Min-joon was lost in thoughts, looking at the mackerel she cooked. In general, it was difficult to receive a good score for a fish dish without the original flavor of the fish. It was quite technically difficult to remove the taste of fish, but no matter how difficult it was, it didn’t change the fact that the seasoning removed the characteristic taste of mackerel.
Of course, for those who didn’t like any fishy smell of mackerel, this kind of dish made by Gwen might taste more delicious than the one with the characteristic scent of mackerel. But judging it from a general gastronomic point of view, it was hard to say that this dish represented the ideal taste of mackerel.
“Well, her cooking score is 6.”
It wasn’t as good as he expected. He expected her cooking score to be at least 7. Interestingly, her gastronomic level was 6, which was pretty unusual, given her cooking score. He knew very well that it was very hard to see a chef’s cooking level surpassing his or her gastronomic level.
After all, a chef’s gastronomic level showed whether the chef had a fundamental understanding of cooking, for they couldn’t cook well without understanding what they were cooking.
But Gwen’s gastronomic level was above her cooking level. In other words, her cooking level showed that she made the dish that she didn’t understand fully.
Kaya and Min-joon looked at each other with quite complicated expressions. Their expressions showed that both of them had the same sentiments at the moment. Watching them, the participants felt surprised a lot. When it came to cooking, every chef had their own opinion, but the two were in sync on cooking even without exchanging their opinion with each other.
It was Kaya who opened her mouth first.
“First, I want to make it clear that I’m cheering for you. I know what it feels to participate in the Grand Chef competition when you have hard times.”
When she said that, Gwen silently nodded as a baby bird. Kaya was like an idol to Gwen. Their background was different, but just like Kaya, she went through ups and downs until she came up to this place.
So Gwen wished she could be a great chef like Kaya. In that respect, it was no exaggeration to say that her strong wishes like that motivated her to participate in the Grand Chef.
Kaya asked, “Do you like cooking?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked you if you like cooking,” Kaya asked again.
Her question was pretty unexpected and weird, but it wasn’t hard to reply. She was asked if she liked cooking. Of course, yes. Otherwise, she would not have come to this place. No one started cooking because they wanted to make money and be successful. Among chefs, there was no one who did not like to cook. Most of the participants here thought so.
So Kaya thought it strange to find that Gwen didn’t answer quickly.
Kaya said with a sigh, “To be honest with you, your dish was no fun. What I mean is, you didn’t make the dish with fun. You told me before that you used the sauce all the time. The creativity you used to cook this mackerel was just like this, ‘Let me marinate and grill mackerel with the sauce I used all the time.’ That’s all. I would say you cooked it mechanically without any creativity. Do you understand what I mean?”
Even before Min-joon criticized Gwen, Kaya already began to teach her a hard lesson. Smiling bitterly, he watched Kaya quietly.
Kaya continued in a voice imbued with frustration and displeasure, “When you made this dish, you didn’t really think about how the sauce would affect the taste of mackerel. You just knew a good sauce and thought about how to apply it to the mackerel. If you had thought hard about each ingredient in the sauce and its harmony with and effect on the mackerel, this dish would have been much different from what it is now.”
Some people might think that Kaya was too mean to her, but Min-joon knew that Kaya was admonishing her more kindly than ever. As a matter of fact, Kaya pointed out her weakness because she wanted to feel sorry that Gwen didn’t fully use her cooking capabilities.
Gwen must have put a lot of effort into improving her cooking skills up to now, but Kaya was so disappointed to find that Gwen didn’t do her best to bring out the best dish she could make.
Of course, not everyone could appreciate Kaya’s harsh criticism of Gwen, but Gwen could understand why Kaya pointed out her problem and gave her such advice. She knew that Kaya was genuinely worried about her and considerate of her cuisine.
Finally, Gwen said, “Sorry.”
She bit her lips and spoke in a sad voice. Of course, Kaya didn’t want such an apology. She had mixed feelings at the moment. Soon she opened her mouth in a calmer voice.
“Your cooking was good.”
In the end, Kaya decided to meet her halfway.
“Of course, depending on those who try your dish, they might give you a different feedback from mine. But the thing is you completely killed the taste of mackerel. Perhaps if this was the second half of the final rounds instead of the preliminary rounds, you would have been eliminated, but you are not done yet today.”
Even though she beat around the bush, Kaya made it clear that she would not give Gwen a bad grade for her mackerel dish. Only then did Gwen let out a sigh of relief. Min-joon looked at her at that moment. Even though she didn’t have to worry about dropping out at this point, he could notice tension and nervousness in her eyes.
“Gwen, I think you must have studied a lot. For example, you might have surfed the internet, read cooking books, and searched for all kinds of good recipes. But I don’t think you actually tried making the dishes based on those recipes because it’s hard to do so in typical ordinary houses.”
As a matter of fact, Gwen was not from a rich family. Because of that, she would not have been able to use good ingredients, not to mention a little expensive spices. She probably used only cheap industrial products like A1 sauce. Despite that, her cooking level was 7, which showed how religiously she delved into cooking. She literally learned cooking little by little but very meticulously. For example, she must have learned how many minutes she should wait before turning over steaks on the grill, or how long was the perfect time to roast scallops in order to get the chewiest flesh. However, by learning to cook by rote, she could not make her own cooking. The fact that her gastronomic level was less than her cooking level confirmed that she learned cooking by rote.
“You want to win, Gwen?” Min-joon asked quietly.
Instead of opening her mouth, she just nodded.
He looked into her eyes slowly. Her two deep blue eyes were harsh rather than beautiful.
He briefly wondered if the eyes of frozen fish were like hers.
“Then you must be able to cook.”
“I like it.”
“No. You just like cooking half-heartedly. What I mean is no matter what you cook, you have to be able to completely understand how you can bring out a certain taste, or how the sound of sizzling or boiling is like when the meat is grilled properly. You have to make it your own and accept it as your own.”
He emphasized it in a firm tone. If she was allowed to go her own way like now, she would definitely ruin her cooking because of the dream she could not realize and the reality that was not compatible with her cooking skills. He knew what would happen to her when she was sandwiched between the two factors.
“Why do you want to win in this competition?”
“Well, only when I win can I pay off my debts and turn over a new leaf in my life.”
“You’ve already turned over a new leaf in your life, Gwen.”
Min-joon’s logic was somehow strange. When he said she already started anew, it logically meant that she didn’t start anything new yet. In other words, it meant that her life was messy and that she was still in the depths of despair.
Min-joon continued, “A fresh start in your life doesn’t mean when you grab the trophy. It starts only when you make up your mind afresh.”
“Don’t you think your statement is too idealistic?”
“Then let me tell you the truth. You can’t win in this competition as long as you can’t get out of the thinking that you are cooking to win this competition and turn around your life. Unless you get out of it, you will never win. Absolutely not.”
In that respect, Min-joon thought that Michael Ohr was a genius and a genius who loved cooking.
There was a saying that a genius couldn’t beat those who work hard, and those who work hard couldn’t beat those who enjoy it. Regardless of how reliable this proverb is, it was clear that what was in the proverb contained the important truth for success in one’s life. Michael Ohr had it, after all.