Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Hong Man-gi looked at Poming.

Perhaps Poming, the source of countless strange and creative ideas, could give him some kind of clue.

But Poming was also pulling at the fur on her tiny head in frustration.

"Ugh, future! Future?! It's too difficult, Chef! Poming is an SSS-rank cooking spirit, not a prophet who can predict the future! It would actually be easier if they told us to make food that will be popular three thousand years from now!"

Seeing even Poming struggling made Hong Man-gi realize once again just how difficult this mission was.

After a long silence filled with thought,

Lee Yu-han carefully opened his mouth.

"Um, Hunter. I just remembered something my late grandmother told me a very long time ago."

"Hmm? What did she say?"

Lee Yu-han closed his eyes as though searching through an old memory, then slowly continued.

"My grandmother went through extremely difficult times during the war. She said there was so little food that they dug into the earth for tree roots and peeled bark from pine trees to make porridge. Back then, she said her only wish was something simple, warm white rice with a small dish of soy sauce. That was all."

"And my grandmother always used to tell me, 'Yu-han, the most delicious food in the world isn't expensive or fancy food. It's a warm bowl of rice when you're starving, and having someone beside you to share that rice with. That is the greatest feast in the world.'"

Hong Man-gi and Poming quietly listened to Lee Yu-han's story.

"Maybe food of the future is something like that too."

Lee Yu-han carefully continued his thoughts.

"No matter how much the world changes or how many fancy new foods appear, in the end, the flavor people will miss in their final moments, and the flavor they'll want to pass on to future generations, might be something basic and warm like that."

Lee Yu-han's words illuminated Hong Man-gi's mind like a beam of light through darkness.

'That's it. Right. Now I know what I should do!'

The story of Lee Yu-han's grandmother was like a lighthouse showing Hong Man-gi the path after he had been wandering through darkness.

His mind, which had been crushed beneath the huge and vague theme of "future," suddenly became clear.

The future was not somewhere far away.

It meant not forgetting the most precious things from the past, bringing them into the present, and passing them on to the next generation.

Perhaps that was the true meaning of the future.

"I guess there was never any need to make it so complicated...."

Hong Man-gi muttered quietly.

Lee Yu-han and Poming sighed in relief after seeing his expression.

* * *

The day of the final battle.

The studio hosting the grand final of Blue and White Cooking King was hotter and more tense than ever before.

Hundreds of lights illuminated the stage.

The audience seats were packed with people supporting the two finalists.

At the center of the stage,

two cooking stations faced each other.

At one stood Hong Man-gi, an unknown chef who had once been an F-rank Hunter, and Lee Yu-han, who had now grown into a fairly dependable assistant chef.

At the other stood Edward Kang, one of Korea's greatest French chefs, along with the elite sous-chef who followed him like a shadow.

David versus Goliath.

A battle of the century between the miracle of the underdog and the pride of the strongest.

"At last, the time for the final battle has arrived!"

Producer Gu Sang-hoon shouted in his usual passionate voice.

"Only one Cooking King will write a new page in Korean culinary history! Who will claim that honor? Chefs, please tell us your determination before the final!"

Edward Kang took the microphone first.

Instead of his former arrogance, his face was now filled with confidence and determination worthy of a true competitor.

"The future of food lies in technology and innovation. Cuisine that remains trapped only in the past will eventually disappear. Today, I will show you a future world of gastronomy built from molecular cooking and cutting-edge technology, something none of you have ever imagined. This is the future I believe in."

His confident declaration brought loud applause and cheers from the audience.

Then the microphone was handed to Hong Man-gi.

He took a breath and spoke in a calm but powerful voice.

"To me, the future means not forgetting what is most precious and passing it on to the next generation. I believe there are values that will never change, no matter how much the world changes. Today, I will show you the flavor of the future that contains the most ordinary, but also the warmest memories and comfort. This is the 'future' I want to protect."

His sincere determination drew even louder and more heartfelt applause from the audience.

The completely different cooking philosophies of the two chefs made the final even more exciting.

"Excellent! Then we will now begin the first course of the Blue and White Cooking King grand final! The theme of the first course can be called 'Inheritance'! Reinterpret a flavor passed down from the past in a modern way and create your own dish that you wish to pass on to future generations!"

At the starting signal, both teams immediately began moving.

Edward Kang's choice was dazzling.

He chose sinseollo, one of the finest dishes of traditional Korean royal cuisine.

But the sinseollo he prepared was completely different from the one people knew.

"All right. Let's begin."

Edward Kang instructed his sous-chef.

His station was filled with cutting-edge cooking equipment that looked more like a science laboratory.

