The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 17

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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 17. Cooking Competition (2)
“Now, let’s begin the evaluation.”
The judges moved toward the prepared platform.
The scoring method was simple.
The judges would go taste each dish and award points.
Low totals meant elimination, high totals meant passing.
Bang Owner moved at a leisurely pace.
“Oh my, it’s been a while, boss.”
“Huh? Jang Owner! You’re competing too?”
Jang Owner—the sushi restaurant owner whose shop was near Bang Owner’s place.
“Yes, hehe. Business has been slow lately, so I thought I’d come out and get some publicity.”
“Sigh. Times are tough these days.”
It seemed he’d come because business wasn’t doing well.
The Eatery District hadn’t been as bustling as it used to be recently.
Perhaps it was because he was a judge.
Jang Owner was warmer than usual.
“So, I see it’s Japanese cuisine?”
“Yes. Aren’t we both in the Japanese cooking business, boss? That’s why I went with Japanese cuisine.”
“Haha. That’s right. Both Japanese cuisine!”
Normally, Bang Owner would have loudly objected that a ramen restaurant wasn’t a Japanese ‘cuisine’ establishment.
“Please, do try it.”
“Of course. Let me have a taste.”
Now all his attention was focused on Bang Owner’s reaction.
“Hmm….”
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
‘It’s salty.’
Bang Owner frowned inwardly.
But he didn’t let it show.
“Oh wow. This is delicious. Really delicious!”
“Haha. I’m relieved.”
Actually judging fairly here was something only amateurs would do.
‘This is just a local cooking competition anyway, right? We all came out to help each other, so I should just let it slide.’
These were faces he’d see every day.
There was no need to be harsh.
“So what score would….”
“Ah, how do I even say that.”
“Yeah. It’s awkward to say directly.”
“Right. But if someone asks what score I gave, I’d probably say a perfect score, you know?”
“Haha. Perfect score. Haha. That’s right. Yes, yes.”
The result was 100 points. A perfect score.
Similar incidents unfolded throughout the venue.
‘Let’s keep it reasonable.’
‘We’ll let them pass the preliminaries easily anyway. The real competition happens in the finals, so why should I take the heat for it?’
What they called “under-the-table dealings” had taken place.
Particularly, the shop owners representing local residents handed out scores with blatant generosity.
It was difficult for anyone to call them out on it.
The scores weren’t even visible to the public anyway.
Everyone received reasonable scores, and many placed value simply on participating.
As the judging proceeded so smoothly,
‘Now it’s here.’
Bang Owner faced a serious judging station.
It was where the Food Truck Zone participants were.
‘They applied together, so they’re consecutive numbers. Let’s see how well they actually did.’
Bang Owner wiped the smile from his face here.
The other owners did the same.
They approached the judging with serious expressions.
‘This one fails. This one’s a bit ambiguous? Ah, let’s mark it as a fail. The judging needs to be fair. Come to think of it, I’ve been handing out scores too generously, so I need to balance out the average, don’t I?’
It was hardly a fair method.
Then they arrived at the moment they’d been waiting for.
“Hmm. Doesn’t even greet us…?”
“I think they did it with a glance earlier, so I let it slide. Let me greet you. Hello?”
“Tsk. Not a single word anyway.”
“Let’s taste it first.”
“That’s what I was about to do…”
Participant Kim Seon-woo.
It was the owner of a food truck operating under the peculiar name [Ramen Kase].
‘How infuriating.’
You’re definitely getting zero points. Zero!
Before even tasting it, Bang Owner’s mood had already soured, and he took a bite.
Gulp—
The moment he swallowed, Bang Owner’s eyes widened.
* * *
‘Why… why is this delicious?’
He’d been looking for something to criticize.
But it went down smoothly.
Kimchi stew with its spicy, pungent aroma.
Delicious. The seasoning seems mild, yet somehow it’s stimulating.
Just as the craving from this stimulation grows—!
‘!!!’
The crisp texture of seasoned bean sprouts cleanses the palate.
The texture—the chewing sensation—was entirely new.
It wasn’t merely about the pleasure of chewing.
‘It’s savory. So savory.’
The oil mixed into the seasoned bean sprouts.
The sesame oil’s flavor was somehow different. Deep and richly savory.
‘Where on earth did this come from?’
Proper sesame oil—even Bang Owner knew how difficult it was to source.
This alone told me everything about the other dishes.
Crunch. Crunch.
The other vegetable side dishes had seasoning that was perfectly, exquisitely balanced.
Just when I thought I might feel a hint of dissatisfaction here,
something else would come charging in.
A single bite of the rolled omelet was a knockout.
The carrot inside crunched between my teeth—I wondered if it was undercooked—but the deep sweetness infused throughout told a different story.
I thought I might stop here, but there was still one more dish left.
‘That’s… boiled pork wraps…!’
Boiled pork wraps, no less!
And they were coated in a vibrant red sauce.
Some might question why boiled pork wraps counted as home cooking,
but at Bang Owner’s age, one knew.
That boiled pork wraps were indeed a home-cooked dish.
