Work Text:
Kibum fiddled with the variety of cooking apparatus on the workstation in front of him. The locker room had been mayhem that morning; he was basking in the silence of the kitchen before the contestants in the locker room unleashed hell.
People were rushing around him trying to set up the kitchen for the show, lights and microphones deposited in a strategic manner.
“10 minutes to show time,” the director called.
-
The bakers filled the kitchen as soon as the doors opened. The charity celebrity round consisted of four of his group members—Changmin, Taeyeon, Amber and Soyou—all bright-eyed and hopeful.
Kibum cleared his throat. “Welcome to Key’s Kitchen. You will be given three tasks: one baking round, one technical skills round and the opportunity to make a main course dish with the ingredients provided.”
The contestants nodded, their eyes darting around trying to desperately to familiarise themselves with the things in front of them. “You have an hour. Good lu-“
A loud sound of a saucepan being dropped startled Kibum, cutting him off mid-sentence. They all turned to look at the youngest contestant sheepishly picking it up off the floor, before turning in unison to face Kibum again.
He cleared his throat again. “Anyway…Good luck! You may begin.”
With a bow from Kibum, the timer started ticking and the crowd in front of him immediately dispersed.
Kibum shot a soft smile in the direction of Commes des and Garçons before stepping off the podium to join the contestants.
-
“So what are you making?” Kibum asked peering over the man’s shoulder.
He startled, turning around to face Kibum before flashing him a gummy smile. He bowed politely before turning back to the dough he was rolling.
“I’m making cookies shaped like bunnies…my children love them,” He offered with a small but sincere smile.
“Children?” Kibum snorted.
Jinki gestured towards Kibum and the members working diligently behind him. “The members.”
He continued rolling his dough out to a near-perfect consistency—but maybe that was Kibum’s inner bias talking. He had tried his cookies many times, during sad tiring nights and sometimes on random picnics. He knew he’d do well.
“Thank you,” Kibum said with a bow. His eyes following Jinki’s strong yet soft hands. A small smirk played on Kibum’s lips at watching Jinki work.
Kibum nodded at the cameras gesturing them to follow him to the next station. ”Ahh Jonghyun-ah,” Kibum called.
Jonghyun laughed as he waved hello to the cameras. Jonghyun’s workstation was methodically organised, equipment lined up carefully, recipe scribbled onto a piece of paper with little doodles on it. Even without seeing Jonghyun standing there, Kibum could’ve guessed it belonged to him.
“So can you tell us a little bit out what you’re making today?”
“I’m making Macarons today, I learnt the recipe when I went to France with a very good friend,” Jonghyun said, flashing the MC a toothy smile.
“Flattery will not get the title of the best,” Kibum warned, fighting to keep his face neutral no matter how much he wanted to smile. “Get back to work.”
Kibum stood there watching him rush around. Jonghyun stuck to the recipe so closely, checking it once and again before and after each task he performed.
“So will there be a Tequila-flavoured Macaron?” Kibum asked, picking up the bottle hidden behind the flour.
Jonghyun let out a scandalised gasp, he snatched the bottle back and shoved it into the pocket of his apron. “Hey! Cooking is stressful!”
Kibum giggled to himself, Jonghyun was always a joy to watch in the kitchen. He was an organised disaster. He smiled to himself, shooting a mock salute in a flustered Jonghyun’s direction.
Kibum was so distracted with watching Jonghyun and Jinki work that he almost didn’t see Minho rushing around behind him. He briefly felt the breeze of cool air he produces when he does, well, anything. Kibum watched in amusement. Minho had chocolate smudged on his cheek and brows furrowed in deep concentration. If the MC tried hard enough he could see Minho’s brain double checking everything he had done.
“Ah! Minho!” Kibum called, his lips unturned in a smirk. “I see you’re going… fast...” He trailed off as he eyed the bruise that was forming on Minho’s hands from whisking. Kibum held up the mixing bowl, taking a gentle sniff of the chocolaty mixture inside. “So what are you making?”
