I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 95



Only Noblemtl

I got the omnipotent tongue episode 95

Michelin Guide

“Isn’t it a little early to visit Segreto? It’s a restaurant that hasn’t been open for very long.”

Tim, one of the Michelin Guide judges, looks at Christine and asks. The Michelin Guide has traditionally not given stars to newly opened restaurants. This is because competition is so fierce in New York that 70% of new restaurants close within a year. If a restaurant that has been given a star closes, it could end up diminishing their own authority.

“It’s okay here. There’s nothing to worry about and the food is solid. Above all, it’s already getting attention from all over the place. That’s probably why the headquarters has given orders to visit here.”

To become a judge for the Michelin Guide, you must pass a rigorous examination. Christine is a chef with a long career in Canada. She found that she was better suited to analyzing and evaluating dishes rather than making them herself. After quitting her job in a restaurant, she wrote a column about food for a magazine and then applied for the Michelin Guide.

There are three main qualities required of the Michelin Guide evaluators.

You will need to have expert knowledge of food and the industry, be open to learning new things, and lastly, be fair.

Christine was a qualified candidate and was soon contacted for an interview. The interview included a blind taste test of food and an in-depth interview. After going through this long process, she was finally able to get her current job.

Working as an evaluator for the Michelin Guide was not as easy as I thought.

The evaluation team must eat meals for evaluation at least seven times a week. Some may envy her for going to fancy restaurants with company money, but eating for evaluation and dining for the sake of enjoying food are completely different.

Even a hobby that you enjoy can become tiring when it becomes work. Christine had to submit a long report every time after eating, and she was so upset that she always had digestive medicine in her bag. In addition, she had to exercise every day to keep herself from gaining weight due to overeating at work.

Above all, the contract included a requirement to keep my job confidential, so I couldn’t tell anyone about my job except my husband.

My visit to this restaurant with my husband was purely coincidental. He was on a business trip to New York and had made a reservation in advance to dine here. Christine thought it was a funny coincidence that she had been able to have a nice time without work for a while, but this time she was here as a judge.

“Let’s go in.”

As we open the heavy door and go in, the beautiful Maitreya Dee, whom we had seen before, confirms our reservation and shows us to our seats.

The evaluation has already begun. Of course, the evaluation criteria for regular restaurants and fine dining are different. Strict criteria are applied to fine dining restaurants, such as whether the restaurant is clean, whether the staff uniforms are sanitary and dignified, and whether the staff’s words and actions make the guests feel comfortable.

“Thank you for coming back. I’ll show you to your seat.”

The manager remembered her face, which had only been there once. Christine mentally upgraded Segreto’s evaluation by one notch.

“The atmosphere is definitely good. It’s reasonably spacious and has just the right number of tables. You can barely hear people talking at other tables. The windows are large, so it feels open, and the use of eco-friendly materials makes me feel good.”

The team’s faces light up as they enjoy the restaurant.

“This restaurant has had a lot of capital invested from the beginning. The owner must have been quite confident. Not accepting tips means that they included a certain amount of money in the meal. People may have different opinions, but I personally support this policy. It doesn’t make sense for everyone to have different charges.”

After Christine sits down on the chair, she checks the condition of the table.

“Yes. Tips range from 10 percent to 30 percent depending on the customer’s mood and financial status.”

“The first time I had the chef’s recommendation course here, I was quite surprised. It felt like I was tasting the most advanced molecular cuisine of the present age. Now that it’s my second time, I can focus a little more on the taste.”

The server brought us an aperitif and Grissini.

“One of the great things about this job is that I get to go to places that are hard to get reservations for. I’ve always wanted to visit these places.”

The team tours the restaurant while enjoying an aperitif. Since they have to visit different restaurants every day, memory alone has its limits. The two take out their iPhones and start taking pictures of the dishes that come out. They also write brief comments when necessary.

“This caviar dish is amazing. The spherification technique (a cooking method that utilizes the solidification property of alginate and calcium) is now very popular and used in many places, but this is the first time I have seen it covered in an edible film and combined with other caviars to pursue a complex flavor. It is not only visually pleasing, but also delicious.”

Tim takes pictures of the dishes. Fortunately, there were guests at almost every table around him taking pictures, so his actions didn’t seem awkward.

“The best part is that you get to anticipate what it will taste like before you eat it. You never know what it will taste like. It’s like the chef is solving a riddle. It’s playful and witty. But it doesn’t lose the essence of the taste.”

The two of them carefully tasted the dishes that came out while exchanging opinions, and now they were waiting for the main course.

“The pasta was also very good. It was doubly satisfying to see experimental dishes come out and then suddenly see authentic Roman pasta. This chef is good at controlling the tempo.”

No matter how unique and interesting a dish is, it cannot satisfy all the expectations of the customers who come to the restaurant. Authentic pasta satisfies the needs of such customers.

“Amatriciana has gone through many variations in the United States. In Italy, tomato sauce is classified into several types based on spices, but in the United States, there are at most two or three types. Bolognese raguna is just tomato sauce, and if you add one more, it would be something like arabiata. So when making tomato sauce, you put in spices like oregano or thyme without thinking. Customers who want Roman-style pasta might find that disappointing.”

The chef here creates excellent amatriciana with limited ingredients, just like the Roman chefs of the past did.

