I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

I got the omnipotent tongue episode 97

G20

“Chef Shin Je-hee. Please tell us how you feel about returning to Korea.”

“Chef Shin. You are in charge of the dinner for the leaders at the G20. How do you plan to prepare it?”

“I understand that you received a star in the Michelin Guide in the shortest amount of time. I’m curious about your secret.”

“Please tell me if you have any plans to enter the Korean market.”

Maybe because the article came out first, there were several reporters waiting at the place where we entered the country. It was something I was used to in the past, but it was disconcerting to experience the same situation after a long time.

After receiving the Michelin star, Segreto began interior renovations. He and Logan had several meetings to expand the dining space, secure more tables, and add a sense of luxury to the interior. Logan will put into practice the various ideas that came out of this.

The G20 is supposed to last a week until the pre-meeting, but we arrived in Korea two weeks earlier because we encountered unexpected difficulties in preparing for the banquet.

-Chef, during this G20 period, I would like you to prepare dishes using only Korean ingredients.

It was the day after I received the Michelin star that I was contacted by Secretary Oh Young-dae.

-Yes? Then you can’t use ingredients like caviar or truffle at all? Not only that, you can’t use ham like ham or prosciutto, pancetta or chorizo ​​either. There are also many herbs that don’t come from Korea. In fact, it’s difficult to prepare Western food.

To anyone who sees it, it seems like an unreasonable request to prepare a dish using only 100% Korean ingredients. What about olive oil and cheese, the alpha and omega of Italian cuisine?

-Herbs and spices are not conspicuous ingredients, so it may be possible. However, we ask that you use Korean ingredients as the main ingredients. This is the main principle of this banquet.

-Are you saying that we can use domestically produced meat or other main ingredients?

-Yes, and I would like to have some particularly notable material. If there is a story behind it, that would be even better.

-I have an idea.

-I’ll be looking forward to it.

We were barely able to bring back cheese, wine, some spices and mushrooms that are hard to find in Korea.

The remaining materials had to be tested locally, so we extended the preparation period by one week instead of the expected one, and they arrived early.

We left the airport while answering questions from reporters. Outside the airport, there was a minibus parked for our staff to ride. And the staff member explained the upcoming schedule.

“First, I’ll show you to the hotel. Then, how about you meet and greet the other chefs who will be preparing dinner together?”

A female employee wearing a black skirt suit explained our schedule and things to watch out for.

“I will do that.”

“We decided to prepare the G20 preparatory dinner at the Southern Hotel. Since the ministerial meeting will be held there, we also considered it convenient to have a meal there right away. The dinner we will ask Chef Shin to prepare is the welcoming dinner for the leaders on the first day, the 11th. We have decided internally to have Western food for the opening ceremony and Korean food for the closing ceremony.”

The staff looks well prepared. You can feel that everyone is putting their lives on the line for this event.

“I think it’s a good choice.”

The idea of ​​not sticking to only Korean food but also serving Western and Korean food alternately seems novel.

“And please avoid overly expensive food ingredients or wine, as they may incur public criticism.”

If an article were to be published saying that it was a lavish dinner, public opinion would not be positive.

“Since we have to use domestic ingredients anyway, we can’t have caviar or foie gras. I can’t think of any other expensive ingredients. Surely beef wouldn’t work, right?”

For a dinner at an international event, it would be easiest to serve chicken and lamb, which are culturally and religiously acceptable, but there are only three leaders at this meeting who are reluctant to eat beef or pork. It would be a good idea to prepare separate meals for the Saudi, Indian, and Indonesian leaders.

“Of course, you can use the highest quality Korean beef.”

She says with a smile.

“Then there is no problem. We will find the remaining ingredients as we test them.”

We went to the hotel to recover from the travel fatigue. The next day, I was able to meet Chef Jo Jun-ki, the executive chef of Buyeo Hotel, who prepared Korean food.

“Nice to meet you, Chef. Please take care of me.”

“Please take good care of me too.”

He was a chef with a thin body, sharp eyes, and a very picky look.

“I heard that I was supposed to host the welcome dinner on the first day.”

I was worried that I might have been given the position that another chef had been given. There was a lot to prepare, and I really didn’t want to engage in a war of nerves with my coworkers.

“We also received the message. We will prepare the closing ceremony dinner at our hotel and the cabinet dinner at the Southern Hotel. We have been researching the menu for three months already. We have held more than 10 tasting sessions. Chef Shin Je-hee, you will have to prepare the welcome dinner in just two weeks. Is that okay?”

The G20 Preparatory Committee would have wanted to invite us earlier, but somehow the invitation was delayed and we needed time to prepare, so the schedule ended up being tight.

“I guess I’ll have to figure it out somehow. Thank you for your concern. If there’s anything you need my help with, please let me know.”

“Thank you. Since Chef Shin has never worked in Korea, there may be things you don’t know, but feel free to ask me any time.”

For some reason, I felt like there was some truth in the words, but I decided not to worry about the little things. I quickly gathered the staff and checked the materials.

“You have two weeks to prepare the dinner course. It may seem short, but it’s actually enough time. Trust what you’ve done so far.”

“Yes, Chef!”

“I’ve laid out a rough course, but the material situation might be different than I thought. Let’s check the materials first.”

The G20 preparatory committee only provided the budget and did not say anything about the ingredients to be used. I was able to contact Su-hyeon and receive the ingredients used at Shinsung Hotel. And I was able to use vegetables and spices distributed at department stores, so I was able to put out the fire.

