Chapter 408: Cooking for Enemy (1)
The number of the French n who started the protest was not that large. However, those who sympathized with them were quite a lot because the Arican chefs from Rose Island, also forr Grand Chef participants, were well known in Arica. In particular, almost everybody knew that the bestselling dessert Cho Reggiano was developed by a young Asian chef from the Grand Chef competition, although they might not know Min-joon’s na.
So, the news that so of the French people spoke ill of and criticized the Arican chefs, or the Rose Island chefs who participated in the Paris International Cooking Contest and held a protest spread quickly across the United States.
Of course, Aricans didn’t sit idle at the news. Like the people of any country, they could not let their country and their own people be disgraced by another country without any reason. In particular, the chat rooms of the gourt community in Arica were filled with all kinds of comnts and feedback about the French cuisine and the Paris contest.
So of the cuisine community got into a heated argunt. Chloe was reading the comnts of a cuisine blog about the French protest. It was not clear whether they agreed with the protestors or simply picked a quarrel with sobody else, but they tried to rationalize the protestors for a number of ridiculous reasons.
Adalicia Petit: Why does everybody think it’s nonsense? To be honest, do you think Arican cuisine can surpass French cuisine? What is Arican cuisine in the first place? Pizza, hamburger, hot dog, Mac and cheese. And they turned all the European dishes into sothing like junk and instant food, right? I doubt how such a country can produce any good chefs.
└ Mark Belster: What the heck are you talking about? Have you ever been to Arica? Like you said, it’s true that most of what we eat has co from Europe originally, and there are so many people who eat als at fast-food restaurants, but that doesn’t an that chefs from our country are incompetent. Do you really really think that the judges of the Paris International Cooking Contest are idiots who are in the cultural toadyism? Do you really think the French judges see that a chef is superior just because he has a good na in the United States? I don’t think so. The only reason he is doing great is because he is so competent.
└ Adalicia Petit: @Mark Belster If that’s the case, how can you explain the reason why there are so few restaurants with Michelin stars in the United States? Is it because the Arican chefs are not competent? I don’t think so.
└ Mark Belster: @Adalicia Petit I don’t want to point out Michelin cares more about trifling stuff such as the restaurant’s interior, service, and fun rather than cooking itself. Why are you applying the Michelin standards to Arican restaurants? Do you think Michelin’s rating is absolute? I don’t understand why you guys in Europe are saying as if Michelin is the standard taste.
└ Alexima Varda: I’m an Arican, but frankly speaking, I understand why the French guys are protesting like that. Arican food is just garbage. Arican chefs taking part in the contest now might be an exception, but I wonder if they can ever beat their French counterparts. Rose Island is a chain restaurant, isn’t it?
└ Michael Bary: Are you going to downgrade Rose Island as a chain restaurant? If you’ve ever been there once, you’ll never be able to describe it like that. In addition, all the pairs from Rose Island who have survived are from its main restaurant and its New York branch. And they are the very best Arican restaurants with three Michelin stars. The main restaurant has recently reopened because of a fire, so they have not yet received Michelin stars yet.
└ Macques Leroy: @Alexima Varda Let tell you this as a Frenchman. To be honest, Rose Island is as good as any first-rate restaurants not only in France but also in Europe as a whole. I’m saying with confidence because I’ve been to that restaurant. So, only those who mistakenly think European restaurants are the best look down on the Rose Island chefs. So, there are a lot who regard the protest this ti as a big disgrace even in France.
They had a heated argunt like that on chat rooms and cuisine community blogs.
To look at the nature of the comnts, Aricans who seed to support and understand the French protesters, while the French and other Europeans tended to bla them strongly.
After reading those comnts for soti, Chloe turned off the computer.
‘Then, what about ? Am I an Arican chef?’
Although she was strong in making Chinese cuisine, she was an Arican and doing activities in Arica, so she was inevitably called an Arican chef. But she couldn’t even imagine that there were people trying to judge the level of chefs by the country they ca from. The funny thing was that there were so in France who supported this kind of perception. And there were few famous gourts who were full of pride that they were French. Was it because they were so ignorant that they were so brave? How could they stage such a ridiculous protest for wrong patriotism?
Chloe slightly looked out the window. On the day of the semifinals, so French protesters gathered in front of the venue. Although the number of protesters was not large, even one crazy protester was dangerous in this situation. The organizers were planning how to safely let them go back, so they couldn’t get inside the venue, locked up in a car far away from the protesters.