“It has just the right amount of ingredients. But it’s delicious. I cooked it so that the oil from the pancetta would be used as much as possible to emulsify the sauce and noodles. I brought out the flavors of the ingredients, including the Pecorino Romano cheese and garlic. It was the perfect pasta.”

The team nods in agreement with Christine’s words.

“Guests accustomed to abundant toppings might find this pasta disappointing.”

“It’s a very American idea. As an American, I feel a little embarrassed. There are many people who think that if you put a lot of something in it, it becomes luxurious.”

“That kind of cultural chauvinism is not good. It’s not necessarily the case that coming to America and becoming Americanized is vulgar. There’s definitely a sense that the simple Italian food is a last resort measure that arose because of a lack of ingredients. If they had developed their cuisine in America, where there were abundant ingredients, would Italian food have looked like what it does now? I don’t think so.”

Knock knock knock

“What’s wrong, Christine?”

Christine coughs, her throat sore. She takes out a napkin and wipes her mouth.

“No. I’ve had a bit of a cold since last week.”

Then Maitre Dee approached her and asked her.

“Would you like the water to be hot as usual?”

I remembered that I had ordered hot water during my meal because my throat was not feeling well the last time I visited. This manager remembers even such small details and provides meticulous service.

“please.”

Christine’s heart was warmed by her warm consideration.

Next came the main course, rib eye steak.

“I felt this when I visited Luce de Sole, but Chef Shin Je-hee has a great strength in meat dishes. Not only is she perfectly cooked, but she also seems to be able to freely manipulate the meat’s flavor and seasoning to match.”

The team cuts the beautifully plated steak once more with a knife and puts it in their mouths. It is a taste that makes you smile without realizing it.

“I also like that they cut it in advance so that you can eat it cleanly. Based on my experience as a chef in the past, I think the chef here doesn’t trust his customers, so he serves cut steaks like this. There are people who mess up the meat while cutting it. He doesn’t like seeing his customers ruining the meat he’s cooked so well. I’m sure that’s true.”

Christine picks up the meat, brings it to her nose to smell it, then puts it in her mouth and says.

“I don’t care either way. As long as it tastes good, it’s good. The thick meat melts in your mouth. When you chew, the meat juice comes out, and the rich taste of fat and the seasoning made with porcini mushrooms are really satisfying. The outside has a crispy crust, and the inside is warm. It seems to have been reverse-seared. And the smoky flavor comes out, so I can’t stand it. What kind of magic did they work?”

“It’s definitely smoked. They probably grilled it in a wood-fired oven, gave it a charcoal finish, and finished it off in a pan. It’s a steak that’s perfect in terms of flavor, texture, and appearance. Honestly, if you think about it as a dish from a three-star restaurant, it wouldn’t feel out of place at all.”

“I think the same. If you go around, you’ll find some really delicious restaurants. But taste isn’t the only factor. It’s sad to see those places close down and disappear. If the stars we give them help those restaurants prosper and provide people with delicious food for a longer period of time, then what we do is not meaningless.”

“I also do the work of the evaluation team with that kind of mindset.”

Finally, the dessert, Snowy Hill, was served. Christine brought her face to the plate and took a deep breath, sniffing it.

“It’s so nice. It smells like the forest. The smell of the earth and trees seems to clear my head.”

Click

Click

As soon as the team sees the dessert, they take pictures repeatedly.

“This chef has a unique artistic sense. The plating is truly admirable. Seeing the snowy landscape in the summer is also something different. I’ve heard rumors, but it’s amazing how you can really smell the earth and the trees.”

The team dips a fork into the chocolate and tastes it.

“The taste is also good. Pine syrup and dark chocolate go well together. The cream used here is hardened with white wine, sherry vinegar, and syrup. It smells like grass, so I think they used herbs as well.”

The two of them, without exception, scooped up a generous portion of dessert with their forks and put it in their mouths.

“It’s as if the chef’s intention is to make you taste the dish using all your senses. When I close my eyes and taste it, I can actually picture the snowy hills. There are trees and dirt. And I can see myself enjoying nature on the beautiful snowy hills. It’s a really great dessert.”

After finishing their meal, the two exchanged brief greetings and headed back to their accommodations to write their respective reports.

Christine was writing her report at the hotel, contemplating how to ultimately evaluate Segreto. As she was going through the notes she had made during the meal and the photos she had taken on her phone, she suddenly remembered the souvenir she had received before leaving.

I looked through the bag and saw a small gift box the size of a ring case. I untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a dessert that reminded me of the famous gold-leafed chocolate. I picked it up with my hand and put it in my mouth. Inside was a hard chocolate filled with cream and various kinds of nuts. It was a clean and high-quality dessert that had been minimally refined and allowed me to taste all the ingredients.

As she was eating dessert, she vividly remembered the time she had eaten there. She smiled and was about to finish writing when she saw a folded piece of paper lying on the bottom of the gift box. She picked it up and unfolded it, and it contained detailed information about every course she had eaten that day. From where the ingredients came from to comments about what the chef had in mind when making the dish.

“That’s a lot of detail.”

I found myself muttering to myself without realizing it.

Christine raised both hands, gathered her hair, and began writing her report again from the beginning.