NOVEL NEXT 96
Lim Do-hun seemed unable to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. No wonder, as he was staring at me with his mouth agape.
He’s going to drool.
We can’t let such an unfortunate incident happen to our precious chicken. I deliberately clapped my hands to bring his attention back.
“This should be fitting for a ‘mentor’ role, right? Now, try doing the rest yourself.”
As I handed him the knife, Lim Do-hun snapped back to attention.
“Yes, yes ma’am!”
Unlike before, his voice was now filled with discipline. Good. The strange discontent and rebelliousness that had clouded his eyes earlier were completely gone.
“Go ahead. Just like you saw.”
“Y-yes. So, I hold it here like this….”
“No. You need to pull this part to separate the bone from the meat.”
“Ah~ Yes, I understand!”
I naturally corrected his incorrect posture while solidifying my position.
I could sense that others around us were watching with surprise as I taught Lim Do-hun. Given Lim Do-hun’s considerable kitchen experience, they probably didn’t expect him to be learning how to handle chicken from me.
I swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out.
‘Now the atmosphere is settling in.’
The kitchen is a place where hierarchy is important. If the order is disrupted, the overall balance falls apart.
In this massive collaboration where everyone is essentially one team, strong charisma is essential to make everyone move as one body without a single person falling out of line.
‘Not that I particularly like that culture.’
But that doesn’t mean I can’t imitate it. Besides, this method is more familiar to those with long kitchen experience.
After confirming that the atmosphere had instantly changed to regard me as a ‘supervisor’, I patted Lim Do-hun’s shoulder.
“You’re doing well. Keep it up like that.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“I’m going to check on how the others are doing.”
Then I naturally moved to the side.
By now, the air of treating me as an outsider had completely disappeared, replaced by an atmosphere where it seemed natural for me to check on everyone.
Right next to us was the area preparing to fry the processed chicken legs. An unnamed participant was struggling with the chicken while wearing gloves.
Looking at the name tag, it read ‘Oh Ga-eul’.
Oh?
The name sounded familiar. Did I remember her as a broadcast participant? Well, anyway, I liked her work speed as her hands were quick.
‘The oil is clean, and the chicken is being seasoned well.’
As I passed by, I casually remarked:
“The chicken seems larger than size 7, so it’s better to season it more heavily. Make sure it penetrates well inside.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Thick parts like chicken legs might not cook well. You should make incisions beforehand to ensure it cooks within the time limit.”
“Yes~!”
The participant, who was busy seasoning and kneading the chicken, nodded vigorously at my words. I’m not sure if she heard me well since she seemed so busy.
But she’s responding well, so it should be fine.
As there was nothing particular to address, I quickly moved on. This time, I saw Choi Yak-rok preparing the seasoning to be applied to the chicken legs.
It looked like he was boiling various ingredients together in a pot.
“How are you making the sauce?”
“Ah, yes. I was thinking about making a sauce that’s universally appealing, so I thought of yangnyeom chicken. Since we’ll be brushing it on and grilling, I thought it would be good to make the seasoning a bit stronger.”
He’s rambling a bit, but he means yangnyeom chicken sauce, right?
Using a clean spoon, I tasted a bit on the back of my hand. Hmm, it’s delicious.
“How is it?”
I answered Choi Yak-rok’s question honestly.
“It’s delicious. The garlic balance is just right. It’ll be incredibly tasty when sprinkled on the fried chicken.”
Choi Yak-rok’s face brightened.
“Ah. That’s a relief. It’s my first time making yangnyeom chicken sauce….”
“It tastes quite good for a first attempt?”
The quality was so excellent that I doubted whether he was lying about it being his first time. As expected of a top contender, I suppose.
Just then, I noticed the bowl containing the seasoning starting to boil over.
“Oh no.”
But Choi Yak-rok was just stirring it around.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Without turning off the heat.”
“Huh? But it just started boiling.”
I take back what I said earlier.
It seems it really is his first time making it.
“If you boil it for too long, the sauce will thicken. Turn off the heat quickly!”
“Heup!”
I saw Choi Yak-rok hurriedly turning off the heat.
“There are sauces that deepen in flavor the longer you boil them, but this isn’t one of them. You should turn off the heat as soon as you see bubbles rising.”
As I stressed this point, Choi Yak-rok nodded vigorously. Phew. Thank goodness I was here to see it. We nearly had to start over from the beginning.
Noticing Choi Yak-rok staring at me, I smiled gently.
“You’re wondering how I know even this, right? It’s not like I own a chicken franchise.”
“!”
“It’s written all over your face.”
