of name value and experience.”

“I have a feeling I know, but I should ask. Who is he?”

“This is Chef Shin Je-hee.”

“So you’re saying that the new chef’s career isn’t fake?”

“It is already a well-known fact that Chef Shin Je-hee graduated at the top of her class from the CIA, as her classmates testified on TV. Chef Shin has been working at Luce de Sole for 6 years. She has grown step by step, starting as an intern, then moving up to Komi, Demi, CDP, and finally to Sous Chef.

This is not an easy feat in world-class fine dining. The new chef’s career will be recognized not only in Korea but also around the world.”

“Then what about chefs who have a hotel background? I understand that they do a lot of PR as chefs at 7-star hotels.”

“I really wanted to talk about that. Panelists and viewers. There is no such thing as a 7-star hotel. Before I appeared on the show, I called the Burj Al Arab, the representative of the so-called 7-star hotels, and asked. When I asked if it was a 7-star hotel, the receptionist said they would transfer my call.

After a couple of calls, I was connected to a hotel PR representative who said they had never officially stated that Al Arab was a seven-star hotel.”

“Then why did the rumor about him being a 7-star hotel chef start going around?”

“It’s marketing. When you say 7 stars, it sounds great. In fact, the main job of a hotel chef is to prepare banquets. Their main job is to prepare food for banquets such as corporate year-end events or wedding receptions.”

“Is it different from fine dining?”

“The fields are completely different. I’m not disrespecting hotel chefs. I’m talking about their work. They are specialists in preparing large quantities of food in a short period of time. Of course, they also have to maintain a certain level of quality.”

After this, Chunshik’s strong wording continued.

He listed them one by one based on his personal experience visiting chefs who lied about their education or restaurants that use ingredients that are not worth the price to make huge profits. Hojin looked worried about what kind of repercussions there would be, but the PD just smiled broadly.

After the recording was finished, the show aired the following week. And then the bomb that Chun-sik had fired exploded with great fanfare.

[ K Chef career falsification. Fake trainee career as chef ]

[ Paris Grand Roi “Chef P? Who is he?” The career fraud rampant in the industry ]

After the broadcast, articles started pouring in. Not only the two chefs, but also chefs who had worked at the lower level for six months or a year and had been promoted as having great careers were in trouble.

The chef, who had worked at a seven-star hotel, actively defended himself through media interviews, but the public’s response was cold.

“Kim Chun-sik? Who is that person? A person who is not even in the industry and who I do not know is coming out and treating hotel chefs as mere technicians who cook food. I plan to sue him for defamation.”

Andrew Choi, who had made a name for himself as a celebrity chef, stood in front of the cameras with a sorrowful expression as he gave an interview to reporters.

“I heard that Burj Al Arab has officially responded that there is no such thing as a 7-star hotel. You often introduce yourself as a chef at a 7-star hotel. What do you think about that?”

When a reporter asks a question, Andrew Choi glares at the reporter and says,

“When did I ever call myself a seven-star hotel chef? It was probably the people around me who did.”

“Isn’t the title of Andrew Choi’s autobiography ‘Seven Stars Falling from the Sky’?”

The reporter takes out his autobiography and asks where he prepared it.

“Unofficially, we’ve all been using that term. I don’t see why it’s a problem now.”

“I contacted the CIA and they said Chef Choi’s name is not on the list of graduates. How will you explain this?

The reporter follows along with shining eyes.

“The interview will end here.”

Andrew Choi quickly wrapped up the interview, pretending not to hear the questions, and left.

Viewers also reacted strongly to this. This was due to the increased interest in chefs as cooking shows gained popularity.

└ So, all fine dining in Korea is a bubble?

└ Most, if not all.

└ What happens if you get caught? Why are there so many scammers?

└ The broadcasting station used to suck up to him as a 7-star chef, but now they’re giving up.

└ This has been talked about for some time already. Now is the time to cut ties.

└ Is it true that you worked as an unpaid intern and then introduced yourself as a chef from a Michelin restaurant?

└ If you intern at Shinsung Electronics once, you will be a Shinsung man forever.

└ Shinsung also pays interns. That chef went there to volunteer without pay.

└ Where is the restaurant that Tobias said was good? I’m going to make a reservation.

└ Shin Je-hee, aren’t you coming to Korea?

└ There is a rumor that the building under construction in Sinsa-dong is Chef Shin Je-hee’s restaurant.

└ I heard that’s official. I have an acquaintance who works at LK Construction and he said it’s true.

I laughed out loud when I saw the domestic news.

“This guy set out to detonate the bomb.”

Reflecting the increased popularity of chefs due to cooking shows, many aspiring chefs are now going abroad to study. When these chefs return, fine dining in Korea will be able to develop.

Now it seems the time is ripe. It’s time to prepare to go to Korea.

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