Cold Section (1)
Baek Seon-woo of the cold section.
He'd graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent several years gaining experience at Michelin restaurants abroad.
If one had to classify him, Baek Seon-woo was overseas faction. But he had no interest at all in the kitchen's factional fights. His view was that, overseas or domestic, food just needed to taste good. Baek Seon-woo had always just watched their fights.
But today, Kim Jun-ho called him over. Probably because Do Eun-seong had come to his section.
“Starting today Do Eun-seong's in the cold section, so keep a good eye on him. Get in his way a bit if you need to.”
As expected. Kim Jun-ho was exactly as Baek Seon-woo had predicted. Why a grown man acted so childish, he couldn't understand.
“Well. Is there really any need for me to do anything? He won't last anyway.”
Even without doing such childish things, Do Eun-seong wouldn't last anyway.
That was the sound view. Baek Seon-woo had seen it many times. A kitchen assistant becoming a section cook overnight? That happened fairly often. It was possible.
But adapting immediately as a section cook? That was close to impossible. Do Eun-seong's new menu, well, was perfect. Not just the balance, but even the philosophy that plate held. It was intensely Ayeon.
But actually serving it was a completely different matter.
Lunch service, four hours total. During that time, orders would only keep pouring in, and a novice cook would keep putting out food of the same quality without the slightest error? That really was close to impossible.
Moreover, the salad Do Eun-seong had put forward didn't even allow the vegetables to be cut ahead of time. Because they weren't simply chopped into pieces, but finely sculpted to bring out the characteristics of each type of vegetable. The moment they were sculpted in advance, the vegetables would die right away. A salad whose life was freshness, and in a Michelin restaurant's cold section, no less, couldn't put out dead vegetables.
The sauces were the same. An emulsified sauce, if not managed properly, would quickly break and separate. And yet Do Eun-seong's menu needed not one but a whopping seven different sauces.
In other words, what Do Eun-seong had put forward was absolutely not a menu at a level a novice could handle.
Baek Seon-woo said to Kim Jun-ho.
“Just quietly watch.”
That was Baek Seon-woo's conclusion. Based on what he'd experienced at all kinds of Michelin restaurants, that was right. Objectively, it was so. It definitely should have been so, but.......
This guy... what is he?
The kid was a bit... strange.
***
Restaurant Ayeon.
Today was the very day. The day I'd waited over two years for. That the day had come when I'd make my own dish at a fine dining restaurant... honestly, I still couldn't believe it.
“Starting today, please wear this chef's uniform.”
As soon as I arrived, the server called to me. It was that server. The server who'd brought my steak to the VIP.
“Why the chef's uniform?”
“You're a section cook from today, aren't you? You should wear a new chef's uniform.”
“Ah.”
“Please put this name badge on too.”
The server held out a gold name badge to me.
-Do Eun-seong
A gold name badge engraved with my name. For two years I'd always worn hand-me-down uniforms with no name badge at all... that a day like this would come for me too.
Section cook.
I'd finally become an official cook at Ayeon too.
For a moment, I was overwhelmed. But no tears came. I think I'd sometimes cried when I'd dreamed of this, but now that it was actually real, I just felt incredibly good.
“I really can't believe it.”
“Honestly, me neither.”
“Pardon?”
“I was sure you'd get fired the day you poured maple syrup all over that steak, Mr, Eun-seong.”
The server said playfully.
“Thank you so much for that day.”
I bowed my head. The server smiled at me and led me into the kitchen.
“The cold section. From today, this is your station, Mr. Do Eun-seong. Can't believe this either, can you?”
“No. I really can't believe it.”
I really couldn't believe it. After two years, I finally had a place of my own. Every day, I'd stood at the very end of the kitchen, a spot with no counter, just running around here and there.
...Now I had a place in this kitchen.
“Then, from today, I'm counting on you for delicious food.”
The server bowed his head to me in greeting.
“Ah, n-no, please.”
Flustered by that, I ended up bowing my head deeply too, following the server's lead.
“I'm sure you'll do great, Chef.”
“Thank you.”
The server left, and I was wiping my station with a towel, looking at it contentedly. About twenty minutes had passed like that.
“You're early?”
