The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109. People
Han Jae-won stood and closed the door behind him.
‘A distribution network, then….’
In my past life, I handled everything alone. Sourcing ingredients. Cooking. Feeding people.
This time is different.
To run a restaurant, the supply chain must be stable. If Jang On-gyu tightens his grip on that.
‘Then I’ll have to accept it. But….’
Not now, though. I learned in my past life that whoever rushes in first is at a disadvantage.
‘Let me shelve this for now.’
First, I returned to the kitchen.
Haran was finishing up the cleanup.
“Owner. That person from earlier. He was one of the judges, wasn’t he?”
“That’s right.”
“…And that ramen and kimbap?”
“New menu items.”
Haran’s eyes sparkled.
“Are you adding them to the official menu?”
“Who knows? It’s up to the Chef’s discretion.”
For now, I turned off the heat.
* * *
Jang On-gyu’s office was quiet.
Beneath a window reflecting the night cityscape, Jang On-gyu sat at his desk reviewing documents.
They were documents about the profit structure of commercialization.
“Hmm….”
Numbers lined the pages.
Then the phone rang.
[Oh Tae-sik]
There was no reason to refuse, so he answered immediately.
-Everything is ready.
“What’s the timeline?”
-Within this week. I’ve already sent over all the documents.
“The structure is solid, yes?”
-Ha ha. Aren’t you looking at it right now?
“I am. The costs are quite substantial.”
-Right. Costs have so many meanings, don’t they? Labor costs are costs too. You know.
“And factory restructuring should be part of the commercialization plan.”
-Oh my! I hadn’t thought of that!
“I’d like to see that included.”
-I’ll insert it right away.
“Good.”
Jang On-gyu slid a document across to me.
A donation management plan.
Administrative fees. Distribution costs. Operating expenses.
Three categories on paper, but the money flowed into a single account.
“How about your end?”
-Still uncertain. We haven’t even finished the commercialization process yet. And frankly, it’s giving me a headache.
“Is that so?”
-You know this as well as I do, Representative. Complex dishes are difficult to commercialize. Fried fish, no less… and with the bones included? Ugh. This is definitely a headache.
“Isn’t that even better then? The unit price will have no choice but to rise.”
-Ah, true. There’s more I should mention.
“Right.”
-Hmm… By the way, PD Ga has been reaching out. Have you received his call yet?
“Not yet.”
-It’ll come soon. He wants to film the commercialization process together. Says it would make a good finale.
“A finale…”
It’s not a bad finale, I’ll admit.
The problem is that PD Ga is the one proposing it.
“I’ll need to think about that.”
-Of course. We’re in favor of it on our end.
In favor. There’s no other choice for them.
-If possible, we’d appreciate your cooperation. Since you’re donating anyway… wouldn’t the publicity be beneficial?
“I’ll consider it positively.”
So he wants to secure advertising out of this. Considering the effort Oh Tae-sik has put in.
‘Should I agree?’
I wasn’t sure how much effort I should expend. Transactions continue through mutual exchange, after all.
Oh Tae-sik seemed to understand this as well.
“Hmm…”
-And one more thing.
“Yes?”
-Han Jae-won is making moves.
“What do you mean?”
-He went to that restaurant today. Alone.
“!!!!”
Silence.
Oh Tae-sik added one more thing.
-I thought you should know, Representative. Haha.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
-Then I’ll head back in! Loyalty!”
“…”
Beep—
The call ended.
Jang On-gyu fell silent for a moment.
‘Han Jae-won. So it’s Han Jae-won.’
Same industry. Different ranks. Different methods.
But the methods were different.
If Jang On-gyu controlled distribution, Han Jae-won controlled the brand.
It was an unspoken rule that they didn’t interfere with each other. In truth, Han Jae-won kept his distance somewhat out of respect for Jang On-gyu’s family beyond him.
‘And that bastard….’
Went to Kim Seon-woo.
‘…Damn it.’
I thought something might unravel, but not like this.
Jang On-gyu was thoroughly displeased with the current situation.
* * *
It was dawn. No one was in the restaurant.
‘It would be strange if there were.’
Usually this was how it should be. Haran and Jin-woo were the odd ones.
Anyway.
I came in alone and turned on the lights. The kitchen brightened.
“Hmm… let’s see.”
I opened the refrigerator.
Ingredients lined the shelves inside. They were neatly labeled with dates.
The reason I came out at dawn. Simple.
‘I should try something different today.’
Ever since Han Jae-won’s visit, my mind had been turbulent.
Distribution line proposal. Jang On-gyu’s opposition. Business expansion.
Externally, many things had become complicated.
‘But that’s one thing.’
There was something more fundamental that mattered.
I’m a chef. What a chef does is cook.
But that cooking.
‘Has been weighing on my mind lately, hasn’t it?’
It had been consuming my thoughts.
So I came out.
“When it’s like this, action is the best remedy.”
* * *
I spoke as if making a vow and pulled ingredients from the refrigerator.
Onion. Carrot. Beef tenderloin. Gochujang. Miso.
‘What can I make with these?’
I held an onion in my hand.
In that instant. My senses awakened.
Moisture content. Sugar level. Fiber density.
Things that normally shouldn’t be readable. Yet I could read all of it.
‘This onion’s sweetness will increase by 1.4 times when heat is applied.’
The caramelization point is 167 degrees. Or is it 167.1 degrees?
‘…This skill is seriously broken.’
I picked up a carrot. Its beta-carotene content was higher than average. When cooked with oil, the absorption rate triples.
