Chapter 319 - Waiting for independence (2)
Serhi’s cooking level was 8 on the system window before Min-joon’s eyes. Given Rachel’s Praise, his cooking score was far from high, but Min-joon did not care.
One’s cooking level would go up as one learned to make a lot of different dishes more. That meant that it was difficult for an expert in one field to level up.
Serhi asked with a smile, “Did you know that Italian chefs also came to my restaurant to learn my pasta and pizza?”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m Italian-American. Anyway, I think I’m a bit famous. If you taste my pasta and pizza, you’ll probably stop liking ordinary pizzas. Let me apologize first. For the rest of your life, you might not want to eat any other pizza and pasta than mine.”
Even Min-joon and Anderson could not help but be dumbfounded by his confidence.
Rachel sighed and shook her head.
“Stop talking and get the menu quickly. Let me order.”
“Chef Rachel, you need to understand. A chef’s chattering is the most delicious appetizer for customers.”
Rachel raised her middle finger.
“Bring me the menu.”
“Yep.”
Serhi replied quickly and left to bring the menu. Watching him a bit, Min-joon whispered to Rachel in a small voice, “How do you know him?”
“He’s Jeremy’s student.”
“Oh, Jeremy?”
Min-joon recalled those he knew were Jeremy’s students.
But there was only one involved in cooking. He was none other than Jeremy Bennett, the gourmet on the Hunger Trip journey with him.
Min-joon looked back at Rachel with a surprised expression.
“You mean Jeremy Bennett?”
“What Jeremy are you talking about other than him?”
“But Jeremy can’t cook, right?”
“Well, I would say he doesn’t cook rather than he can’t.”
At that moment, Serhi came back already.
Looking at Min-joon’s embarrassed expression, he said calmly, “Jeremy wasn’t interested in cooking, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good at cooking. If he had not been a fine chef, he would not have raised a fine chef like me.”
“You still think that Jeremy has raised you. You don’t think you raised your skills by yourself?”
“Even though I’m a genius, I don’t think I have become such a fine chef without him. I owe my success to Chef Jeremy.”
“That’s enough. I’m sick and tired of your self-praise. Explain your menu.”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.”
Serhi smiled and handed out the menu to them. Min-joon took one of the menus and slowly read it down. And soon, he lifted one eyebrow. Something was weird. Serhi’s menu didn’t include anything like entrees, appetizers, main dish or desserts.
‘What kind of restaurant is he running?’ Min-joon wondered.
There were only four categories—salad, pasta, pizza and soft drink. It wasn’t just Min-joon who felt confused. Anderson, Maya, Janet, Havier and even Rachel looked a little embarrassed.
Rachel looked at the menu for a while then slowly looked at Serhi.
Serhi nodded as if he knew that they would react like that.
“There’s no food matching or eating order. It’s right that I can serve you salad first, but that’s it. If you want pasta first, then by all means, order it. Or if you want pizza and pasta at the same time, that’s fine with me, too.”
“I’ve heard the rumors about you, but I’m really surprised. How did you think about giving up on the fine dining style?” Asked Rachel.
“It’s not a great idea. There are a lot of restaurants with sections divided by type of food just like I used to.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But you were attracting attention and good responses from people. Besides, you got Michelin stars, but it is not common to give up all that privilege and change your cooking style overnight like you.” Rachel’s voice was full of interest rather than reproach.
Serhi replied with a smile, “You know my personality, Rachel. If I want to do it, I’ll do it. If I don’t want to do it, I won’t. It doesn’t matter to me how Michelin or gourmets rate my dishes. I’m sick and tired of people trying to limit my dishes to their own standards.”
“But they insist on it because it’s the best way they enjoy the dish. What do you think about it?”
“Well let me answer it with my dish. Would you like to order first?”
“Man, you’re still the same!” Rachel cynically responded.
Serhi moved up and down his eyebrows with a sullen expression.
While quietly reading the menu, he was startled.
‘How should I interpret this?’
All kinds of names were lined up in the pasta section and the pizza section.
He noticed many authentic and common names such as Spaghetti aglio e olio, Spaghetti Bolognese, Margherita pizza, and Gorgonzola pizza. Along with such common names, he also
took note of such names as ‘Ex-girlfriend Pizza,’ Pork rib Pasta, Applewood Smokey Fruit Pizza. These were provocative names that would only appear in fast food chains.
“I would like to order Bolognese and Ex-girlfriend pizza. I want cream cheese chicken salad.”