Senior Baek Seon-woo came in. He was wearing his red glasses again today.
“Prepped a lot?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Serve me a plate right now. Like it's the real thing.”
“Yep!”
“Two minutes thirty seconds max per plate. Start now.”
And so began the mock service. I immediately started cutting the carrots, no, sculpting them.
“You're going to carve them on the spot instead of sculpting the vegetables ahead of time?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“All seven?”
“If I sculpt them in advance, the freshness drops too much.”
“Even so, you think you can sculpt every vegetable in two minutes thirty seconds?”
“That's why I've done nothing but practice for a week.”
“What?”
Baek Seon-woo still looked at me with suspicious eyes.
As if to answer him, I carved the carrot, radish, fatsia shoots, cucumber, cherry tomato, napa cabbage, and aster greens without wavering.
“Your knife work is fast, I'll give you that. But the sauces? If you make them ahead, won't the emulsion break?”
I answered while plating the sauces and vegetables.
“That's why I changed the recipe a little. I added a small amount of vinegar and egg yolk, to act as an emulsifier, to the sauce base so it holds as long as possible.”
“And the flavor stays the same doing that?”
I held out the finished salad plate.
“Please check the flavor yourself, Senior. This is the first plate.”
Baek Seon-woo took the plate and checked the timer.
2 minutes 20 seconds.
He seemed a little surprised.
“Hmmmm.”
Then Baek Seon-woo quietly picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of carrot, dipped it in its sauce, and brought it to his mouth. He chewed carefully, tasted, and thought.
“Go with this for now.”
Baek Seon-woo took out his notebook and recorded something.
“Let's see it in actual service.”
“Yes, Senior.”
And then.
Bang.
The kitchen door burst open and things got noisy. The seniors from other sections began arriving one by one. Last of all, even Head Chef Yang Geon-ung came in.
“We're fully booked again today.”
Yang Geon-ung said with emphasis.
“So everyone do your best. Especially the salad.”
Yang Geon-ung looked at me.
“Do Eun-seong, you. First day or not, let the orders back up and you're dead.”
“Yes, Chef.”
Bzzzzzzt.
Right on cue, the first order ticket of lunch service came into the kitchen.
“Today's first order. Two course menus. Cold section, start prepping.”
For a moment, I could feel the cooks from every section looking at me.
“Yes, Chef.”
But I focused only on my cooking, only on my salad. I had to finish the first plate going out to the guest within 2 minutes 30 seconds, no matter what.
I carved the carrots the way I'd practiced through all those sleepless nights. I sculpted the rest of the vegetables and plated the sauces too. And so I finished the first plate in 2 minutes 15 seconds.
“Senior, it's done.”
Baek Seon-woo nodded.
“Go get it checked by the head chef.”
As he said, I showed my plate to the head chef, Yang Geon-ung.
“Pass.”
And so my first plate passed, and my salad finally went out into the world. But there was no time to be overwhelmed by it.
“Do Eun-seong, hurry and make the next salad.”
“Yes, Senior.”
The kitchen had no time to rest. That was just how it was.
“From now on I'll do the sauces. You hurry and carve all the vegetables.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once Senior Baek Seon-woo started helping, I could serve at almost exactly two minutes. And so, in one hour, I served thirty plates. The incoming orders were tough, but I just focused on them one at a time, as I'd practiced. I was able to find stability quickly.
“Where'd you cook before this?”
Baek Seon-woo asked me as I was sculpting my thirty-first carrot.
“Pardon?”
“I'm asking if you've done service like this before.”
“Well... I've worked at a fried chicken place and a Chinese restaurant.”
He smiled slightly at my words.
“Then, at fine dining?”
“Today's the first time.”
“Really the first time?”
“Yes. It's the first time.”
“... Not bad.”
Baek Seon-woo watched me as I worked my knife.
“I figured you'd naturally slow down as it went on, but you're actually picking up speed.”
“......”
“Just keep doing it like this from now on.”
“Yes, Senior.”
I bowed my head as I spoke. As he said, if I just held out like this, my first lunch service would end successfully.
But it was then.
“Um... Chef.”
The server carefully came in toward us. With a face as if some troublesome problem had come up.