Beef tenderloin.
Low fat, high protein. The optimal temperature for the Maillard reaction is 140 degrees.
“Ha… This is really fun.”
Like peeling an onion. The deeper I dig, the more I see.
I arranged the ingredients I’d identified in a row.
“Hmm….”
I closed my eyes.
I began combining them in my mind.
‘What I chose was onion, gochujang, and miso.’
The sweetness of onion. The spiciness of gochujang. The umami of miso.
The ratios floated freely. They shifted depending on what I wanted, and I could see what the flavor would be like.
This was why my head felt so complicated. There were simply too many possibilities.
‘Let me try this.’
I decided on one combination ratio.
Onion 12. Gochujang 2.5. Miso 0.8 ratio.
It was the best recipe in my mind.
Mix that together. Layer the beef on top. Spread the carrot underneath.
‘This is…’
I opened my eyes.
‘A rice bowl dish?’
But it wasn’t a conventional rice bowl.
Caramelize the onions to create a sweet base, then combine gochujang and miso to build distinctly Korean umami flavors.
‘That’s two layers right there.’
Sear the beef tenderloin precisely at 140 degrees, hitting the peak of the Maillard reaction!
‘That makes three.’
Stir-fry the carrot in oil to maximize nutrient absorption, then layer everything on the rice in order?
‘Four. Or is it more than that with the synergistic effects?’
Before, I did this purely by intuition, but now I had numbers backing up my instinct.
My already fast recipe creation had just gotten even faster.
‘Let me try making it.’
Can I do it with just my head?
I picked up a knife.
Tap tap tap.
I sliced the onion and carrot.
I coated the pan with oil.
Sizzle—!
The onions sizzled across the pan. As they turned translucent, browning began.
My instinct spoke.
‘Thirty seconds here. The temperature is… perfect!’
The color shifted.
‘Now.’
I added the gochujang. I added the miso. The proportions were exact.
As I stir-fried it, the corresponding aroma rose—spicy yet sweetly savory.
I placed the beef in another pan.
Sizzle—!
140 degrees.
My instinct seized the temperature. As the surface turned golden brown, the aroma of beef burst forth.
‘Forty seconds. No, just before that. Flip it here. Twenty seconds.’
I removed it. The inside retained a rosy hue. It wasn’t undercooked. It was perfectly seared.
‘Right after.’
Thump. I placed it over the rice.
I spread the onion sauce as a base. I topped it with the beef. I arranged the sautéed carrots on the side.
I sprinkled sesame seeds.
Steam rose.
[Dish has been completed.]
‘….’
A system message appeared.
[Dish: Caramelized Onion Tenderloin Rice Bowl]
[This is an exceptional dish.]
“…Wow. This is insane.”
I quantified the inspiration that guided me and created this immediately.
Though it appeared simple, it was a dish that drew out the flavors of its ingredients to their absolute limit.
I could make something like this every day now.
‘With this skill.’
I could maintain consistent quality without trial and error.
Every single time. Wasn’t that the essence of a franchise?
Han Jae-won, who came yesterday.
‘He must have seen this.’
In the ramen and kimbap, he witnessed the pinnacle of well-crafted flavor. And that I could consistently produce it.
‘That’s why he made the proposal.’
I picked up a piece with my chopsticks.
I put it in my mouth.
“!!!!”
Even though I made it, it was delicious.
‘Should I add this to the menu?’
I deliberated for quite a while, but ultimately decided to hold off for now.
I was still overflowing with ideas I could create. I had no intention of adding anything until I’d brought all the concepts bubbling in my mind to life.
Besides, it didn’t quite fit the concept of my snack restaurant anyway.
In any case…
‘Hmm… but what about the Han Jae-won situation?’
Even as things were going smoothly, I had plenty on my mind.
That’s when it happened.
“Boss!”
Jin-woo had arrived without my noticing and was looking at me.
* * *
That guy. His eyes had been puffy since morning.
“Boss.”
“Yeah.”
He couldn’t continue speaking. His lips were pressed tightly together.
He looked like he was about to cry again.
‘That guy cried again. What is it this time?’
Wasn’t everything supposed to be finished after his parents came as audience members?
I had no idea.
“…I’ll work hard.”
Suddenly he’s talking about working hard.
This guy was always entertaining.
“Of course you’ll work hard. You’re getting paid, aren’t you?”
“Ah boss, I’m being serious!”
“If you’re serious, then turn on the kitchen stove.”
“…Yes, sir.”
With Jin-woo’s lighthearted banter, it was time to start business again.
* * *
‘Anyway…. Boss has no sense of emotion. Emotion?’
Jin-woo preparing for opening.
He grumbled, but his heart was warm. It wasn’t anything special.
The morning commute to work.
“Jin-woo.”
“Yes?”
That’s when his father called out and stopped him.
For some reason, this hadn’t happened since his father came as an audience member.
“What is it?”
“That thing over there.”
He gestured vaguely at a plastic bag while avoiding eye contact.
A plastic bag.
It seemed he had bought something from the convenience store.
“Huh? Bread and milk?”
Bread. Milk. Things Jin-woo had loved since childhood.
So that’s how he had managed to get them.
Before I could even leave.
“Yeah. You like it, don’t you?”
“…Father.”
“Eat it on the way.”
Just as I was about to say something, he avoided my gaze entirely and quietly retreated into the bedroom.
Back then, in elementary school.
What Father had always bought for me on those early mornings heading to academy.
It was all there in that bag.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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