I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 205



Only Krnovel

205 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

[Korea’s Chef Yoo So-young advances to Best Chef Finals.

Korean chef So-Young Yoo has advanced to the finals of ABC’s popular cooking survival show ‘Best Chef’.

Chef Yoo, who is currently working at Segreto, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in New York, has been showing off his unrivaled skills throughout this season, receiving praise from the judges.

In particular, her specialty, European appetizers, have always been a hot topic of conversation for their sensational and gorgeous visuals and taste.

In the finals, Chef Yoo So-young will compete against Naomi Takahashi from Masa and Brian Jones from Daniel for the championship. The prize money for the winner is $100,000 (about 110 million won).

While Yoo Chef humbly expressed his feelings, saying, “I was able to get to this point thanks to the teachings of my teacher, Chef Shin Je-hee, and the support of my colleagues,” he did not hide his desire to win.

The finals will air next Thursday at 9 p.m. local time.]

└What is Best Chef? Is it a Master Chef knockoff?

└Master Chef is for amateurs, Best Chef is for professionals only.

└Wow, that was a really tough competition.

└The chef who works at Segreto. Is he Shin Je-hee’s disciple?

└That’s how it looks. Does this mean Chef Yoo So-young is the number two Korean?

└No. A chef must be independent and cook his own food to be recognized.

└Still, the pseudo-chefs who appear on Korean entertainment shows are probably right.

└That’s obvious.

└Does Michelin Two Star look like J?

└Looking at the picture, he really looks young. He looks good too, so getting invited to broadcast shows is no joke.

Chul-chul-chul

Soyoung washes her face roughly in front of the sink. Then she stares blankly at the mirror.

Soyoung didn’t like her appearance. She suffered a lot because her face looked too young.

But there is someone who tells her that her face is the most beautiful in the world. Kimberly has always envied her youth. Ella treats her warmly as if she were her own sister.

‘I’m not who I used to be.’

Being abandoned, trying to be cheerful, being sharp like a hedgehog at people who are not kind to you, and acting tough.

But now she is no longer an immature girl.

The face in the mirror looks subtly different from my previous self.

‘I should repay the favor.’

If it weren’t for the head chef, I would never have gotten this far.

Tiring

A message arrived. It was a picture.

[Cold Part’s Charisma! Segreto’s Representative Beauty Soyoung!]

The kitchen staff are all gathered together, holding a banner with some random writing on it on a white cloth.

At that sight, Soyoung burst out laughing without realizing it. Then, messages continued to arrive.

-Sam: Just do what you’ve been doing. Just do what you’ve been doing.

-Ella: Wear pretty clothes when you do interviews! I regret that so much.

-Dominic: If it weren’t for the manipulation, there’s no way you wouldn’t win. Relax!

-Stefan: When will it end? Please come quickly. I’m dying!

-Kimberly: Daniel? Martha? Put them all on!

-Shin Je-hee: If you win, you get promoted.

-Jenny: Visually, you already win!

“Thank you all.”

Soyoung whispers softly and takes a deep breath.

She put her phone in her pocket and tied her hair back up. There was no more hesitation in her steps as she headed toward the kitchen.

* * *

[Passion blooming behind the splendid stage

As you leave the busy streets of New York and enter Greenwich Village, the atmosphere of the streets changes dramatically. The narrow alleys and red brick buildings make you feel like you are looking at a 19th century landscape.

As you walk along the tree-lined street, you will come into view of medieval Tuscan-style buildings. You will also see small restaurant signs written in oil paint.

The moment you open the heavy wooden door made of old wood and step inside, the noise from outside disappears as if you have entered another world. Instead, the tranquil atmosphere of medieval Italy embraces us.

Stone arches and wooden beams, flickering candles and white linen tablecloths. It is a miracle created by the strange meeting of modern and medieval times.

Segreto has been offering a course called Spring Feast since last month.

This course is one of the most impressive dining experiences I have had since I joined the New York Times in 1994. The person who designed this course, which has drawn heartfelt praise from Segreto’s regulars and many critics, is Segreto’s head chef, Shin Je-hee.