“Chocolate truffles,” Minho answered without missing a beat. Kibum was surprised at Minho’s confidence considering his lack of experience in the kitchen, something told him that Minho had called upon Changmin to coach him before the show started. The recipe covered in melted chocolate was written in a handwriting suspiciously similar to the older boy’s.
Kibum smiled, dodging Minho’s ever moving body. “Interesting choice.”
Minho smiled brightly over his shoulder. “Thank you! I will work hard.”
There was no doubt in Kibum’s mind that he would. He knew the competition was going to be a tough one.
“Good luck,” Kibum said, before bidding a quick goodbye and heading in the direction of Taemin’s workstation.
Getting to Taemin’s workstation was their next challenge. Kibum had been around Minho enough to know exactly how to dodge him but his camera crew struggled, both sides politely bowing to let the other move passed and somehow ending up colliding regardless. In the end, Kibum decided that he would have to push the camera crew past the overly polite Minho or they would spend the entire day fawning over the way he cooked like he was on a Cooking Mama time challenge.
“Taemi-” The rest of the sentence was knocked out of him with a soft collision between him and the youngest.
“Key Hyung!” Taemin greeted, climbing out of the cupboard he had managed to partially climb into. It was obvious he had misplaced something, either that or he enjoyed cupboards a lot. That wouldn’t surprise Kibum. The youngest was easily fascinated.
Kibum cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses on his face before speaking again. “So, other than a complete mess, what are you making today?”
“I’m glad you asked. Well, I’m making cupcakes!”
“I didn’t know you could bake?” Kibum looked skeptically at the mixture in the cute little cases. He even had baby blue ones with little footballs on them to impress his sporty Hyung.
“I learnt by watching the best person in the kitchen…” Taemin trailed off, his eyes wide in amazement and part fondness.
“Aw, that’s so sweet Taem!”
“Oh. Not you. I meant Jinki Hyung, but you’re pretty good too.” The youngest said with a shrug.
Kibum rolled his eyes, brushing the cocoa powder and lord knows what else off Taemin’s shoulder. His workstation radiated more disarray than Jonghyun and Minho’s combined. The MC had no more than a supportive thumbs up and tight smile to offer him. This was going to entertaining—potentially disastrous but entertaining nonetheless.
Kibum turned back to the camera. “Moving on..” He mumbled, gesturing towards the team set to cook next. ‘You’ll do well,’ Kibum mouthed before shaking some of the tension out of his shoulders.
The big clock above the heads of his team members continued to tick, and the pressure mounted in the kitchen, all of his members except Jinki were rushing around their workstations like headless chickens. Jinki was tidying his work counter: his cookies had been made in ample time and placed in to bake, and the soft smell of vanilla, caramel and chocolate filled the whole room. Kibum was proud of their leader, making a talent out a comfort hobby. ‘An actual old man’, Kibum thought to himself as his tried to hide the small smile playing on his lips.
Jonghyun lined up the food colouring and bottles of flavouring in front of 4 bowls, two of which had belonged to Minho. The Macarons were setting as Jonghyun started on making the first frosting. A sweet and soft strawberry flavour that both him and Kibum loved so much, green matcha for Jinki, chocolate for Taemin and an oddly tart but sweet peach one for Minho. Jonghyun smiled to himself as he took a congratulatory shot of tequila.
-
"2 minutes remaining!" Kibum's voice boomed.
Minho and Taemin ran around their work stations like headless chickens, trying to finish plating up their baked goods whilst Jinki and Jonghyun calmly approached the judge's table to plate up their food.
The last 2 minutes passed quicker than the whole hour had done. Minho was the third person to make it to the bench, barely avoiding tripping over himself. Taemin walked up to the bench last, calmer and brighter than Kibum had expected. It filled him with fear.
"Can the remaining for contestants please join me for the taste test?"
