God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 167

"Whose army stew is more delicious? Without revealing whose it is, just taste and vote for the more delicious army stew. How about it?"

The blind test that was suddenly set up this way.

The production staff was busy selecting personnel and creating ballot boxes. I approached Kim Hui-seong and apologized first.

"I'm sorry. I've made things troublesome because of me."

"Hahaha. Not at all. Rather, I'm glad we can create an interesting scene, aren't I?"

Kim Hui-seong said with a bright smile. His eyes were sparkling, seeming to genuinely think so.

"Instead, you shouldn't give instructions, CEO Song, right? That would make the scene strange~"

"Of course."

"But we're about to start, don't you need to prepare? I don't know much about cooking, but cooking in someone else's kitchen doesn't seem comfortable. Shouldn't you be bringing ingredients needed for your secret sauce or something?"

"Secret sauce. I don't have anything that grand."

I smiled and answered.

"The ingredients used are similar. Ah, I did prepare ham and kimchi separately."

It wouldn't be possible to suddenly prepare well-fermented kimchi, and using the same garlic ham would be meaningless.

I had also bought a pack of bone broth from the supermarket while I was at it.

"I heard the owner here uses soy sauce received from the countryside. Wouldn't that taste different from commercial soy sauce?"

"I'll have to taste it and adjust the seasoning."

"Pardon? Is that possible without making it in advance?"

Kim Hui-seong asked with wide eyes. I just smiled brightly.

"You'll see. Whether it's possible or not."

Kim Hui-seong seemed to be at a loss for words. As I shrugged, one of the staff members approached to inform that preparations were complete.

"PD-nim, I think we can start now!"

"Okay~ Then let's bring in the owner. CEO Song, shall we go too?"

"Yes."

So I headed to the restaurant kitchen. I found myself humming, excited about what was about to unfold.

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Kang Ju-hyeon, the youngest writer of <Song Woo-yeon's Alley Secrets>.

What position is that of the youngest writer? It was a position where the salary was low, overtime was as common as eating, and pulling all-nighters was frequent.

It was not uncommon to miss meals due to being in charge of various odd jobs. Although Kim Hui-seong was known for taking good care of his team members, it wasn't easy for that grace to extend to a low-ranking member like Kang Ju-hyeon.

Grumble.

It was right when she was trying to ignore the vibration rumbling in her stomach while monitoring the filming.

-Whose army stew is more delicious? Without revealing whose it is, just taste and vote for the more delicious army stew. How about it?

At Song Woo-yeon's suggestion, Kang Ju-hyeon was the first to raise her hand.

"Me!"

"Ju-hyeon-ah, will you be okay? Your face will be shown."

"It's fine! Rather, it's good. I'll brag to my friends."

"You might eat something that doesn't taste good?"

"I eat anything well. I'm really not picky."

Since not many among the production staff were okay with their faces being shown on broadcast, they managed to gather about 10 people.

Kang Ju-hyeon was one of them.

"Maknae. Describe the taste in as much detail as possible."

"You have to eat deliciously. Understand?"

"Yes!"

With her seniors' advice in her ears, Kang Ju-hyeon entered the restaurant. Those who had seen each other's faces in passing gathered closely, watching each other's reactions.

Right then,

Thud.

Large pots were placed on two burners on the table.

"Enjoy your meal~"

As Song Woo-yeon greeted them with a bright smile, all the staff members bowed their heads in unison.

Seeing Song Woo-yeon up close for the first time, Kang Ju-hyeon's eyes sparkled. Seeing her in person, she looked much younger than when viewed through the monitor.

As Song Woo-yeon left to greet another table, only the two army stews remained on the table.

'Oh. So one of these is made by Chef Song Woo-yeon, and the other is made by this restaurant's owner?'

Looking at the appearance, both looked like delicious army stews. Without labels, it was truly impossible to tell which was whose.

Bubble bubble.

As time passed and the broth started to boil, the army stews began to take on a proper appearance.

After adding the ramen noodles placed on the side and letting them cook thoroughly, saliva involuntarily swallowed.

"Shall we eat then?"

"Yes. I think we can eat now."

"Let's try this one first."

They decided to try the army stew on the left first.

"Thank you for the meal~"

Everyone used ladles to serve themselves on their plates and took a bite.

Kang Ju-hyeon hastily put a piece of ham in her mouth first.

"Ah."

She could tell as soon as she took a bite.

'It's sweet.'

The sweet taste hit first, suggesting this was probably the owner's army stew.

It was certainly on the sweet side. But perhaps because Kang Ju-hyeon was used to eating out often and was accustomed to seasoning, it wasn't inedible.

'It's sweet, but isn't this about the level of most foods you buy outside these days? It's kind of like tteokbokki, which might even be good?'

It wasn't bad considering how harshly Song Woo-yeon had criticized it.

Of course, it would probably get tiring quickly. It wasn't a taste that made you want to mix it with rice. If asked to pay money to eat it, one might tilt their head a bit...

