The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 114

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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 114. The Broadcast Begins
“That’s quite a fresh reaction!”
Jang Han-su pretended to be flustered as he received it.
Then Lee Sae-rom amplified her enthusiasm.
“Oh, I love that! That stoic demeanor! It’s genuine, totally genuine!”
“Exactly! I keep telling you he’s always surprising us?”
Behind them, Jin-woo had his hand clamped over his mouth.
His shoulders were trembling.
He was laughing, no question about it.
‘But I’m being serious here.’
Why was everyone making such a fuss over this?
That’s when it happened.
“Oh, have we already started?”
Han Jae-won arrived last.
He wasn’t in formal wear—just a knit sweater and coat, casual attire. Yet his gait was anything but casual. There was an unmistakable authority to it.
‘It’s really something, isn’t it.’
When he enters, everything seems to revolve around Han Jae-won.
That’s what fascinated me.
He exchanged brief greetings with the staff and slowly made a full circuit around the production line.
“Hmm….”
He said nothing.
But his gaze was busy. Line layout, equipment spacing, worker flow patterns. He was taking it all in.
He paused in front of the conveyor belt, then looked toward the Packaging Line. He stopped there again.
‘He must be inspecting the factory.’
What he’s seeing isn’t cooking like what I see.
It’s definitely the factory structure.
He’s looking at it with fresh eyes.
‘A different perspective than mine.’
I felt it when Han Jae-won brought up distribution earlier.
There’s a world where cooking skill alone isn’t enough.
That’s probably what he’s observing right now.
It’s part of the food business, if nothing else.
‘This is interesting.’
The factory was gradually filling with people.
Park Min-soo came rushing over.
“You said rehearsal is finished! We start in five minutes! Everyone, take your positions!”
The lights came on. Red indicators illuminated on the cameras.
The factory had become a studio.
Jin-woo came to my side. He already had his apron on.
“Boss. I’m ready.”
“All right.”
It was about to start.
* * *
Did they come rushing in the moment they heard we’d begun?
Just then, two black sedans pulled in through the entrance.
‘There they are. They deliberately dragged their feet and showed up late.’
It was unmistakably the Jang On-gyu faction.
The first to step out of the cars were two factory staff members and Oh Tae-sik.
Oh Tae-sik was carrying a thick document folder.
He walked toward the filming crew.
“Oh. Is this the thing?”
“Yes.”
He handed a document envelope to a staff member under PD Ga.
“These are materials related to today’s shoot. We’ve organized everything—cost structure, process unit pricing, setup expenses. But you understand, right? This is confidential.”
“Of course. We know.”
“We’re providing special cooperation for the broadcast.”
“I’ll make sure to film it well.”
His tone was smooth. His face wore a smile.
He looked like a genuinely conscientious manager.
‘He clearly pulled some tricks here.’
He’s remarkably good at deception.
‘Impressive, really.’
If packaging lies as truth is a talent, then it’s a talent indeed.
The staff member took the envelope and left.
I caught a glimpse of it too.
The list of items written on the envelope’s surface caught my eye.
[Raw Material Unit Price / Processing Fee / Packaging Material Cost / Filming Setup Fee / Labor Cost]
There were more items than expected.
‘Filming setup fees included in the cost of goods? That’s amusing.’
Some absurd line items stood out, but now wasn’t the time to mention them.
‘Once we taste it, everything will become clear anyway.’
That’s when Jang Han-su walked over to Oh Tae-sik.
He seemed to be taking a brief break from rehearsal to greet him.
“Director Oh Tae-sik. Ah, I heard you moved recently?”
“Ha ha. How did you know?”
“Congratulations on the promotion. And it’s been a while.”
He extended his hand for a handshake. Oh Tae-sik accepted it.
Both were smiling. But there was no warmth in it.
It would have been different in the past.
Back when Jang Han-su was aligned with Jang On-gyu in the early stages of the competition, greetings like this were much warmer and lasted longer.
For now, it was strictly business. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Please give my regards to the Representative.”
“I will.”
That was the end of it. Jang Han-su turned away.
Oh Tae-sik’s expression hardened ever so slightly.
Jang Han-su left him behind and approached me.
“Kim Seon-woo. Is this tour schedule alright with you?”
He showed me a cue sheet. The factory tour route was marked out on it.
[Seonwoo → Judges → Tasting]
My name was at the very front.
“That’s fine.”
“Then I’ll conduct the tour. I’ll guide you smoothly through everything, so just follow along comfortably.”
It was natural. I could sense that Jang Han-su was structuring the route around me.
Precisely—around me, not Oh Tae-sik.
‘Things have definitely changed.’
Before and after that meal at the restaurant—it was different.
Or perhaps things had already been shifting before that.
The meal just confirmed it.
‘Well, I’m grateful for it.’
* * *
“Alright then, let’s begin properly!”