“I never imagined that this kind of thing would happen.”
Anderson sighed at Chloe’s murmur.
He opened his mouth in a calm voice.
“Well, I hear so restaurants have done sothing crazy recently because of this contest.”
“What did they do?”
“For example, they kept the custors who ordered in English waiting for almost 30 minutes to get their appetizers and almost 20 to 30 minutes to get their main dish.”
“Oh, really? I doubt if they really did so intentionally? Maybe they did it because their orders piled up.”
“If just one person was treated like that, we can understand, but it happened to several custors. But so custors at other tables got their food on ti. So, these restaurants are being blad in and out of France these days.”
“How an! I just can’t believe chefs are engaged in such nasty things.”
Kaya opened her mouth as if she was dumbfounded. She could not understand how so high-end restaurants even in France could treat custors like that. Of course, the way they spoke to the custors could not be refined, but they were supposed to treat custors with respect and care. Their nationality was not important at all. It was just unthinkable for a chef to think of inconveniencing the custors while cooking for them.
“If they’re going to cook like that, I just can’t understand why they have decided to be a chef.”
Min-joon shook his head with a sigh. Since he had been always pondering about the cosmopolitan view of gastronomy, he felt that it was just pointless to judge the level of cooking by the origin country of the food.
Of course, it was clear that France had a much more sophisticated and well-organized gastronomic system than other countries. In fact, it was the French cuisine that had the biggest influence on European and Western cooking styles.
As such, the French should have been more generous about other countries’ food. Most of the French people had such a generous mindset, but so who made and enjoyed good food lacked it, which saddened Min-joon.
At that mont, sobody knocked on the window of Min-joon’s car. The organizers were looking at them from outside the car.
As if he was exhausted, one of them said, “Well, it seems difficult for you to have the protesters go back.”
“Then, what are you going to do?” asked Min-joon.
“We’re going to push them to one side, so please go inside the building.”
“Got it.”
Min-joon was a little nervous, but he couldn’t help it.
Soon, Min-joon and the other participants began to slowly follow them. Min-joon looked at Dobby’s face. Dobby always looked relaxed, but he, too, looked nervous now
“Dobby.”
“Ah, Min-joon.”
“These people would argue that even if we make a good dish, it doesn’t taste better than a French dish.”
“Well, I guess so. These guys believe that France should not be behind other countries at least in cooking. That’s why they are protesting like that.”
“If that’s the case, what kind of dish can we make to appeal to them?”
When he asked, Dobby looked at Min-joon. Min-joon wondered if he was pondering over how to take them on his side even in this situation. At that mont, Dobby recalled June’s face. June seed to think that Min-joon was only good at cooking, but he didn’t have the qualities of a manager who could manage a large kitchen staff with Rose Island.
‘Maybe you are wrong, June.’
In fact, Min-joon was as ambitious as June. Of course, Min-joon was so focused on cooking now that he might look like a person trying to achieve his dream.
Dobby had been looking at June for a long ti. So, he had already seen and experienced enough of how greedy people like June thought and acted. In his eyes, they were desperate to go up and up and try to achieve a little more. Perhaps, Min-joon was not free from such desire, in Dobby’s eyes. But his greed would make him grow more than now.
“Dobby?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought about sothing else.”
“Should we have French cuisine to catch them?”
“So, in your mind, do you think we should make a French dish so well as to capture their minds?”
“Well, maybe. I guess they might be open to their own food. But at the sa ti, I wonder if the French dish we make to please them can really appeal to them,” Dobby said feebly.
Now, the Arican chefs including Min-joon were going near the venue, which ant they were approaching the French demonstrators. The protestors who noticed them raised their voices more loudly.
Their shouting was heard in the Arican chefs’ ears. Of course, they couldn’t understand what the French protesters were shouting but could guess it instinctively.
Min-joon turned his head blankly for a mont and saw Kaya.
Kaya was pretty much upset, with her face turning red.
“Kaya?”
At the mont, his heart sank for fear she might throw a stone at them.
But she was holding a tomato. She crushed it with her hand and squeezed its juice.
Kaya blankly put her hand on her face and stole the juice of the tomato. A lump of tomato fell to the ground.
And at that mont, Min-joon fastened his shoelace.
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