A gorgeous collaboration of foie gras and sea urchin that seem like an unlikely pairing at first glance, a potato and egg soup that beautifully expresses the harsh winter with simple ingredients, and a bright and original ceviche and ravioli that looked like a painting.

Although the dishes were all full of surprises, the main dish, grilled codfish cooked at a low temperature, was so maddening that it made my bones shiver.

One thing is certain, the difficulty of the dishes served here is by no means ordinary.

I can confidently say that Chef Shin Je-hee is the chef who best understands and enjoys utilizing the multi-layered structure of flavor.

Modern cuisine is not just made up of one or two ingredients and flavors.

In addition to the five basic tastes, his free-spirited use of scent, texture, temperature, aftertaste, and combinations of dozens to hundreds of these was comparable to that of a master who creates a masterpiece by combining countless paints on a palette.

Each dish was not just food, but a symphony of taste. Chef Shin Je-hee meticulously orchestrated all of this, meticulously designing each bite to be a new experience.

What is even more amazing is that all these complex flavor combinations are in perfect harmony and are balanced without being excessive or lacking. This is probably the result of his innate sense and the experiments and efforts he has honed over a long period of time.

Reproducing such a highly refined course every night is not something that can be achieved by just one outstanding chef. It means that Chef Shin Je-hee has built an excellent team that understands and can realize her vision and philosophy.

I wanted to shed light on the chefs behind the scenes who create this magic.

Interviews with them were arranged without difficulty. Chef Shin Je-hee also readily agreed, saying that she hopes they will gain more public recognition.

Upon entering Segreto’s kitchen with the permission of the new chef, I was met with a much larger space than I had expected, with around 30 chefs working with perfect concentration on their assigned tasks.

Among them, one person who particularly stood out was Sam Myers, the sous chef and right-hand man of Chef Shin Je-hee. He oversees the overall operation of the kitchen and fills in for the head chef in his absence.

“We must strive for perfection at every moment. It is a mission given to us by our head chef, but it is also a virtue we demand of ourselves.”

-What difficulties do you face while working?

“I’ve been with the head chef for almost 10 years.

I thought I knew enough, but I still get upset sometimes. When he said he needed a centrifuge, an ultrasonic homogenizer, and a spectrometer in the kitchen, I almost lost my patience. I barely managed to convince him.”

The next person we met was Chef Ella Schmidt, who was in charge of the main dish.

She may be more familiar to us as the winner of MasterChef Season 1, but she asked us not to mention her past, saying that it was already in the past. (It seemed that she considered that time to be a dark history.)

“Working here has never been easy. Every moment is a new challenge and frustration. But in the process, we are constantly growing.

“There are probably no chefs who have more experience with different cooking techniques than the chefs who work at Segreto.”

There were also about 10 trainee chefs here. From preparing ingredients to cleaning and assisting with cooking, there was no part of the kitchen that they could not reach, says Sous Chef Sam, patting them on the shoulder.

“Yesterday, I spent three hours making stock and it was thrown in the sink because it tasted wrong. That’s when I really want to throw it away.”

Chef Jun Tanaka, who is in his sixth month of training, sighs and expresses his frustration.

-But I’ve been holding on for over half a year.

“Even a 99-point dish is thrown away here. Honestly, I want to give up every night. But when I wake up, morning comes again and I have the strength to endure another day.

“I am a completely different person now than I was six months ago. I will be a chef on a different level in a year. That is what keeps me here.”

A chef next to Jun agrees. She is Natasha Ivanov, a three-month trainee.

“I’m the same way. Sometimes I get so tired that I cry myself to sleep.

At times like that, I watch the chefs who have been here since the opening and do mind control thinking that I can become like them. In my eyes, none of those people are human.”

-Is there anything you would like to say to your fellow trainees?

“You guys stop. I’m going up.”

Through conversations with them, I was able to vaguely guess the secret to Segreto’s success.

There was a common sentiment shared by the chefs here: an obsession called improvement.

Looking at them, I could tell that Chef Yoo So-young’s ongoing success on Best Chef was not a coincidence.

