God of Cooking

“Nathan, I appreciate your competitive spirit because I would hate it if you thought you are not my rival. Yeah, as you said, it would depend on how we perform this year, even if we have made lots of achievements until now. But I’ve got no reason to believe I won’t be as good as before. Of course, you might have some reason to believe you can do better than before this year. But..” June said with a smile. “If you want to compete with me, let me accept it.”

At that moment, only Dave among the head chefs noticed June’s intentions. As a matter of fact, they might have thought that June and Dave had the highest chance of being Rachel’s successor. Then, why did June openly bring up this topic? They clearly knew other chefs would not like it.

In fact, June wanted to change the nuance of competition from the beginning. In other words, she wanted to make the other head chefs challenge her and Dave instead of competing with the two at the same starting line. Her action like this may be meaningless to somebody, but surprisingly, this would have a big impact on the other head chefs’ minds, for if June won the competition, they would naturally accept it, thinking it was what they expected. In that case, Rachel would have no choice but to pay attention to June and Dave alone since they were the subjects of the other chefs’ intense attention. This would nip in the bud the possibility of any new face replacing them as her successor.

‘You’re still the same!’ Dave muttered to himself quietly.

She was still cunning, clever, vicious, and bad.

Nonetheless, he thought she was still lovely. So much so that he newly found the thrill he had forgotten a long time ago, and his heartbeat again.

***

“I wish you had tipped me off about it in advance,” Min-joon said to Rachel in a resentful voice. But she replied with a cheerful smile, “Well, if I tell you about it in advance, it won’t be fun.”

“It wasn’t a matter of fun, Rachel. I was so surprised that my heart sank. Why do you want to give me this opportunity? Do you really need my opinion?”

Honestly, Min-joon felt a bit guilty about it. As a matter of fact, he didn’t have the type of magic palate that she thought of. Above all, he wondered if he was really competent to judge the head chefs.

‘My gastronomic level is 9, but…’

His cooking level is still 8. Of course, if a chef has to judge other chefs, his or her abilities as a chef and as a gourmet are important, but honestly Min-joon wondered if he could make a perfect evaluation of the head chefs who have gathered here to be Rachel’s successor.

“You will feel a lot after that event.”

“What are you specifically talking about?”

“You will have a chance to see what kind of dishes the head chefs who have lived desperately throughout their lives have made.”

“If I feel it, what can I expect?”

“You will be a little more complete as a chef.”

At that moment, he looked at Rachel quietly. He couldn’t figure out what she had in mind. He wondered if what she wanted was the coming of another chef like Daniel, the revival of Rose Island, or completion of himself.

He cautiously opened his mouth.

“To be honest, I’m not very happy with this event right now.”

“Why? Because you are not on the candidate list?”

“That’s not what I mean. This event is to pick your successor, right? I just don’t understand why you are preparing to sow the seeds when you have not fully bloomed yet…”

He hardly finished saying because she burst into a hearty laugh.

When he looked at her with an embarrassed expression, she said, wiping off the tears around her eyes, “Ahahahahaha, I’m sorry, sorry. I don’t think there is anybody who can tell me I have not bloomed yet. I haven’t thought that you would tell me like that.”

“I still think you have a lot of room for progress.”

“Do you really think so?”

More room for progress? Rachel reflected on it for a moment, then smiled again and looked back at him. Now wasn’t the time for her to be lost in such idle thought.

“But there’s one thing I have to disagree with you. Do you think I’m sowing the seeds now?”

“Aren’t you? You are preparing for your successor, right? In other words, you are already preparing for your exit from Rose Island.”

“Yes, that’s correct. But I’m not preparing to accept my exit, but I’m preparing to overcome it, so I won’t exit forever.”

He tilted his head at her words because he still could not figure out her intentions. She stroked his hair a bit, who looked at her, embarrassed. Although the two were close together, she had hardly stroked his head like this.

She said, “In fact, I wanted to give you the fruits of my achievement.”

“Chef?”

“The kitchen staff of Rose Island. I thought they would be my best gift for you, but it was not. I found out that what I thought was a gift could be a trap for you. What you need is not a grown tree but the soil where it can take down its roots.”