Changmin, Taeyeon, Amber and Soyou all quietly came and stood beside Kibum. Their eyes examined the treats in front of them before Taeyeon decided that they would start with the cookies that Jinki very carefully baked and decorated.
"The challenge was to bake 24 servings of baked treats of your choice....why are there 25 here?" Changmin asked, eyebrow cocked. The most logical explanation was that Jinki probably had made too much cookie dough and had decided to bake them all.
Jinki beamed at the judges "I usually make 5 cookies for each member, so I made 5 of each cookie type."
Taeyeon's eyes widened. "You baked 5 different types of cookies in an hour?!?!"
An appreciative hum echoed from behind the judge's table. They all reached for the cookies in front of them, breaking each of the 5 kinds into small bite sized chunks.
"These are fantastic!" Kibum smiled, a slight spring in his step at the familiar taste.
"Mhmm. 5 different kinds of cookies in an hour, baked to perfection. Well done!" Changmin said, offering Jinki a bright smile.
A compliment from the chef apprentice felt good.The smiles on their faces meant more to Jinki though.
“These are fantastic. Thank you, you may return to your workstation.”
Jinki nodded at the judges, shooting them a blindingly bright smile before leaving the stage.
“Next!”
A bubbly and buzzing Jonghyun bounded up the stairs to the stage with a really pretty platter of Macaron. An array of flavours and aromas from plate had already managed to impress the judges, a soft hum of intrigue sweeping the judge’s table.
“These were made using a French recipe, I usually make them with Kibum. Hopefully these will be just as good,” Jonghyun said as he slid the silver platter onto the table.
Taeyeon was the first one to reach for the pink Macaron, she took a bite and the sweet outer shell crumbled perfectly, melting in her mouth. “Mhmm, Jonghyun-ssi!”
Jonghyun smiled at the compliment, cocking his head to the side like he was a puppy wanting a congratulatory head pat.
“You’ve mastered the technique very well,” Changmin nodded, picking up yet another Macaron. “Well done Jonghyun-ah.”
Kibum fought the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he didn’t want to show any biases but he couldn’t help the swell of pride in his chest at Jonghyun not only mastering his recipe but improving on it. Despite his nerves earlier, the other man had done very well.
“These are my favourite,” Amber mumbled around a bite.
“Hey!” Minho yelled from behind his work station, pout evident in his voice. Jonghyun suppressed the urge to turn around and stick his tongue out at Minho.
Taeyeon giggled at the younger girl, bumping her shoulder against hers. “Don’t worry Minho-ssi, you will get a chance to wow us too.”
Kibum stifled the giggle bubbling in his chest at Minho’s whining. He cleared his throat, raising the mic to his mouth again. “Thank you Jonghyun-ssi, and well done! You may return to your work station.”
"Ah Minho-ssi, you're up next," Changmin announced, gesturing to the judges table.
The second youngest member hopped up the stairs with prized truffles on a silver platter balanced perfectly in his hand. He slid the plate onto the table with an air of confidence and a small lopsided smile.
Each one of the 24 truffles was perfectly crafted. It was also obvious by looking at the last 5 that Minho had rushed to plate them up. Timing had always been Minho’s biggest pitfall, Kibum noted, remembering all the times he had either undercooked or overcooked food.
Kibum pushed his glasses further up his nose bridge. “Tell us about your dish,” He prompted, surveying the silver platter in front of him.
“I learnt to make this after I saw Changmin Hyung cook, I made them for Jinki Hyung and he loved them so much so I kept making them,” Minho said. A firm head nod followed his story.
Taeyeon let out a quiet ‘awwww’ under her breath. Minho’s eyes sparkled under the spotlight with pride, each compliment felt like another goal scored.
Changmin and Kibum halved the chocolate truffle. “I love the original twist on the classic recipe, Minho-yah,” Changmin mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate.
“I am impressed,” Amber added.
“Twist?”
