I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 78



Only Noblemtl

Three Course

“A super team was created unintentionally.”

Gordon and Joe nod at my words.

“If that team falls, there could be problems with the ratings.”

Gordon, who has a stake in the program as a co-investor, frowns.

“If these guys fall here, it’s obvious they’ll fall in the future. We just have to do what we have to do.”

Joe looks at me as if I’m nothing special and says:

“After all, the evaluations are done on an individual basis. But if the team chemistry is a mess, it will be difficult to produce good dishes. I am more excited than worried.”

I looked at the three people having a heated discussion. I hoped I would bring some amazing food.

The team was completed one after another. Kimura and Karen completed their team by accepting Eva, a Hungarian immigrant, and Dominic formed a team with Frederick, an asset manager, and Sarah, a teacher.

Lucas and Colin recruited May Lin to form a team, along with Maria, a hairdresser from Poland, Robin, a carpenter from New Hampshire, and Derek, a property manager from New York.

Now I have to decide on the menu. I look at the clock and there are only 15 minutes left.

Deciding on a three-course menu is not as simple as it sounds. You need to consider the harmony between the menus, figure out what each person is good at, and distribute the menus to bring out each person’s strengths.

Each team started talking to each other and deciding on a menu. Some teams were laughing and discussing whether things were going well, while others were arguing with red faces. Fifteen minutes passed like that.

“Okay! It’s time. Now, choose the ingredients you want and start cooking. There are no restrictions on the ingredients you choose. Feel free to use them.

But Michael will be penalized by only being able to go to the pantry once.”

As soon as Joe finished speaking, the participants started to move. We adjusted the positions of the stations so that teams could gather and cook.

The contestants go to the pantry and start getting the ingredients they want. Then they start cooking in earnest. Seeing them cooking in a more organized atmosphere than I expected, I thought the contestants were getting used to this competition.

“Jehee. Do you think a good course will come out?”

Gordon looks at me and asks.

“You need a head chef in the kitchen. You need someone who can listen to opinions, synthesize them, and make the right decisions. I wonder how well they understand the meaning of this mission.”

“I agree. A chef has to be smart. If you just think about making delicious food, you’ll never get a good evaluation.”

“Still, there are a few teams I’m looking forward to. This cosplay was strongly advocated by you, Jehee. At first, I was worried that it might not be suitable for broadcasting, but now that I think about it, it was appropriate.

“We are selecting master chefs. It wouldn’t be bad for them to face the worries and problems they inevitably face when working in the field.”

“The ingredients look expensive over there. I chose foie gras, truffle, and wagyu.”

“Expensive ingredients always raise expectations. I hope the food turns out as expected.”

“On the other hand, I think the unit price seems too low.”

Joe looks at Ella’s Joe with concern.

“Because Ella is here. Leon probably isn’t that used to expensive food either.”

“I wonder if that choice is a good one.”

“By the way, are you doing well? The internet is all abuzz with carbonara these days.”

As an Italian immigrant, Joe also seems to have been watching this carbonara controversy closely.

“It’s a difficult problem. First of all, I don’t use social media, so people have no way to approach me. I heard that many letters came through Master Chef.”

“Yes, that’s right. There have been many requests for MasterChef to cover this. But there’s a risk that our goal of selecting the best amateur chefs will be diluted. We’ll get eaten up by this topic.”

“I think the same. In fact, Americans could call their carbonara by a different name, but that’s harder than you think. Once a name is fixed, it’s almost impossible to change. If you go to Korea and order cider, they’ll bring you Sprite.”

“What? What kind of joke is that?”

Gordon shows interest.

“In America, cider means a fruit drink made from apples. However, the meaning of the word was not properly conveyed to Korea through Japan. Even if you explain to Koreans that cider is not like that now, no one will listen. It has already become a proper noun.

Carbonara is the same. No matter how much you explain that carbonara is a pasta derived from cacio e pepe, in America, pasta made with cream will continue to be called that.”

I watched the participants closely as they prepared their dishes while talking. And before I knew it, the clock hands had turned a full circle and the time given to them was up.

“Time is running out. Everyone, please wrap up.”

“Five”

“pho”

“Three”

“two”

“one”

“Take your hands off me.”

All the participants let go and stepped back. Everyone cheered and clapped with bright expressions, as if they had poured out all their energy. We also applauded them.

“Everyone worked hard. Now, let’s have each team bring their own dish. We need to taste it before it gets cold, so we’ll hurry up too. Kimura, Karen, and Eva will start first.”

Three people come out, each holding a plate.

“No need to explain. I’ll eat the food and tell you what I think.”

At Joe’s words, Kimura offers his plate first.

“It’s an appetizer.”

The food Kimura offered was a soup with meatballs in it. Inside the soup, thinly sliced ​​radish was floating on top, and salmon roe was used to give it a red accent. When I lifted the radish with my chopsticks, I saw that there was a meatball inside.

“This is kaiseki.”

Kaiseki is a general term for a course meal that originated from the Japanese tea ceremony culture.

“You know, right? That’s right. I’ve always thought that kaiseki goes well with Western cuisine. This soup is made by first making dashi stock and then making meatballs with quail meat to add flavor.”

Kimura explains the dish with a confident expression.

“Let me taste it.”

A Japanese person would lift the bowl and drink directly to his mouth, but Kimura probably didn’t expect that, so he served the food in a ceramic bowl. We picked up spoons and drank the soup, and split the meatballs to taste them together.

“The soup is clean. It’s a broth made from bonito flakes and kelp. Add soy sauce, sake, and radish and boil again to create a rich flavor. It also goes well with the meatballs that come with it. Quail meat is pounded with flour, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper to create meatballs. After baking it in the oven, it’s added to the soup, which adds flavor to the soup and helps the meatballs absorb the flavor of the soup.”