“Chef. But you said you were going to serve finger foods before dinner.”

We were asked to prepare finger foods to be served at the reception before the welcome dinner. As we were thinking about the menu, Ella came to me and asked if there was anything she was curious about.

“yes.”

“It would be perfect if you used ham or prosciutto, but that would be hard to find, right?”

When I heard that I had to prepare a banquet with Korean ingredients, there was a name that came to mind. I remember reading a newspaper in my previous life and seeing a very interesting article in the culture section. It was an article about a person who was called the father of Korean ham.

Min Bong-seop, born as the eldest son of a pig farming family in Jeolla Province, planned to graduate from the Animal Husbandry College and take over the farm.

However, when he went backpacking through Europe during his vacation, he first encountered ham in Spain and it changed his life completely. He fell in love with the deep and rich flavor of ham and forgot about traveling to visit the farm that made the ham and stayed there until his visa expired to see how the ham was made.

This article was so funny that I giggled while reading it, but by this time, he must already be producing ham in Korea. I heard he shed tears during the interview while talking about how the ham he worked so hard to make was not treated properly and was thrown away, but I hope that such a situation can be avoided.

I asked Secretary Oh Young-dae to inquire about his whereabouts.

“Chef, you said we were going to look at ham right now?”

Ella asks me. I wanted to take Sam if possible, but he looked like a corpse, probably from jet lag, so I had no choice but to bring Ella. I needed someone to give me a taste.

“okay.”

“I was giving up on ham and sausage because I was told to only use Korean ingredients.”

It is certainly not easy to find European-style sausages and ham in Korea.

“There are pioneers everywhere.”

After running for four hours and arriving at the address I was given, I saw a large tile-roofed house that looked like a place where noblemen might have lived in the past. But there was a pig’s hind leg hanging from the eaves. For a moment, I thought of Niki hanging ham in his dormitory room during his CIA days, and I felt like I was going to get PTSD.

“Chef. Is that ham hanging over there?”

Click

A ham hanging from the eaves of a tile-roofed house? Ella stared at this exotic sight with wide eyes, then took out her iPhone and took a picture.

“It’s definitely ham judging by the hind leg hooves. Looks like you’ve come to the right place.”

As we had been notified in advance, we parked the car and walked over, and soon someone came out.

“Hello. This is Min Bong-seop. I received your call, but what brings you here?”

A man with a strong regional accent looks at us and asks questions. His skin is tanned. His clothes seem to be draped haphazardly and he is wearing rubber boots.

“Hello. My name is Shin Je-hee. I heard you make hamong. We have some business to attend to, so can we take a look?”

Judging from the fact that you don’t recognize me, it seems you’re not a person who is friendly with media such as the Internet or TV.

“Ah! You are a guest. Welcome.”

Min Bong-seop’s face brightens.

“When did you start making ham?”

I was very curious about his behind-the-scenes story that wasn’t in the article.

“I think it’s been about 5 years now. I fell in love with the taste of ham when I was in college in Spain. I gave up traveling and went to a ham farm and asked to work for them. I didn’t have a visa and a complete Asian guy asked me to work for him, so I was flustered. I was told no, but I found a place to stay nearby and visited them every day. They said I couldn’t work, but they allowed me to watch. They didn’t teach me any important know-how, though. I mostly went to pig farms to see how pigs were raised.”

He speaks with a harmless smile, as if reminiscing about a happy past.

“You are a peculiar person.”

“I hear that a lot. I think I unconsciously noticed it because my family raises pigs. I played with pigs in Spain and then came back to Korea and saw how pitiful our pigs looked.”

“I think I know.”

“In that country, the pigs were free to run around in the pastures, but our pigs were cramped into small pens and couldn’t move properly, so they were crying. I started crying. From that day on, I fought with my father like crazy. Haha.”

“Did you say we should let the pigs graze?”

“If you just say let them graze, how can that work? I didn’t really know anything about pigs. So I studied hard. When people have a goal, they become more determined. I barely got a warning, but I graduated with a scholarship. After that, I went to Spain and Italy again and studied about ham, prosciutto, salumi, salsica, mortadella, and other hams and sausages.”

“It couldn’t have been easy, but your action is amazing.”

“I wanted to make such high-quality ham in Korea. Everyone wants their work to be meaningful. I also want my work to bear fruit beyond just making money.”

While we were talking, we arrived at his ham storage.

“It’s a bit of a hassle to go to the maturing room. You have to disinfect and wear sterile clothing. Right now, this is where the hams scheduled for shipment are hung, so it’s okay.”

“Is ham selling well?”

“At first, I thought they would use it in department stores or fancy restaurants. I was naive. In the end, I was rejected by everyone and ended up selling it to business partners introduced by the pig farming association for less than the cost price.”

I heard that he had a really hard time at first. Now that I’m here, I think his situation is worse than I thought.

“It must be hard to maintain a business.”

“I’m worried. The deficit is piling up. I had a hard time persuading my parents, so I’m embarrassed.”

Min Bong-seop’s Hamong was later greatly recognized. However, by then his farm had already fallen into the hands of another person.

Looking around, I see pigs roaming around freely and grazing. They look as happy as the Spanish Iberico pigs. I am also looking forward to what will happen if his ham is served at the G20 banquet.