For some time, their debate was so heated that they hardly paid any attention to what Min-joon and Kaya had mentioned, but finally, they wrapped it up with the conclusion that the two chefs’ fresh idea was ‘an adventure worth taking.’ No wonder they came to such a conclusion. After all, it was not a big risk to make a dish based on an ordinary man’s recipe. Of course, when customers didn’t order any specific menu whose ingredients they already had prepared, Min-joon and Kaya had a solution.
“As for those recipes that we have reviewed and verified, we’re going to cook here on this internet TV. We will explain to you how to enjoy the dish most deliciously, and why it is a fresh and attractive menu. Of course, we’ll analyze the components of the taste and how they are made.” “Among the dishes that have made it to the Irregular Lab, the most popular one among customers will be added to the ‘Lotus Bridge’ special menu for a limited time. Of course, we’ll pay you the due commission for such dishes.”
In fact, when Min-joon and Kaya came up with this idea, they had no choice but to ponder over it for a while. In fact, they were not hungry for recipes. There were countless recipes that they wanted to show to their guests right away but didn’t because of the kitchen situation. Because of that, adding other people’s recipes to the menu of their restaurants was not an investment, but rather a loss. But it was clear that the two chefs would gain something through this idea. The biggest lesson that Min-joon learned from June was how to trade without losing money.
After all, this deal between them and the ordinary people was supposed to bring benefits to the two chefs.
Think about it. How many people in this world want to become chefs? And there were countless chefs who couldn’t fully show their talent because of the situation they were in.
If everything went well, as Min-joon and Kaya had expected, Irregular Lab would become the source of hope for countless chefs, which could surpass even the Grand Chef competition. No matter how great the scale and quality of their products, they could challenge the Grand Chef competition only once every year. After all, only the winner could directly benefit from the Grand Chef competition, and if the participants make mistakes during the competition, they were supposed to be eliminated, no matter how great their cooking skills were.
Considering that there were lots of chefs who find it difficult to even take out time to participate in the Grand Chef, Irregular Lab would be the only place that could give them the opportunity to freely display their passion for cooking. And it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Irregular Lab, which controlled their passage to that path, would have a great impact on the lifeline of young chefs. Especially that would be the case with those who were like the old Min-joon. Min-joon had to choose between clinging to it after giving up everything else and just settling for the status quo, but the Grand Chef gave him a new hope.
Irregular Lab would draw those hesitating while standing on the borderline of the two choices. Min-joon and Kaya, let alone Chloe, would face a big challenge because they were supposed to review the talent of those that Irregular Lab would absorb. Of course, few of the ordinary chefs would have the ability to challenge Min-joon, Kaya, and Chloe, but there was no guarantee that the ordinary people’s inspiration would be less valuable than theirs.
Perhaps just a glimpse of their inspiration would help Min-joon and Kaya take the lead in the culinary market not only in America but also around the world. Out of those watching the two chefs’ internet TV now, how many of them had had a glimpse of the two chefs’ grand vision?
Min-joon said politely, “Please do not hesitate to submit your recipe at any time. We will not look down on your passions.”
While making the announcement, he felt as if he pulled the wool over their eyes.
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Ordinary people didn’t submit lots of recipe candidates from the beginning.
But Min-joon and Kaya were not in a hurry. Since they just made the announcement, it was natural that there were not many submissions all of a sudden. There were many chefs who usually kept note of their recipes, for which they had a natural affection. Besides, they would feel bitter and depressed if their recipes were rejected by Min-joon and Kaya.
But the passage of time didn’t bring good things to everybody. By the time more and more recipe ideas were submitted and the opening of Lotus Bridge was around the corner, more and more participants were dropped out of Grand Chef, and there were only three participants left behind. They were Michael, Peter, and Gwen.
Min-joon expected they would advance to the finals, but at the same time, he felt a bit strange about the combination of the three. Peter originally didn’t participate in this contest. Then all of a sudden, he participated, and now he was competing with chefs Michael and Gwen on an equal footing.
“I wonder if Peter can really win.”
At times, even Min-joon thought about it, for Peter’s participation in the Grand Chef was a variable. When he thought about Peter, he noticed that the final outcomes of this competition might depend on Peter. The fact that Peter overcame his complicated past and turned over a new leaf in his life changed the fate of other participants in this competition.
If so, who should Min-joon cheer for? As for that matter, Min-joon still had mixed feelings.
Of course, he didn’t feel like cheering for Michael. Michael didn’t treat cooking as cooking. Of course, his unique perspective of cooking had its own merit, but Min-joon didn’t like it.
But Min-joon supported Gwen not because he liked her cooking style, but because he didn’t want to see her make a bad choice. As for Peter, he was a bit hesitant. Obviously, he cheered for Peter, but he was just afraid something bad would happen to Gwen if he openly supported her.
Perhaps that was why Gwen’s question made Min-joon so embarrassed.
“What did you say?”
“Well, it’s my application,” she said in a quiet voice. “I hear that Lotus Bridge is accepting applications for new chefs.”
He looked down at her application without saying a word.
It was undoubtedly perfect. He slowly looked at her.
Come to think of it, he didn’t have to think her application was strange.
Lotus Bridge was expected to lead a trend in Los Angeles with a high probability of success, and Gwen developed a close relationship with the leaders of restaurants in the area.
As a chef, Min-joon should have seized the chance to hire her. But since he knew what she would do if she failed to win the Grand Chef competition, he could not. Probably she would most likely commit suicide when she failed to win the Grand Chef competition.
Anyway, it was only when she would not win the competition that she might want to join Lotus Bridge. How could she who was unprepared for her failure dare to buy insurance against her failure in advance? She was no more the old Gwen that he used to know.
‘Man, she is not the old Gwen that I used to know. I think I’m mistaken.’
Looking back, Min-joon suddenly thought that just because she took her life not long after the contest was over, he had prejudices against her because she was a pathetic and weak woman. However, his prejudices were not even based on any solid evidence.
Min-joon concluded that Gwen committed suicide because she was so pessimistic about the final outcomes of the competition. But that was just his speculation. That was an assumption that was naturally believed to be true just because it was the most plausible.
Only now did Min-joon feel that his assumption was probably wrong. Perhaps he was wrong in his assumption that the old Gwen that he used to know was the same as the woman he was looking at now. It could not be denied that their jobs were the same as far as they were chefs, but she was walking a different path. Peter and Hugo were now teaming with her, and Min-joon and Kaya were her new judges. He didn’t know how much of a difference it made, but at least Min-joon was trying to make the best impact he could have on her. Maybe she might change.
Maybe she was different from the old Gwen that he used to know.
“Have you already made up your mind to drop out of the finals?”
“You told me that I should bet everything on this competition. You told me it’s cooking, not the competition that I should trade my life for.”
“Are you ready to accept my advice?” he asked in a low voice.
If she was really ready to bet everything on cooking, not the competition, it meant that Gwen already freed herself from her tragic fate. At least, it was what he thought.
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