At my words, Choi Yak-rok touched his face. The thought ‘Is it really that obvious on my face?’ was clearly visible.
Pfft, I laughed before continuing.
“You heard my introduction, didn’t you? I’m a ‘culinary researcher’.”
Despite appearances, I had accumulated extensive experience researching various cuisines while traveling around the world. Although that was before my regression.
That knowledge remained intact in this head.
“Why? Did you think it was just a courtesy title?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that….”
Choi Yak-rok trailed off. Well, I suppose my resume might seem a bit thin to the point where such a title needs to be tacked on.
It would be more than satisfactory as a resume for a businessperson, but as a chef? It might seem a bit questionable.
“I’ve heard about you. They say you’re skilled enough to be a potential winner?”
“Ahaha. A potential winner? Not at all.”
“No need for false modesty. I heard it from the judges earlier?”
During the intermission, I happened to mingle, and every single one of them pegged Choi Yak-rok as a potential winner.
“They say you’re especially good at braised dishes.”
“Ahaha…..”
“With such excellent culinary skills, it must not be easy to survive in the food industry, right?”
As I smiled gently, Choi Yak-rok hesitated.
It was because I deliberately pointed out his experience of failing after opening a restaurant. I could see his face stiffen slightly.
I wasn’t trying to pick a fight with a potential winner of Master Chef Showdown, as that wouldn’t do me any good.
My business was elsewhere.
“Contact me if you need anything. I can provide some management consulting.”
And if I could acquire some shares in your restaurant along the way, all the better.
“…To be doing business even in this situation. As expected, entrepreneurs have a different mindset.”
Is that how it came across?
“Business? I think you’ve misunderstood something… We at
“Then why did you say such things?”
“Well…”
I tilted my head.
“It’s a shame when a skilled chef can’t shine due to management difficulties.”
It was purely for that reason.
“People who can make delicious food are rare, you know.”
And I was one of those who deeply loved such food. Let’s just say it’s for the sake of protecting an endangered species.
“…You’re a strange person.”
Choi Yak-rok muttered with a baffled expression. I can understand why it might seem that way.
“Well, that’s not what’s important right now. Shall we continue making the other dishes?”
Although chicken was the main dish, there were many other things to prepare. There was fried rice to fill the stomach, french fries that pair well with chicken, and salad to balance the nutrients.
“We need to hurry.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Choi Yak-rok also started moving his hands busily, startled. He realized there was no time to chat casually with me here.
The remaining time was now 2 hours and 30 minutes.
We had a long way to go.
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The part that took the longest time was undoubtedly processing the chicken.
Not only was it the most labor-intensive heavy work, but even though I had taught him, Lim Do-hun couldn’t immediately adopt my method as his own.
Even if Lim Do-hun could dismantle one chicken per minute, it would still take a full 100 minutes to process 100 chickens. This meant dedicating 1 hour and 40 minutes out of the 3 hours just to chicken preparation.
Add to that at least 20 minutes for seasoning, and it was clearly too tight a schedule.
As a result, even I had to jump in and focus all my efforts on dismantling chickens.
Swish, thwack!
Splat!
With just a touch of my hands, the chickens would be effortlessly dismantled, separated into bones and meat. Lim Do-hun kept glancing my way, continuously exclaiming in admiration.
It seemed he found it amazing no matter how many times he saw it.
‘Chicken processing is almost at the final stage now. I checked on the salad and french fries earlier, so if we continue like this, there shouldn’t be much to worry about finishing within the remaining hour……’
It was right at that moment.
As I was stretching my stiff back, turning left and right, something caught my eye.
“……”
It was a pile of chicken legs, but there was something strange about them.
‘Why are there no incisions?’
I clearly told them to make incisions, didn’t I?
‘Is it because my eyes are tired and I can’t see well? Right. That could be it. There might be incisions on the side I can’t see.’
I desperately hoped that was the case.
I took off my gloves and approached the fried chicken legs. I picked up one and examined it thoroughly.
No matter how I looked at it, there were no incisions on the chicken leg.
‘With chicken legs this thick, if you don’t make incisions… can the inside even cook properly?’
It can’t be!
I hurriedly pried open the chicken leg in my hand. The crispy batter looked quite appetizing.
I could see the white, cooked flesh inside. It also smelled delicious. Yes. Thank goodness. It seems my prediction was wrong.
Even with chicken legs this thick, if you cook them at a low temperature for a long time, the inside can cook well…!
Splat!
“……”
As expected.
Bright red blood burst out from the inside.
Damn it. The inside isn’t cooked at all.