“Minjoon, can you come to the front?”
The judges called him. Jo Minjoon made some steps with an uneasy expression. Alan looked at him with an expressionless face and said.
“In your cooking……Ah, this isn’t only talking about today. If there’s something lacking on your overall cooking, what do you think it would be?”
Jo Minjoon hesitated for a moment. At first, he thought that it was the basics, but honestly speaking, the basics were as polished as it should be. If there was something he didn’t have, it must be the blurry colour. Kaya did tell her that that was his strong point but…….
“That I lack a colour…….of my own?”
“I wonder. The colour of the chef, in the end, is felt differently to all the person that eats your food. In the first place, if you want to become a chef with some colours, it will be impossible at your age. That is if you aren’t the few geniuses that are in the world.”
“Then, what am I lacking.”
“You don’t lack anything.”
Alan replied briefly.
“Rather, the problem is that it overflows. Your thoughts, I mean.”
Jo Minjoon didn’t reply anything. Alan pointed at the half empty dishes and said.
“I have to satisfy my family, erase the foreign feeling, have to satisfy the judges. Those thoughts can only be shown on your cooking. But because of that, what needs to be inside of that should be a simple essence. I would like it if the people that ate it felt it delicious. At the past vegetarian mission, you made a Korean table meal. Back then, we told you that if it was a familiar meal, it would have been just good. And we also said that it was regrettable that there wasn’t a main.”
“Yes. You did.”
“In today’s dishes, there were quite many mains. It was delicious, and the composition was also good. But do you know why I am saying these things right now?”
“…….I don’t know well. Tell me the answer.”
“I will say it again. There are a lot of thoughts. It clearly shows your nervousness. Cooking for your family. But of course, we also told you to take us into account when making it. But your thoughts made this to be neither for your family, or for the mission. And of course I understand the difficulty of the situation. You may think that I wasn’t objective. However that was also a handicap you should have overcome. Everytime we pinched the fork, it shouldn’t have been nervousness, but consideration that we tasted. Do you know that difference?”
It was complex and it hit around the bush, but Jo Minjoon could seem to understand what Alan was trying to tell him. Joseph opened his mouth. With a soft, gentle but low voice.
“There are a lot of people that can make a delicious dish. There would also be quite many people in Chicago with skills such as Alan’s or mine. But there are really few people that can make a good dish. Because even for me it’s a bit difficult. Minjoon, can I believe that you will be able to become that kind of chef?”
Jo Minjoon’s face became red. There was embarrassment and also because he was about to cry. Jo Minjoon said with a voice that was mixed with phlegm.
“……..Yes. I will certainly become that kind of chef.”
“Now that you say that, I will be able to say it a bit more relaxed. Minjoon. It wasn’t because you lacked. But engrave in your heart that it was because you still weren’t perfect. And keep walking forward.”
Final destination. In every novels and movies, there is always an ending. Jo Minjoon hoped for his ending to be a Grand Chef’s ending. However.
“You have done well. Leave Grand Chef’s badge and leave.”
His final destination was here.
< Cooking style (4) > End