Kimura’s face brightens at my compliments.

“It’s perfect to eat the day after drinking. It’s a comforting dish. I’m looking forward to the next dish.”

As expected of a drinker, it seems like he is thinking of alcohol. Since kaiseki is a dish that is enjoyed while drinking alcohol, it is also a well-pointed review.

“This dish is a bit underwhelming as a starter, but it could be well-received depending on how the course is structured.”

Joe puts down his spoon.

“This is the main dish. I made Hungarian-style Matrai borzaska.”

It looks like Eva made a dish from her hometown. I have never eaten this dish before. At first glance, it looks like a cutlet. It is a cutlet with a thick batter. It is topped with sour cream and cheese. It looks like it was put in the oven and melted, making it look delicious. Since there is no special garnish, it seems like it is a complete dish in itself.

“Let me taste it.”

I pick up the knife and cut the cutlet. It is pork tenderloin. In Austria, veal is often used to make schnitzels, but even in neighboring Germany, pork tenderloin is mainly used for cutlets. It is soft and fat-free, so it goes well with frying.

He picks up the cutlet with the sour cream and cheese on top with a fork and puts it in his mouth. An unexpected taste spreads in his mouth in an instant. Gordon knows it, and he closes his eyes indifferently and savors the taste.

“You made the batter out of potatoes.”

Eva laughs at my words.

“Yes, that’s right. After grating the potatoes, squeeze out the starch. Then, add flour and various spices to make the batter.”

“The meat is marinated with garlic and olive oil. You can also taste the lemon. Cutlets are a simple dish. It seems that a lot of thought went into making it a main dish. The crispiness of the potato batter contrasts with the soft meat, making it enjoyable to the mouth. The sourness from the lemon whets the appetite. Sour cream and cheese also go well with fried food. I am satisfied.”

Eva laughs brightly at my words.

“It was delicious.”

We put down our forks and turned our attention to dessert.

“Karen, we thought you’d make the main.”

Maybe it’s because her previous pasta dish had such an impact, but anything she makes seems like it’ll be high-calorie.

“I bake at home often. I’m confident, so please taste it.”

Karen holds out a plate. On the plate is a round bread-shaped dessert. Judging by the pie underneath, it seems to be some kind of tart, but it looks like a very fat tart.

“This one has a different visual.”

Joe shows curiosity. Then he cuts it in half with a knife. When he cuts the thin outer crust, the cream inside is revealed. There is a lot of honey in the middle, flowing out and mixing with the cream.

“No, this is..”

Gordon is at a loss for words because he doesn’t take his fork right away when he sees the dessert.

“There’s cream inside. And an overwhelming amount of cream at that.”

I cut it with a knife and put it in my mouth with the pie.

“The pie is made with almond flour. The dough is made with melted butter, erythritol, and eggs. Since the cream contains a lot of sugar, I guess it was burdensome to use sugar in the pie as well.

I made a custard cream with egg yolks, flour, milk, sugar, and vanilla bean, added whipped cream, and let it harden in the refrigerator. It also seems clever to use lemon juice and sherry vinegar together as hardeners.

“After that, you thinly spread the dough into the shape of the bread, apply a thin layer of cream, and bake it in the oven. You have a more delicate technique than I thought. Karen.”

Karen laughs brightly at my words.

“Thank you, Chef. Thank you for your hard work.”

Joe and Gordon each take a bite of the creamy tart, then put their forks down.

Three contestants stand before us with nervous expressions, waiting to hear what the judges have to say.

“I think I know why you asked me to do this mission.”

Gordon looks at me and says.

“Even though I’m an amateur chef, I didn’t know I would have such a poor understanding of the course.”

Jodo also sighs and looks at the participants.

“Kimura first.”

“Yes, Chef.”

“You can use the dashi broth with meatballs as a starter. It was delicious. But Kimura had no consideration for the main course that would follow. Katsuobushi broth can be an appetizer for Asians. But what about in America? Wouldn’t the fishy broth ruin the first impression of the course?

And the meatballs made with quail meat were a good attempt to lighten the burden by boiling them together with radish, but considering that the next course was a pork cutlet, wouldn’t it have been better to make the meatballs using fish meat?”

Kimura looks embarrassed after hearing what I said. It seems that it was a dish he was confident in.

“The idea that hot soup itself is an appetizer is also inconsiderate. If they had served carpaccio with salad or made an appetizer using scallops or fish, the satisfaction of the course would have been much higher.”

At the end of Gordon’s words, Kimura lowers his head with a gloomy expression. It seems that he senses that he will be eliminated.

“And Eva. Did you know that there are no vegetables in this course? Humans feel satisfied when they consume all the nutrients without any deficiency.

Why do you think there is a three-course meal? It should be a relationship where each person supplements the necessary nutrients and also complements the taste. Eva just thoughtlessly served us the food she makes well.”

Eva hears me and starts crying. It shouldn’t have been difficult to prepare the vegetables as garnish, but she was so focused on her own cooking.

“Karen, have you ever thought about the suffering of someone who has to eat a dessert smothered in whipped cream after eating a main course of fried food?”

Joe still looks at Karen coldly, as if he feels uneasy.

“Each individual’s cooking was okay. Their skills were good. However, I don’t need a idiot in my kitchen. I’m even more disappointed if they’re a chef who only wants to show off their skills without caring for the customers. Go back to your seats. The eliminated contestants will be decided after the judging is over.”

After Gordon’s words, the three return to their seats.

“Leon, Ella, Michael! Bring the course.”

Gordon felt the need to lighten the mood by calling out the names of the most anticipated contestants.