At the end of the interview, I was also able to have a brief conversation with Chef Shin Je-hee.

-What do you think about the public perception that you are a perfectionist?

“Hahaha. Being a perfectionist is proof that you are not perfect. We will continue to challenge, fail, and improve. This journey will never end.

“I can only thank everyone who has been with me through this process.”

As I left Segreto, I realized that the food made here was not just food, but the result of the blood, sweat, and pure passion of countless staff members.

It is because of their hard work and dedication that we can have such an amazing culinary experience.

I end this article by paying tribute to the countless chefs who are doing their best behind the scenes today.

-Richard Wells, The New York Times]

└Segreto This spring the course was crazy. I’ve been a regular for 4 years since it opened, but it was really special.

└A representative example showing that Michelin stars and skill are separate things.

└Why is it so sad to hear stories about trainees?

└It’s refreshing to see the hidden heroes of the shadows being highlighted. I like Richard’s column because it’s sincere.

└Okay as a guest, no as a workplace!

└Everyone has a lot of money. I’ve never spent more than $30 on a meal.

└If Chef Yoo So-young wins Best Chef, will she go independent?

└How many people must have passed through there before a team like that was created? I think the owner must be crazy.

└Are you paying me enough salary?

└They say it’s the best in the industry.

The Food Today section was originally a popular page for readers interested in gourmet food. Richard’s column, which shed light on the lesser-known side of the kitchen, became a hot topic in the industry amid favorable reviews from readers.

* * *

“Please give me the 2005 Romanee-Conti.”

A gentleman with a stylish slicked-back hair looks over the wine list and nonchalantly orders.

The 2005 vintage was extremely expensive, as the climate in Europe was ideal for growing wine, and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was one of the most expensive wines in the world.

The server confirms your order and passes it on to the sommelier.

“Good!”

Jenny clenches her fist. That’s over $30,000 in sales. At this rate, they won’t lose money if they don’t sell any wine this week.

She goes down to the wine cellar.

Beep

To get the expensive wine, you have to go through the security door again using your card key.

Segreto had several vintages of Romanee-Conti on hand, but only two bottles from 2005.

One bottle was from Jehee’s collection since the opening, and the other was a delivery from a new vendor. Jenny’s hand reached out to the newly brought-in bottle.

Jenny knew the importance of the moment when opening an expensive wine.

She showed the guest the wine label with an elegant touch. When he nodded, Jenny used a small knife to cut the edge of the foil.

Finally, with a pop, the cork was pulled out of the bottle. Jenny could read the expectant eyes of the guests.

When you put the cork to your nose, the characteristic dark berry aroma of Romanee-Conti rises. The subtle aroma of vanilla spice from aging in oak barrels adds depth to the wine.

Jenny pours a small amount of wine into a glass in a pose that looks like it came straight out of a pictorial.

“You taste it.”

Although it is common to do the wine tasting yourself, there are also cases where you ask a sommelier, an expert, to do it for you.

Jenny felt lucky today. It wasn’t often that even she got the chance to taste wine worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Swirl the wine in the glass, enjoy the aroma, and sip lightly.

Fragrant floral notes of blackberry, black cherry, plum, violet and rose. And… . Hmm?

The aftertaste is strange.

She had tasted Romanee-Conti once, courtesy of Je-hee. It didn’t have the earthy smell of old leather that she had felt then. And the bitter aftertaste at the end seemed to warn her not to give the wine to her guests.

“Mister, could you please wait a moment?”

Jenny apologized to the guest and went to find Jehee.

“what’s the matter?”

Jehee, who was inspecting the food at the pass, looks at her and asks.

“It’s Romanee-Conti 2005 vintage. It’s a new delivery, but there’s something on my mind.”

Jenny was nervous, which was unusual for her. If her judgment was wrong, it would result in tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the restaurant.

Jehee hands her the glass. And he pours the wine into his mouth in one gulp. His expression, which had been closed for a moment, gradually distorts.

“Where did you get this wine?”

The expression on his face as he spoke those words was one of the coldest that Jenny had ever seen in her life.