It was already Jiwoo's tasting when we got back to the venue. The scores given to the other contestants ranged from 82 points to a little shy of 90. Vivi was somewhere in the middle with a score of 86.4 points.
"It doesn't look like Nakamura would make it." Nico commented.
"The judges are not too generous with the scores, are they?" I asked, feeling my nervous and anxiety starting to build up.
"I heard the judges were previous Michelin evaluators," Nico answered. "They're expecting us to give them nothing but the best."
"It's him! The hot one! It's his turn!" Nico and I turned and saw a group of ladies pointing at the oversized screen.
"Wow, you made so many dishes!" The host commented as the camera panned to showcase all the food Jiwoo managed to make in four hours. "And the presentation is just exquisite!"
Jiwoo beamed confidently at the camera, "Thank you very much."
"Chef Jiwoo," the host began, "please take us through your dishes and the inspiration behind them."
"I am part Korean and part Filipino," Jiwoo started, his face looking very comfortable and very at ease in the camera. "But I never really got the chance to connect to my Korean roots. I guess that was why I was interested in learning their food and their culinary culture."
"Oh my god, he's so handsome," one of the girls said out loud.
"His voice is melting my panties off," I heard the other one say.
"Shut up, you two," said the last friend. "He's got me impregnated with that stare already!"
Nico laughed at what we just heard but I chose not to comment.
"But despite that, I always gravitate towards Filipino dishes. There's something about our flavors that amaze me every time I taste them. And with that, I made these. These dishes are my attempt at combining Korean and Filipino flavors."
"Wow," the host said, licking his lips afterwards. "Go on. Take us through the different dishes you've prepared."
"The judges would probably start with these three dishes here. This is somewhat my amuse-bouche. I've got here some smoked clam with caviar, a kusshi oyster with green mangoes and a drizzle of mezcal, and some dried persimmon with cheese in a doenjang tart."
"A doenjang tart?" the host asked, clearly surprised by the flavor combination. "Oyster with green mangoes and mescal? Isn't that a Mexican alcoholic drink?"
"You're boyfriend's been hiding these from us," Nico said, smiling proudly at his friend's achievement.
"Try it," Jiwoo said and the host obliged.
The screen showed the host putting the entire tart in his mouth. The cameraman seemed to have the uncanny ability to know when to zoom in because he caught the exact moment Jiwoo's mini tart hit the host's tongue.
"My goodness! Doenjang is soybean past, right? Like miso? I don't know how you made this but the flavors together with the persimmon and this cheese is out of this world!"
"Thank you," Jiwoo said, smiling proudly. "Next I guess would be namul. Koreans often have a namul dish in their meals. For my namul, I opted for this fresh lumpia with a Korean twist. I used buckwheat for the wrap and I added shiitake mushrooms, abalone, and pine nuts aside from the typical vegetables found in the traditional Filipino one. The sauce is made as a combination of peanuts and toasted sesame seeds."
The host's reaction was so over the top people around us were laughing heartily. At the same time, they were all commenting how hungry they're becoming just by looking at Jiwoo's plates.
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Absinthe
RomanceBJ, an internationally renowned financial analyst , is in perfect control of everything. His competence and skills brought him to the top of his career and success seemed to follow him everywhere. But this set up comes with a catch - he needs to h...