She grabbed his hand and said, “The fallen leaves and petals that I shed all my life have rotted and turned into dirt on my soil. Put down roots on it. Regardless of nourishments or water, just absorb as much as you like.”

She released her grasp of his hand, then held it again,

“So, I hope I can say that it’s fun to watch you bloom it.”

***

“I feel a little sad, too.”

When the fuss subsided, Daisy spoke in a slightly depressed voice.

Deborah asked, looking at her, “What do you mean?”

“I know that, too. Compared to Dave and June, I’ve never made as much effort as June or Dave, and I’ve lived a carefree life without caring too much about making the most delicious dishes in the world or titles like the best chef. But when I watch the two boasting they’re the best among us, I just take it for granted, which makes me a bit sad somehow.”

Deborah nodded as if she understood Daisy.

Not all of Rose Island’s chefs were inclined to rate their fellow chefs in terms of cooking or their hierarchy like June. But right now when they were given the opportunity to take on the throne of Rose Island, they seemed to be thinking that June or Dave would take it.

Why did they think so? If they really thought that they were equal, or if they believed that cooking was only just a difference of their individuality, they should be happy that they could finally take the opportunity you were hoping for so much. Why did they just look at the shadows of June and Dave?

Was it because of their assumption that the two were the most promising candidates? Was it because people around the two said they were the best chefs?

Daisy just liked cooking. She liked the moments of cooking, she liked the expressions of the happy customers and their admiration of her dishes. She thought that’s all. She has never cooked to be a better chef than others. She just wanted to be faithful to the moment she focused on cooking. That was enough, and she believed that it was enough.

But at this moment, Daisy felt more regretful than ever. She couldn’t figure out why.

Was it because she would not be able to inherit Rachel’s Rose Island? Or was it because she was forced to confirm her mediocrity that didn’t make her proudly announce she was the best?

“Isn’t it unfair for us to be treated like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, even without any fair competition, we should let the two take the position of Rachel’s favorite students.”

“What’s so unfair about it? They have been her favorite students, as you know.”

“Oh, Deborah! Feel for her!”

Daisy glared at Deborah with a frustrated expression.

Deborah gently pushed Daisy’s forehead with a smile.

“You don’t have to compare yourself with others needlessly because you’re doing your job well. Don’t be conscious of them. Just keep doing what you have been doing. Who knows Rachel will appoint you as her successor.”

“Gosh, how mature you are! You were far from it before, right?”

“Well, it’s very tough to live in this world unless you are a cool thinker.”

Having said that, Deborah took some cheese and put it in her mouth. Gouda cheese’s distinctive, pungent smell stimulated her nostrils. In fact, Deborah could understand her feelings. Rather she totally sympathized with Daisy. Even if there was no such thing as an objective criterion for comparison, in fact, they could judge which dish was more refined and more beautiful.

June and Dave’s dishes were different. When she asked to give a different reason, she found it quite difficult to answer honestly because it wasn’t different simply because of one or two factors. She felt something different in terms of everything ranging from devising a recipe to the creative idea that could change the existing chefs’ perceptions of cooking, and basic skills. All these factors were combined so perfectly that when customers enjoyed their meal, they felt something different even though they weren’t gourmets.

‘Yeah, that shows how competent they are.’

To be honest, Deborah had no such abilities. That’s why she recognized them. She was not jealous because she already knew how painful it was to cook, trying to be conscious of others.

But not everyone thought like Deborah. In fact, most of the chefs were like Daisy because even if they challenged, they would lose nothing. Rachel would not give them a second chance. So, it was much better for them to challenge themselves boldly than regret not doing it later.

Was it because of that? Now their eyes were burning with determination to compete with the two more fiercely than before.

Watching them, Dave whispered to June in a quiet voice.

“Hey, you should not have provoked them like this. The atmosphere has become awkward because of you.”

“Sometimes it needs to be awkward.”

“No, I don’t think so. What are you going to do?”

“What are you talking about? I’m going to compete with you,” June replied with a calm voice.