“The melted chocolate centre? It is such a subtle change and I love it,” Changmin said, picking up on of the white chocolate truffles that hadn’t quite set yet.
Minho smiled, his right hand absentmindedly rubbing at the back of his neck. “Ahh, right. I didn’t think you’d notice that…”
Kibum smirked at Minho. The taller boy had a habit for making the best out of any situation. He was a true pillar of strength and optimist, taking on every new challenge with a pep in his step.
“The consistency of the truffle is really good, the technique used to make them is a difficult one to master. Well done.” Kibum subtly avoided drawing attention to the fluke that had become shining point of the truffles. Only Choi Minho could mess up his cooking timings and still create something great.
Kibum wordlessly gestured towards Minho’s workstation. Minho nodded, bowing before turning on his heels and walking back.
“And finally, Taemin,” Kibum announced, joining the other judges in applauding for the youngest.
Taemin smiled at them from afar. He fumbled with the cupcakes, trying desperately to get them to fit onto the silver platter. Taemin may have underestimated how much cakes rose in the oven.
Jinki picked up the spare silver platter on his workstation. “Here,” Jinki offered, hopping off his seat. The leader neatly placed the cupcakes evenly between both platters. “I’ll help you carry them.”
Taemin nodded, wordlessly following his Hyung to the judges’ table. The maknae bowed to Jinki as the eldest placed the tray down.
“These are some big cupcakes, Taemin,” Taeyeon giggled, eyeing up the cupcakes that had risen over their cases.
Taemin pushed the two trays closer to the judges. “It’s about quality not quantity.”
Changmin picked up one of the cupcakes, surveying it carefully before taking a big bite. The other judges stared at him but Changmin’s face was void of expression. Taeyeon and Amber followed suit, splitting a cupcake in half and taking a piece each.
“Wow…” Taeyeon muttered.
“....I know,” Changmin added.
Kibum looked between the three of them, still weighing up whether he needed to actually taste test the maknae’s food. Surely somebody would say if they were good or bad.
“Kibum, try a bit,” Changmin offered half of the cupcake to him.
The MC took a tentative bite. He then took another and then another one. “This is really good?” Kibum looked over at Taemin, bemused that he had managed to bake an atrocious looking batch of cupcakes that tasted ...decent.
“I didn’t know you could bake?”
“A true magician never reveals their... uh...”
“Tricks,” Kibum finished the sentence for him.
“Tricks!” Taemin parroted, followed by an affirmative nod.
Taeyeon shot the maknae a big smile and thumbs up. “Well done Taemin-ah,” She yelled.
“I already knew you would do well,” Kibum began, “Our Taeminnie is always impressing us, of course he’s good. He’s got the best teachers and I-”
Changmin raised a perfectly arched brow. “This is supposed to be unbiased.”
“It is unbiased. We all agree that these cupcakes are good and possibly the best ones we’ve tasted thus far.”
A groan swept through the other contestants. Jinki, however, just beamed at Kibum.
Kibum cleared his throat. “Thank you. Please take a seat backstage whilst we decide the scores and prepare your workstations for the next challenge.”
-
“Taemin, what are you doing?” Minho whined at the youngest. Taemin just shrugged. He continued to poke at Jinki’s cheek as the leader sat there with a book in his lap.
“It’s okay,” Jinki said, tilting his head closer to Taemin.
“What do you think our technical skill will be?” Jonghyun worried.
Minho shrugged. “Knowing Kibum it could either be something simple or completely over the top...”
“Either way it’ll be fun,” Jinki added.
-
The four marched out of the waiting room, and straight to their respective work stations.
“Welcome back! We are now onto round two. Your challenge for the technical round is to make your own shortcrust pastry. You will be marked on appearance, consistency and taste of the pastry.”
“...Easy enough..” Minho muttered under his breath.
Kibum cleared his throat. “Anyway, good luck. You may begin.”