Unlike grilled pork belly, which was simple to prepare, these wraps required genuine care and effort—far more difficult than one might think.
Simply boiling them left a strong fishy smell.
Trying to mask that smell by mixing in various ingredients only hindered the flavor rather than enhancing it.
It was a dish that demanded considerable time.
‘They’re making this in a competition?’
Properly made, it was far more challenging than it appeared.
With time already stretched thin preparing the other dishes, and now boiled pork wraps on top of it…
They might not have even masked the fishy smell.
It seemed they’d tried to hide it under the sauce, but anyone with a sensitive palate would catch that odor immediately.
‘Poor menu choice. They’ve fallen into their own trap. Heh heh.’
This was a mistake.
Bang Owner thought this as he picked up a piece of boiled pork wrap with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth.
!!!!
In that instant!
A massive wave of flavor crashed over him, enough to make him forget every taste that came before.
‘…This… this… is insane?’
The spicy sauce arrived first, striking his palate hard.
As saliva pooled in his mouth and his face began to flush red, the meat came surging in moments later.
Though not boiled for an excessively long time, the meat crumbled and dissolved across his tongue, washing away the heat.
The meat’s distinctive flavor harmonized with the seasoning in an instant.
The taste and aroma doubled!
‘Wow…!’
Bang Owner couldn’t help but let out an involuntary groan as the flavors completed themselves on his palate.
This wasn’t a cooking mistake—it was a knockout blow.
A proper hit that lands with full force!
How am I supposed to resist this?
Gulp—gulp—
Bang Owner forgot the situation entirely and unconsciously devoured all the remaining sample dishes.
“Mmph….”
I have to admit it. This is delicious.
I’d want to eat more if there was more!
If the amount prepared for sampling had been any larger, I would have eaten until my stomach burst.
‘…This deserves a score….’
Bang Owner began writing down the score as if entranced by the food.
First came a 1.
Next was a 0.
Now just one more 0 to complete 100 points.
As Bang Owner brought his pen toward that final 0,
“!!!!”
Wait, hold on.
He shook his head, thinking this wouldn’t do.
* * *
‘I need to get my head straight!’
I can’t give a perfect score.
‘How did I even get here?’
I made every effort to secure a seat as a judge.
I groveled before the local power brokers.
I schemed my way to the city office.
Didn’t local merchants need to be looked after for regional coexistence?
I barely created this position using such absurd justifications.
The strategy I devised upon securing the judge’s seat was simple.
‘Just keep them from advancing to the finals.’
Unlike the preliminaries where judges hold sway,
the finals have quite high participation scores from the general public. They sample the dishes and vote based on what they taste.
So to block them, I had to stop them at the preliminaries.
That’s how I planned it from the beginning.
‘You’re getting a 10.’
Bang Owner stopped drawing the 0 and put down his pen.
Fortunately, the others seemed similar.
“….”
“….”
The other owners whose eyes met his nodded, watching him intently.
They showed the seriousness of executing the plan as intended.
‘Perfect…!’
This was the end of it.
If I give out scores this stingily, what can anyone do about it?
There’s no way around it.
‘This feels so refreshing, truly.’
Bang Owner felt as though a decade-old case of indigestion had finally cleared.
Even during the scoring period, the atmosphere unfolded exactly as he desired.
The results were beginning to emerge.
“Just as expected!”
“Hmm….”
The plan was working perfectly.
Bang Owner and the other owners who had given stingy scores.
Those people seemed unlikely to pass.
No matter how many points Jang On-gyu and the other judges gave, these three would drag down the average, making it impossible.
‘It’s over…!’
From the finals onward, nothing mattered anymore.
‘The ones who should fail will just fail.’
As far as Bang Owner was concerned, everything had fallen into place.
Yet for some reason, the atmosphere among the remaining judges wasn’t good.
“Hmm….”
Especially Jang On-gyu, who sat at the center, was openly frowning.
He was someone the Market Owner had brought with great difficulty.
With him acting like that, it was hard not to pay attention.
‘Why is he acting like that?’
Was he anxious?
Bang Owner forgot about the signature he’d just received moments ago and glared at Jang On-gyu.
Instinctively, it felt like something was about to happen.
“Organizer. Don’t you think the number of passers is too small?”
“Well… there are 18 people total, aren’t there? For a regional festival, that’s… not too few.”
No, 18 is enough. What’s he complaining about?
Even ordinary people would struggle to taste all 18 dishes from the passers.
Whether Jang On-gyu knew Bang Owner’s thoughts or not.
He spoke firmly. That no matter how he looked at it, there should be more.
“No. I still think there should be a few more people.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Looking at it, there are some people who are too good to pass up.”
It’s almost a shame to waste it.
‘But what else can I do? If resources are limited, I work with what I have.’
What more could I possibly do here?
Show my face at the local festival as a figurehead.
Build up some goodwill and leave—isn’t that a win-win for everyone?
So I should stop here!
“So here’s the thing….”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Jang On-gyu dropped a bombshell without a moment’s hesitation.

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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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