Jang Han-su grabbed the microphone. Three cameras turned toward him, their red lights blazing.
“We’ve come here today to witness the production of Song Seo-gwang flounder!”
“Wow!”
“You all know, right? All the profits from the Song Seo-gwang flounder made here are donated!”
“Really?”
“Of course. Just like when Saerom donated, it really happens.”
“…Tsk.”
“What’s wrong? Surely you’re not still bothered by what happened back then….”
“No way! It was a good deed!”
As expected, Jang Han-su and I opened with the introduction together.
The opening we’d created that way.
After that, Jang Han-su began moving deeper into the factory.
“This is the Song Seo-gwang flounder production line. Everything from raw material intake to finished product packaging happens on a single line.”
Jang Han-su’s presentation was seamless.
He walked along the conveyor belt, touching on each process.
It seemed like he’d studied beforehand. Though surely this was only the first rehearsal here.
“First, this section here is the raw material intake area. The flounder comes in here and moves to the cleaning line.”
Flounder lay on trays.
They were arranged one by one, each uniform in size.
‘The standardization is quite impressive. This is what mass production looks like.’
Direct shipments from farms usually have size variations.
Either they’ve done extensive sorting, or they’ve filtered out non-standard pieces.
Either way, it’s work that costs money.
“Next is the Frying Line.”
Oil flowed along the line.
An automatic feeder was placing flounder pieces one by one.
Sizzle—
The sound of oil repeated in a satisfying rhythm. The sound alone made it seem delicious.
But something bothered me.
‘The temperature is a bit high.’
It’s like my senses were reacting.
The subtle tremor on the oil’s surface was visible and palpable to me.
I hadn’t measured it precisely.
But it was higher than the optimal temperature my body remembered.
About three degrees higher? Probably.
‘In cooking, a three-degree difference is significant. The outside will cook too fast. The inside will be undercooked.’
Still, this is a factory line.
They might have raised it for speed.
‘I’ll remember this for now.’
I’ll know for sure once I taste it.
Meanwhile, we moved quickly through the facility.
“And finally, the Filling Line and Packaging Line where we add the filling.”
The filler was injecting the filling ingredients.
The machine was dispensing precise amounts.
‘Is the ratio correct?’
I couldn’t tell just by looking.
‘I need to taste this too. I wish I could know right now. It’s frustrating.’
Since we had to go through the entire process, I couldn’t taste it immediately. Genuinely frustrating.
We completed the circuit.
Lee Sae-rom spoke, conscious of the camera.
“There are more processes than I expected. You have to go through each one of these, right?”
“That’s correct. It’s a product that requires a lot of labor. Much more than typical cooking. As you can see, this line is the longest in the factory!”
The factory worker answered.
He seemed pleased with that response. In the distance, Oh Tae-sik was giving a thumbs up.
“Hmm….”
Sonny was zooming in on the Frying Line with her camera.
“….”
Im Ha-yun said nothing.
She hadn’t spoken a single word from beginning to end.
I just watched. All of it.
Normally, I’d say something, anything at all.
But this was quite the interesting moment.
‘They’re not saying anything, but they’re storing it all away right now. Somewhere in their minds.’
In the meantime, Jang Han-su wrapped up the tour.
We’d seen the process, so naturally, we should move to the next stage.
“Well then, shall we have a taste?”
It was time for the tasting.
* * *
“It’s ready!”
The factory staff brought out the finished product for sampling.
‘Hmm….’
It was fresh off the line, proof that it had been made here.
Steam rose from it in delicate wisps—a beautiful sight.
“Wow, you even prepared plates for us?”
“Well, since you’re going to eat it, we should prepare properly.”
“Haha. I appreciate that.”
Flounder fillet arranged on the plate.
The exterior looked crispy. The color was good too.
Steam still rose from it, fresh from the fryer.
“Oh! The visuals look great, don’t they? Don’t you think so, viewers?”
Sonny thrust the camera forward.
Lee Sae-rom picked up her chopsticks.
“Let me try a bite!”
“Please eat it deliciously for us!”
“Hehe. Do I need to be told? You know I will.”
“Of course!”
Everyone took a bite.
The sound of chewing filled the air.
Crunch—
The exterior was fine.
* * *
“Hmm….”
Lee Sae-rom stopped first.
Her expression was subtle. It wasn’t that it tasted bad.
But her face said it wasn’t the same taste as the competition.
Sonny tilted her head slightly.
“….”
She said nothing. Not because the camera was rolling.
Her expression showed she didn’t know what to say.
‘Something’s missing.’
Everyone could feel it.
The taste is there. But it’s not the same taste as back then. Definitely not.
Ha-yun alone chewed quietly.
Her expression remained unchanged. That itself was telling.
‘Let me see.’
I picked up a piece too.
A Chef from the Apocalypse Ventures into the Food Business
Author |
Heung-haeng
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260206001
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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