The large clock behind them began ticking, Minho and Taemin were the first to start rushing around whilst the older two just started at the ingredients on their workstations.
“Hyung ...help,” Jonghyun whispered.
Jinki smiled at Jonghyun. “Just watch what I do and do the same Jonghyun-ah.”
Jonghyun nodded, his pout forming into a small smile.
Jinki carefully added flour, butter, salt and cold milk to a bowl and Jonghyun followed him diligently. He copied his movements exactly, holding the mixing bowl under his arm like the leader did.
“How is Minho’s pastry already in the fridge?” Jonghyun said, shooting a questioning look in his direction.
Minho shrugged. “I’m just that good,” he giggled.
“I just put mine in the fridge too,” Taemin chimed in.
“Patience is key.”
“I thought Kim Kibum was Key.”
Jonghyun and Minho turned to Jinki, shooting him a glare as Taemin struggled to stifle his giggle.
“Taemin, don’t encourage him.”
Kibum rolled his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, his members never failed to entertain him.
“You have 30 minutes remaining,” Kibum announced.
“Cool,” Jonghyun muttered, sliding the tray of evenly rolled out pastry into the fridge. He was a perfectionist in the quirkiest manner. He had been the only one who had opted to make another sweet dish with the leftover pastry dough.
“Looks like Jonghyun Hyung really wants to impress the judge,” Taemin snarked, bumping his hip against Jonghyun’s.
“If you hadn’t spent 10 minutes wrestling with a mixer you could’ve also impressed the judges.”
Taemin huffed, sticking his tongue out at Jonghyun. “I put mine in the fridge before you,” he teased.
“Jinki!” Jonghyun yelled.
The leader calmly walked over to Taemin’s workstation, marching him to his own little workstation, seating Taemin on the stool he had happily been perched on earlier.
Jonghyun smirked at Taemin as he strode past him towards the fridge behind Taemin’s workstation to fetch himself another bowl of strawberries.
-
The clocked ticked on loudly as the smell of freshly baked pastry filled the studio. The four boys seemed calmer, more familiar with where everything was and more confident this time around.
“5 minutes, guys!” Changmin called.
Jinki dusted his pastry in herbs, topping it off with some oil before cutting into five equal pieces. He picked up the plate, balancing it on one hand.
“They’re simple but…” Jinki trailed off, placing the plate in front of the judges.
Kibum and Changmin cut a corner of the pastry. The leader worried at his lip as they took a bite. “The ratio of ingredients is very good, the pastry has been made well.”
“It is slightly dehydrated, but the olive oil adds texture to it,” Kibum mused.
“Well done Jinki!” Taeyeon gave him a thumbs up.
The leader bowed, thanking the judges in a small voice before jogging back to him work station.
“Ah, Jonghyun-ssi,” Taeyeon teased as the vocalist placed two plates in front of them.
Jonghyun gestured to the two plates in front of him. “Sweet and savoury tarts.”
Amber reached for the tarts on the far side. “I want the one with strawberries!”
“Me too!” Changmin exclaimed, grabbing the other strawberry tart on the plate.
“The spices used for the savoury tarts are really well balanced, you used your time really well,” Taeyeon mumbled around a mouthful of pastry.
Changmin frowned. “Did you make the sweet ones last? The bottom of the tarts is slightly soggy...”
The second oldest frowned looking at the puddle of pink strawberry juice left behind on the plate. “I suppose I didn’t drain the excess juice well.”
“But the pastry itself in made exceptionally well,” Amber interjected.
“Thank you Jonghyun, you may return to your work station.”
“Minho-ssi!” Changmin called.
“Prepare to be amazed,” Minho chuckled as he strode up to the judge’s table. He placed a plate in the centre of the table. He like Jinki had opted for a simply brushing the pastry over with some garlic butter and some basil.
Taeyeon and Changmin stuck their fork into the pastry, sharing a brief look of confusion as their forks got stuck into the pastry.