A sous-vide machine, centrifuge, nitrogen gas tank, and even an espuma gun.

Instead of preparing the ingredients for sinseollo in traditional ways, he began cooking each one separately using advanced molecular cooking techniques.

The beef meatballs were cooked at low temperature for a long time to achieve extreme tenderness.

Ginkgo nuts and pine nuts were processed through a centrifuge to create concentrated oils of their flavor and aroma.

Shiitake mushrooms were transformed into an espuma foam.

The egg garnish was recreated as a thin film.

"The broth will be served cold. We'll break the fixed idea that sinseollo must be hot."

He rapidly chilled a clear broth he had prepared earlier with nitrogen gas, creating an icy broth filled with fine crystals.

In Edward Kang's hands, traditional royal sinseollo was completely dismantled and reconstructed into a Deconstructed Sinseollo that looked like a piece of abstract art.

His cooking seemed to represent the peak of technology, leaving everyone watching in admiration.

Meanwhile, Hong Man-gi's station remained quiet and calm.

His choice was the extremely ordinary and simple Pot Rice with Three Side Dishes.

Compared to Edward Kang's dazzling creation, it looked almost embarrassingly plain.

Murmurs of confusion and disappointment spread through both the audience and judging panel.

But Hong Man-gi paid no attention to their reactions and quietly focused on his cooking.

Beside him, Lee Yu-han washed the rice and prepared the greens.

"Yu-han, what do you think was the most important thing on your grandmother's table?"

Hong Man-gi asked while Lee Yu-han washed the rice.

"Hmm... sincerity, maybe? And warm rice."

"Right. The rice."

Hong Man-gi took out several small stones he had prepared in advance and placed them at the bottom of an iron pot.

They were not ordinary stones.

They were special minerals found inside the BX-0 Dungeon, carrying a faint trace of mana.

"These are mana stones I found in the dungeon. If we use them like charcoal, they'll give the rice a special vitality and warmth. What I want to pass on to future generations isn't simply delicious rice. I want to pass on the warmth and life contained inside it."

He placed the soaked rice above the mana stones, poured in exactly the right amount of water, then closed the lid.

Over a wood fire, the one and only pot of rice in the world began to cook.

While the rice cooked, Hong Man-gi prepared the three side dishes.

But those dishes were not ordinary either.

They contained the stories of the spirits he had met at Full Moon Restaurant and the feelings those spirits had left behind.

"The first side dish is 'Comforting Perilla Shiitake Salad.'"

Hong Man-gi gently blanched shiitake mushrooms, then mixed them with plenty of fragrant perilla powder and perilla oil.

"This is for Seo Ji-a, a healer who constantly blamed herself. The richness of the perilla and the softness of the mushrooms represent the warm comfort she wanted so desperately."

"The second is 'Fighting Spirit Grilled Deodeok.'"

He thinly sliced the bitter deodeok roots, seasoned them with oil and soy sauce, coated them in spicy gochujang sauce, then grilled them directly over an open flame.

A spicy fragrance filled the air.

"This is for someone who suffered after losing a junior because of his own mistake. The bitterness of deodeok represents his regret, while the spicy seasoning represents the fighting spirit he never completely lost."

"And the third is 'Devotion Bangpung-namul.'"

He mixed the slightly bitter but fragrant bangpung greens with doenjang and minced garlic.

"This is for Han Young-mi, who quietly protected her place until the very end, only to be forgotten. Just like its name means a herb that blocks the wind, I want people to remember that her noble devotion protected others."

Lee Yu-han nodded solemnly as he listened.

This was not simply a table of three side dishes.

It contained the joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and life lessons left behind by the countless spirits Hong Man-gi had met.

It was truly a meal containing stories.

Hiss, hiss.

At last, steam rose from the iron pot and the savory fragrance of freshly cooked rice spread through the studio.

Hong Man-gi allowed it to steam, then carefully opened the lid.

The rice shone beautifully.

Each grain looked plump and alive.

The rice, infused with the energy of the mana stones, gave off not only warmth but also a mysterious vitality that soothed the heart.

Hong Man-gi placed the freshly cooked rice neatly into a brass bowl.

Beside it, he arranged the three vegetable dishes and a bowl of clear bean sprout soup.

A simple but elegant meal was complete.

Edward Kang's Deconstructed Sinseollo symbolized a dazzling and technological challenge toward the future.

Hong Man-gi's Pot Rice with Three Side Dishes looked back on precious values from the past and contained a sincere wish to carry their warmth into the future.

Two completely opposite visions of the future now stood before the judges.

Which future would the judges choose?

Everyone in the studio held their breath as they waited for the result of the first-course battle.