In any case, it was close to 'edible'. Generally, dishes with ham are not easily unpalatable.

"Hmm. It is sweet."

As one person at the table cautiously spoke up, everyone started to share their thoughts.

"It's okay if you just eat the ham. Because the ham itself has flavor."

"It's kind of like rabokki when you add the ramen noodles."

"It's sweet, but maybe because I like tteokbokki. It's not bad."

Everyone's reactions were somewhat ambiguous. They weren't saying it was delicious, but they seemed to agree that it was 'not bad' overall.

'Hmm~ The scene might not turn out pretty?'

Since Song Woo-yeon was in the mentor role, she needed to win overwhelmingly for the scene to work. Winning ambiguously with 6 out of 10 people wouldn't be convincing.

'I hope this doesn't get completely edited out?'

It would be a bit sad if it got completely edited out after investing this much time.

"Then shall we try the army stew on this side?"

"Yes, sounds good."

If the left army stew tasted like this, surely the right army stew would be Song Woo-yeon's recipe.

An opportunity to directly taste the cooking of the famous Chef Song Woo-yeon. Kang Ju-hyeon tried to hide her excited heart as she ladled the army stew.

And the moment she took a bite.

"...!"

Kang Ju-hyeon unknowingly widened her eyes.

'Wow....... I thought the previous army stew wasn't bad, but I was completely wrong.'

She could tell as soon as she ate it.

The savory taste spreading in her mouth. Not a shallow sweetness, but a broth filled with rich flavor that added depth to the taste.

Moreover, as that broth flavor seeped into the ham, the taste was upgraded. With the salty taste of the ham enhanced by the savory flavor, it naturally made her crave rice.

The rice that she had barely touched earlier was now quickly disappearing. It was truly a rice thief.

With the delicious broth, she found herself mixing the rice and scraping the bowl clean. The symphony of flavors bursting in her mouth even made her feel euphoric.

"Gasp."

When she came to her senses, she had already finished a whole bowl of rice. Everyone was so focused on eating that there were no particular reactions, just busy ladling the army stew with their spoons.

As her stomach filled and the army stew started to show the bottom of the pot, she finally realized.

'I should have said something while eating!'

A belated regret crossed her mind.

It wasn't just Kang Ju-hyeon. One by one, people looked at each other with sheepish expressions and started to speak.

"This is really delicious."

"Right? I'm not sure exactly why, but the broth is very rich and deep."

"The kimchi is definitely different. The kimchi in the left army stew was sweet when you ate it, but not in this one."

"I think I preferred the ham in this one too. It's like the original flavor is maximized as the broth fully permeates it?"

Everyone seemed to have felt similar to Kang Ju-hyeon.

'It's definitely different.'

Kang Ju-hyeon was greatly impressed inwardly.

She had thought that army stew tastes were all similar, but eating a well-made army stew and a poorly made one side by side showed a clear difference.

'Isn't there no army stew franchise? But if they sold this, I think I'd go eat it every day.'

She couldn't help but wonder if The Song was preparing an army stew franchise. The taste was that excellent.

As they left the restaurant at the end, it was clear without saying who everyone had voted for.

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Clap!

Im Hye-eun clapped her hands.

"Yes~! This concludes our blind test with the production staff, and now I have the final voting results in my hand."

Although Im Hye-eun was trying her best to create tension, the atmosphere wasn't very good.

'Just looking at how much army stew was eaten, the answer is obvious.'

While many tables hadn't even finished half of the army stew made by Choi Mi-seon, they had cleaned the plates of the army stew I made without leaving a single piece of ham.

Choi Mi-seon had seen all of this from the side, so she could easily predict the results.

"The voting result is...! 10 to 0, all participants chose CEO Song Woo-yeon's army stew. Let's read some of the comments they left. 'The broth is deep and delicious', 'Perfect to eat with rice', 'A taste that makes you crave more as you eat'!"

As the praises continued, I couldn't help but feel proud. I had researched this diligently, after all.

"...That's the result. Congratulations, CEO Song. Owner, you might be a bit disappointed with the result. How do you feel?"

Choi Mi-seon hesitated for a moment before answering.

"...It's disappointing, but if this is the result when eating blindfolded, what can I do?"

She's accepting it more readily than expected. Some people would be furious, insisting they couldn't accept it.

"Ah, that's right. We didn't write down the names separately."

As Im Hye-eun agreed, Choi Mi-seon added a comment.

"I wondered if the taste was really that different~ so I tried a bite of what was left at the end. It was delicious indeed."

Aha.

That's why she accepted it faster. Choi Mi-seon looked at me with a slightly deflated expression and said.

"I'll learn with a humble heart, thinking of starting over from the beginning."

"You've thought well."

I smiled gently and held Choi Mi-seon's hand.

"Since you've decided to learn, you can't back out saying it's hard, okay?"

This was the start of the first solution for <Song Woo-yeon's Alley Secrets>.