“Uh Minho….” Kibum said, eyeing the pastry. “How long did you leave this in the oven?”
“Not long! Well I mean I was supposed to get it out a couple minutes earlier but Jinki Hyung started telling me this joke an-”
“Well, you tried!” Changmin offered.
Disappointment flashed across Minho’s eyes briefly.
“So, tell me about the garlic butter. Is it your own recipe?”
“I learnt it from Kibum,” he replied, dejectedly.
“I never added basil to mine.”
“Jinki Hyung added the basil.”
“Well ...I think it was a really good attempt. Well done Minho-ssi,” Taeyeon beamed.
Minho bowed politely, picking up the plate to toss the remanments of it in the trash can by his work station.
The atmosphere suddenly became tension again, the easy-going vibe broken.
“Taemin, you’re up next.”
The maknae hesitated for a moment. His fingers drumming across the granite work counter. “Okay,” he muttered.
Taemin walked to the counter, sliding the plate onto the table and stepping back in an attempt to brace himself. The youngest had opted for something completely unconventional: a pizza with pastry as a base.
“Unusual,” Kibum noted, taking a bite out of the dish followed by another. “Taemin this is…..”
“Oh my gosh, this is really good. The pastry is made with the right consistency and it’s been cooked well!”
“Mhmm,” Amber hummed. “Did you make the tomato salsa yourself?”
“I kinda just threw things together and hoped for the best,” Taemin answered, scratching at the nape of his neck as he did.
“I think you’ve proven to have some hidden talent in this round, Taemin.”
“Of course he has! I used to make his packed lunches,” Kibum jested. “Anyway, thank you Taemin. That concludes our seemingly simple technical round.”
All four of the boys bowed, before walking off stage and into their little rest room.
Minho let out a deep sigh, slumping on to the couch into a big pile of tired limbs. Jonghyun flopped on top of him next, pulling a startled Taemin down with him.
“Jinki, they’re crushing me!” Minho whined, trying to wriggle out from under the other two. “Jinkiiiiiiii!”
The leader chuckled, patting Minho’s cheek affectionately before tackling Jonghyun into a tickle fight. Taemin could never resist a tickle fight, Jinki thought. The maknae shoved his hands underneath Jonghyun’s armpits, pulling giggles breaking into whines of compliant out of the second oldest.
“Karma,” Minho teased.
-
By the time their break had come to an end, Minho seemed to be in better spirits. He bounded in followed by Jinki, Jonghyun and Taemin.
“Welcome back to you, contestants. The final round will allow you to demonstrate your hidden skills in flavourful cooking. You have an hour and 30 minutes to make a dish of your choice using the ingredients of your choice.” Kibum paused, giving his members a reassuring smile before continuing, “Good luck, you may start.”
Jinki had started off by getting all the equipment he needed, he had very little ingredients laid on his work surface. Meanwhile, Jonghyun had more spices and herbs than Kibum could even name laid out. Himalayan salt, truffle oil, caviar and an assortment of things that Kibum had only heard of in passing.
Minho sliced some beef whilst Taemin stood staring at a paper in his hand on the opposite workstation.
“Hyung, what’s first the chicken or the egg?”
“Taeminnie we’ve discussed this before, how can there be an egg without the chick-”
“I meant in the recipe! I spilt tomato juice on it and I can’t read it anymore...”
“Oh,” Jinki chuckled. “You put the chicken in the egg first and then you put it in the coating,” The leader instructed.
“Okay! Got it!”
“Who wants garlic?” Minho yelled over the sizzling of his pan.
“Got it. Not garlic, Minho-ssi,” Jonghyun said, nudging past Minho.
“I knew that I was just… I have too much garlic I was offering some because I am nice an-”
“Suuuure,” Jonghyun teased, grabbing a clove of garlic off the countertop.
“You have 45 minutes remaining!” Kibum yelled.