“I think you want to break up with your girlfriend since you order it.”
“Not really. Its name is so compelling. I feel it is rather awkward to order something like Ex-Boyfriend Pizza.”
“Got it. Let me listen to your excuses later.”
“It’s not an excuse…”
Havier and Maya giggled, watching Min-joon muttering in an embarrassed voice.
Upon receiving the order, Serhi headed to the kitchen.
With her chin on his hand, Janet gazed at the kitchen where Serhi headed.
“He’s a strange man.”
“Not really,” Anderson replied, grumbling.
He opened his mouth as if he didn’t like Serhi very much.
“I don’t like the menu. It’s okay to have a different menu from the typical one. But how can we get any protein food here? The nutrients are not balanced at all.”
“Do you think we paid any special attention to it when we made the menu?”
“Well, many restaurants don’t pay attention to it. They can’t help it, either. Are you going to stop by a bakery and argue with them why they don’t serve protein food? If you do, you are a wacko.”
When Janet retorted like that, Anderson couldn’t say anything, just groaning silently.
Min-joon asked, looking at Rachel, “If I later open a restaurant that categorizes dishes like this, what would you say?”
“Let me try his dish first and tell my opinion. It’s still hard for me to judge.”
When she said that, Serhi served salads. Min-joon looked at the salad placed in front of him. Crispy bread, salad, and some chicken breasts were placed on the bowl. And next to it was a small plate with cheese cream.
[Lemon Cheese Cream]
Freshness: 98%
Country of origin: (There are several ingredients that are hidden)
Quality: High
Cooking score: 8/10
‘Wow, how come he got 8 with this cream alone? It must be very good.’
Min-joon stuck his tongue out to taste it. He picked up a fork. He dipped only the cream and took it to his mouth. And at that moment, his eyes trembled a bit. Just like its name ‘lemon cheese cream,’ the overall taste was very refreshing and cold.
It looked like cheddar cheese, but he could hardly feel the salty taste of cheddar cheese. With only the scent of cheddar cheese still there, the creamy soft, and fluffy texture of the well-stirred cream melted in his mouth. That wasn’t all.
“He put radish juice in the cream.”
“Is it radish? Can you feel that?”
Min-joon turned to the side, startled by somebody’s sudden voice.
Serhi was there, looking at him with his eyes wide open.
Min-joon smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry. You don’t feel good because I am analyzing your recipe, right?”
“No, no, not at all. If you analyze it, that’s fine with me. Man, it’s so difficult to meet someone who can analyze your recipe. But how do you feel about the radish juice? I tried to bring out the unique flavor of vegetables, so you can feel that taste, but it’s hard to pinpoint its exact taste like you.”
“Well, I can feel it.”
Min-joon replied, smiling awkwardly. Then, he slowly poured the cream over the salad.
When the sticky cream hung on the end of the bowl and fell off heavily, the salad was scattered and the cream got mixed between them, which was quite beautiful.
Min-joon took a stalk of spinach and lettuce with some cream as well as chicken breast and baked bread with a fork and put it in his mouth. When he wiped off the cream on his lips with his tongue, he already chewed the contents three times and tasted it three times.
“It’s been a long time since I enjoyed such a delicious salad.”
“Isn’t it so stimulating?”
“I don’t know if I should call it stimulating, but what’s certain is everyone can’t help but like it unless they hate the ingredients in here. Anybody likes delicious food, of course. I think children will especially like this taste.”
“That’s the right answer. In fact, some children egg on their parents to come to my place because of the salad.”
Serhi laughed happily. Meeting a customer like Min-joon always made him happy. Min-joon was competent enough to find out the recipe and its hidden ingredients as well as the customers’ reaction and the popularity of the dish with just one try. Serhi could hardly find this kind of sophisticated skills even in experienced gourmets.
Serhi went back to the kitchen and supervised his staff. Shortly afterward, pasta and pizza were placed in front of them at the same time. Min-joon took Bolognese pasta with a fork.
‘Man, it’s really uncomfortable to make any noise while I’m eating noodles.’
In Asian countries, they usually made noise intentionally when eating noodle soups. But it was different in the West.
Min-joon carefully rolled the spaghetti with a fork then put it in his mouth and chewed it.
‘It’s raw pasta…’
Unlike dry pasta, it didn’t taste stiff, but its unique chewy texture stimulated his tongue.
Besides, the meat juice and tomato sauce that flowed out of the meat mass in Bolognese pasta were very fresh.