The Chef’s Hidden Blessings

Chapter 4: Testing (2)

Having deep knowledge about the dish and its ingredients was by far the most important quality of a chef. And in fact, Cooking Skills of the Earth was only at rank F. 

It was exciting to think that cooking more frequently will increase his rank and the information he could gain. He then thought to himself that he wished the screens would disappear, and the crowded display of screens in front of his eyes instantly went away. 

Ecstatic, he took out an egg and spring onions as he hummed. The water had just begun to boil, so he opened the pack of ramen and dumped in the noodles and seasoning.

The water had just begun to boil, so he opened the pack of ramen and dumped in the noodles and seasoning. A savory, spicy scent instantly filled the air and tickled his nostrils, and his mouth began to water. Licking his lips, he took out a cutting board and began to slice the spring onions. 

Slice! Slice! 

The pleasant sound of the knife hitting the cutting board rang in his ear. 

“But… since when have I been so good at using the knife?”

The angle to which his right hand held the knife was shockingly stable, and his left hand firmly held down the slippery spring onions as it moved along with the speed of the slicing. He had struggled with cutting in the past and cut himself many times when he first began learning how to cook. However, he was exceptionally natural and smooth right now, as if a famous chef from a TV show had possessed his body. 

“Is this… another result of the powers?” 

Who would have known that the powers had this ability as well? For the first time, he was excited to go to work tomorrow.

“The other cooks will be surprised, won’t they? I am done with playing a supportive role!” 

He happily sliced the right amount of spring onions and wrapped the rest with a paper towel before placing it back in the fridge. Soon, the noodles were almost ready. Jungdong added in the slices of spring onions and cracked in an egg. 

“The perfect ramen is incomplete without a handful of spring onions and an egg!” 

Once the egg was soft-boiled, he turned off the stove and placed the noodles into a bowl. Then, a screen popped up expectedly. 

Crispy Hot Ramen(Lv1) 

Ingredients: Ramen, spring onions, egg, water 

Ramen is the king of late-night snacks. If you sleep after consuming it, you feel like you’ll wake up with a swollen face. 

You may infuse 1 blessing. 

“Huh? Something’s different this time.” Unlike the screens of other foods in the fridge, the screen describing the ramen had a level next to it, and it also explained that 1 blessing could be infused. “Does this have a level because… I made it?”

That explained why the other foods in the fridge didn’t have a level. It seemed that higher levels meant more delicious food. There were 2 blessings Jungdong could use at this moment; one for Physical Recovery and one for Increase of Energy. 

“Well… since I am a little tired right now, let’s give Physical Recovery a try.” 

Although Jungdong was a young man, he couldn’t help but feel tired from working in a kitchen all day. As soon as he thought this, a sentence popped up in his head. He subconsciously read those words out loud while he stared at his bowl of ramen. 

“The goddess of the Earth once said, a full stomach is the best thing ever.… Huh?” Suddenly, a gentle glow emanated from the bowl before dissipating. Simultaneously, a sign announced that a blessing had been used. “Huh? What happened? Was this food blessed? Then, that phrase was the spell? Best thing ever?”

But the noodles suddenly felt holy for some reason, which made him believe that it was real. 

“Dear Ceres. How does…”

Whatever it is, I’ll find out when I eat it. 

Now famished, Jungdong grabbed a large portion of noodles with chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth. Soon, a satisfied smile spread across his face. 

“Wow, it’s so good!” 

The soup was perfectly absorbed into the al dente noodles. You could never go wrong with ramen. 

At this moment, the calories didn’t matter. Impressed, he took a sip of the soup. The flavorful aromas of the spring onions and egg were nicely blended into the spicy, savory soup. And eating some kimchi with it made him feel like he was in heaven. Lost in the explosion of flavors, he instantaneously devoured the noodles. He could hardly stop himself from wanting to eat some rice with the remaining soup. However, he gulped down the soup instead and noticed a screen pop up when he finished the meal. 

Your blessing will be used to activate the power of the gods! It’s a very small act of kindness! KP + 1

Recommendation: Show acts of kindness and miracles to others! The power of god is most meaningful when you share it with others! 

He noticed that KP had increased by 1 on the screen. 

“I see. KP goes up when I help people by blessing their food. And I get more KP if I use blessings on others.” 

That was that, but he suddenly felt a surge of energy filling up his body as he got up to do the dishes. The tiredness he felt from earlier was completely gone, and he was exploding with energy. 

“So this is the blessing from Ceres…” 

All he had was a bowl of ramen, yet he felt like he had eaten a full hearty meal. This was the true definition of a miracle. 

Because of everything that happened, Jungdong could not sleep that night. 

The next day. 

Having spent a sleepless night, Jungdong got up early in the morning to take a shower. Quietly, of course, so he didn’t wake his parents, who got in late last night.

After a refreshing shower, he opened the fridge and took some ingredients out to cook. 

“First, let’s test some things out.” 

Does the blessed food work on other people? And if so, do I get more KP points? 

He decided to prepare breakfast this morning so he could test these two aspects. 

The menu was going to be something simple; bean-paste stew using leftover ingredients from the fridge and some steamed eggs. The first thing he needed to do was prepare the ingredients. He used the kitchen knife to chop vegetables, such as zucchini and onions. 

Tap tap tap tap! 

Tup tup tup tup! 

Swift and skilled chopping skills, as expected. 

He didn’t have much experience cooking bean-paste soup, but the recipe naturally flowed into his mind. He used some dried kelp and anchovies to create broth, then gently dissolved the bean paste into the broth so that there were no chunks. For the steamed eggs, he beat some eggs and removed the chalaza before adding in some salt, then wrapped it with plastic wrap to microwave it.

Just before breakfast was swiftly prepared, Jungdong’s mother walked out of the master bedroom. 

“Oh wow. You’re up early.” 

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. Let me take care of breakfast this morning. I’m almost done, so give me a minute.” 

“That’s lovely. In fact, I was feeling a bit tired. Wow, the bean-paste stew smells amazing.” 

Since his mother said she was feeling tired, he blessed the food with Physical Recovery and Increase of Energy. 

“The goddess of the Earth… best thing ever.” 

As soon as he repeated the rather strange spell, a holy aura engulfed the bean-paste stew. And the meal was ready once he brought out the steamed eggs and set the table with cutleries. 

Once the table was fully set, Jungdong’s mother and father both happily enjoyed the bean-paste stew with some rice. 

“Maybe it’s because our son made it, but the bean-paste stew is rich and nice! Honey. Don’t you think so?” 

“Ehem. Yes… it’s not bad.” 

His father’s reaction hinted that the stew was a little too salty for his liking, but this was still a pretty good response considering how rigid of a man he was. In fact, he seemed to have liked it quite a lot, seeing that the corners of his lips curved upwards slightly. 

Now…. That screen should be… there it is! 

His parents happily enjoyed the bean-paste stew and steamed eggs. As Jungdong watched them with satisfaction, the now-familiar screen popped up in front of his eyes. 

Your blessing will be used to activate the power of the gods! It’s a very small act of kindness! KP + 4 

They are satisfied and touched by your food! KP + 2