The kitchen quickly went silent as Jonghyun rushed back towards his workstation. The kitchen was soon filled with little to no chatter. The metallic sounds of the pots and pans replaced
-
“5 minutes remaining! Please begin plating up your food,” Kibum announced.
Jonghyun and Minho had congregated behind Taemin’s workstation. They had already plated the food they had made, the final five minutes weren’t doing anything other than working up their nerves further. Minho arranged the chicken wings on the plate. Jonghyun stirred the sauce as Taemin added something to it.
Before they knew it the timer on the clock had rung for the final time that day.
“Jinki-ssi, please come up!” Taeyeon called.
The leader balanced four small bowls onto the plate. Each one was garnished with something a little bit different.
“I started off by making cookies I bake for the members, and I wanted to finish in the same way. Erm... well, not with cookies... but with Stirfry! I make it a lot during the winter.”
Kibum had guessed as much when he seen the pickled bean sprouts on the counter top. Kibum tried to keep a poker face, but the endearment he felt for the oldest member still shone through.
“I personally recommend the one with prawns in it,” Kibum commented. He picked up the vegetables and noodles. “This is honestly the only way we could get Taemin to eat his five-a-day.”
Jinki nodded, smiling at the fond memories of their youngest member.
Each judge tried a little bit of the four strifries, the beef one that Jonghyun liked, the prawn one that made Kibum smile, the one with chicken and extra spice in for Minho and Taemin’s, which contained some extra bite-sized vegetables cleverly doused with sauce.
“I think you have showcased a lot of skill and attention to detail today. Thank you Jinki-ssi,” Changmin said, offering a complete bow to the leader.
A course of ‘well done’ rang through the room, followed by an applause from the members and judges.
“Thank you!”
“Jonghyun-ah, up you come!” Taeyeon hollered.
Jonghyun hopped onto the stage with a confident stride, placing the plate onto the table. He waved at all the judges with both hands and an eager smile playing on his lips.
Amber looked at the plate inquisitively. “Fries and a burger?”
“Oh no, this is Kim Jonghyun’s take on fries and a burger,” Kibum defended.
Amber looked skeptical but cut herself a piece of the burger onto her fork anyway. “Oh my gosh, wow.”
Taeyeon and Changmin followed suit, their faces lighting up after one bite.
“Fries fried in truffle oil and a beef burger seasoned with himalayan salt and topped with lettuce, vegan mayonnaise and caviar,” Kibum explained without even having to take a bite.
“This is…..” Changmin started, trying to find the right words to describe the food in front of him. He had a plethora of culinary knowledge and experience but even he was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge and skill that went into Jonghyun’s food.
“I think Jonghyun deserves a round of applause for this dish alone,” Amber’s voice dripped in awe.
“Heeeeeey...” Minho whined from behind his workstation.
“Minho’s jealous that his llama twin likes me better,” Jonghyun said, sticking his tongue out at Minho.
“Don’t worry Minho-yah, you’re next.” Changmin giggled.
Jonghyun bowed to all the judges, taking his plate over to Jinki’s workstation so they could eat whilst Minho was in the hot seat.
“Mhmm, this smells great. What is it?” Kibum asked. He had rarely ever seen Minho show interest in cooking, but whatever secret talent he had in the culinary sciences was evident in the dish in front of him.
“It’s a dish I learnt how to make in Jordan. it’s called Musakhan!”
The diced chicken had been roasted and marinated in saffron and other middle eastern spices. The flat bread had been hand-made. It had been charred because the ovens weren’t built to bake flatbreads.
“I’m proud of you for attempting something new, and I’m glad it’s worked out well after the last round. Well done!” The MC genuinely seemed surprised at the execution of the ambitious dish, so much so that the judges never focused on the burnt bread.
“Thank you,” Minho bowed, heading back to join Jinki and Jonghyun.
“And finally the last dish of the day. Taeminnie!”
The maknae huffed out a relieved sigh, dropping his plate onto the table.
“Chicken wings covered in edible gold!”
“Really!?!” Kibum lifted the covering off the plate and his expression of shock faded into a frown. “Where’s the gold?”
“That’s the name of the secret spice mix. It’s called edible gold,” Taemin grinned.
“Why is it called edible gold?” Changmin asked, poking at the chicken wings.
“You’ll find out.”
“That’s vaguely threatening...”
“Welcome to our world,” Kibum shrugged. He picked up the chicken, holding it for Changmin to take a bite.
“Oh… wow. T-that is truly something.”
Kibum nodded in agreement as he chewed the bite he had taken. “Did you google the spiciest chillies in the world and just throw them into the marinade?” Kibum huffed.
“You didn’t use any of the sauce, silly!” Taemin defended, pushing the little bowl of sauce closer to the judges.
Just as Kibum dipped the chicken wing into the sauce, a light golden hue appeared on the chicken wings.
“There’s glitter in the sauce isn’t there?” Taeyeon questioned.
Taemin nodded, a big smile appearing on his face at the sight of the sparkly food.
“I was sick once and Kibummie Hyung made me sparkly congee. I found some of the glitter in the dorms so I picked it up.”
“I don’t think there’s ever been an episode this inventive before,” Kibum chuckled.
In the space of one day, they had gone from Macaron to truffle fried fries and individual bowls of stirfry. Kibum had tried time and time again to explain how much chaos existed between the five seemingly tame personalities but had never quite imagined the sheer amount of quirkiness that had been compacted into their group.
“Before we announce the winner of today’s show, I would like the members to join us on the stage. We want to hear which dish you think is the best and the reason behind why.”
Most of Jonghyun and Jinki’s food was almost gone. Only Taemin was left to try a little bit of everything. Each member diligently scribbled something onto their whiteboards before turning it around of the count of three. To nobody’s surprise the oldest two had voted for Taemin, whilst Minho had voted for Jinki.
“Me and Jinki Hyung cook a lot in the dorm. Minho doesn’t often but Taemin has never really cooked and I think he’s done really well. He’s learnt something from all of us and used it today and we’re pro-”
“Jonghyun this isn’t a Taemin fanclub meeting. We get it, you love Taemin,” Minho taunted.
“He’s jealous, your honour!” Taemin screeched, poking Minho in the ribs repeatedly.
“Hyung, he’s poking me,” Minho whined.
“Stop, we’re on TV,” Jinki chided, separating the two youngest members from each other.
Kibum cleared his throat. “You may go backstage and take a short break whilst we deliberate the results and choose the winner of the grand prize and the runner up.”
-
“Welcome back! Before we announce the winners of today’s show I would like to thank our wonderful judges for joining us today, as well as the contestants for all the hard work they’ve put in today,” Kibum applauded.
Changmin nodded, bowing in front of his panel of judges. “It’s been a pleasure.”
“We’ve had so much fun too,” Amber added.
“It was great!”
“We apologise for taking longer than usual to make our decision but it was a difficult one since everyone performed ...well, better than we expected.”
“The runner up is…”
“Jonghyun-ssi!” Taeyeon yelled, pulling the vocalist in for a hug.
“Your runner-up prize is three tickets to Greece!”
“We choose the destination specifically for you. Well done!”
“And finally to the member of the team that showed the most growth and an incredible ability to learn new skills throughout the show…” Changmin began.
“For the team member that continually surprised us…” Taeyeon continued.
“Taeminnie! Well done!” Kibum finished, handing the ‘Keycthen star’ to the youngest member.
“You’ve won a trip to Italy, a week worth of cooking classes and a beef set!” Kibum yelled over the loud cheering coming from Jinki, Jonghyun and Minho.
The judges joined in with the cheers as the confetti canons went off. They briefly started the Jonghyun and Taemin but it didn’t stop their little celebration.
“Thank you so much for joining us this week. Tune in next week to see SHINee on the judges’ panel. Good night!"