Chapter 1: Home Sweet Home

Bustling sound resounded all over the street in People wandering all the way in New York, Queens district, New York. The fast flow of people gently glided through the hustle and bustle like a fast-forward movie. Roosevelt Avenue retains its vibrant, multicultural atmosphere. Somewhere in the lines is the faint scent of Asian cuisine in the Flushing area. New York at this time is like a clumsy girl radiating a haughty yet familiar aura. A few people with glittering, lavish clothes quickly turn into a restaurant with European-style architecture that glimpses a bit of Mediterranean culture but still retains a bit of New York's distinctive identity. York. The neon black sign 'Home Sweet Home' had just lit up when a steady stream of people began to flock inside the restaurant. Glossy faces, rich in the scent of Chanel perfume, subtly with expensive, silken clothes.

Home Sweet Home is one of the most famous restaurants in Queens, of course only here, how can it compete with the luxury of Manhattan. But it is also one of the few restaurants to receive two Michelin stars. Anyway, Home Sweet Home does not need that sparkle, but it is still known by many people as a reliable address to satisfy the vanity that rises to the tip of the tongue by infatuating the senses. Home Sweet Home was created by Macken Manson - a chef with a face like an executioner. Macken is a novice among thousands of culinary masters in New York, but within three years of opening the store, he was able to collect two Michelin gold stars, which is enough for Macken and Home Sweet Home. become a legend, a miracle of the culinary world.

And to create a successful Home Sweet Home like today, more or less, Macken had to rely on his own strength and his daughter with his natural talent - Katherine Manson. Perhaps the blood of passion for food has been deeply ingrained in the Manson family - a family with a cultural tradition associated with the kitchen and of course when staying long enough in a stuffy space filled with spices, the personality of they are not gentle at all. First of all, Macken's face is as deep as a steak that is overheated. Although he rarely shouted, he rarely got angry with others, but no one dared to approach him, especially when he went to the kitchen to help everyone. But the scariest thing in Home Sweet Home is not from Macken's gloomy face but from Katherine - the youngest female chef among chefs in Queens. Katherine is known for her concave attitude and her own authoritarianism when she is in the kitchen. The staff here all feel scared every time the sound of pots and pans sounds along with Katherine's voice that drowns out the noise. As usual, today too, Katherine stood in the middle of the kitchen island, her face full of murderous intent but still unable to hide her deadly charm. Katherine has beautiful emerald green eyes and dark brown hair like a sandy beach at night. Her small lips still rose a little honey at the corners of her lips from the signature sauce of Home Sweet Home restaurant that she made just now. Katherine's chest rose and fell with each breath, with Katherine's swaggering, slightly absent-minded posture that made everyone seem to be completely focused on her every move. Katherine glanced at the energetic cooks opposite her. Katherine said softly, "We all know what day it is, don't we?"

Kenny - male kitchen assistant - Katherine's assistant, although he considers himself a Sous Chef, the workload that Katherine gives him makes him like a victim of the typical oppressive labor culture. image of capitalist land. In Paradise New York - where every American dream will come true, perhaps Kenny is immersed in the sweetest nightmare of his life. Kenny is as usual the loudest guy in the Home Sweet Home kitchen. Since no one was strong enough to withstand Katherine's overwhelming oppression, he said: “The day will come when the Michelin food racer will come. Do we know who that person is, Chef?”

Kenny's question was enough to turn the attention of everyone around to Katherine, which made her a little uncomfortable. She felt like she was being scrutinized. As a conditioned defensive reaction, she replied in her own harsh, thorny tone: "We don't know and we don't need to know. As it has been since then, so it will be today. I hate those freaks, just like vultures.”

The space of the kitchen suddenly settled down quickly. Behind the kitchen island is a row of shelves containing glossy pans, pots and pans and sandwiched between them are kitchen assistants, old, young, small, big... trying their best to keep their cool so that they can have a good day. excitedly working before Katherine destroys their remaining positive emotions. Home Sweet Home is famous for its culinary art works full of love and wonderful family-like aftertaste for diners, but hidden behind that beauty is a haunted, hellish kitchen. Especially on important days like this, when more than two months ago, quite a few lobbies reached Macken's ears that a food critic would once again visit his restaurant to evaluate. . And of course, everything would be very normal if the food critic was not a person from Michelin. The scariest thing about a restaurant getting a Michelin gold star is when they get a second star. The anxiety of trying to get the third star and most dangerous of all, losing the second star will turn restaurant owners or chefs into a real maniac, murderer. . More than anyone, Katherine knew that, she didn't want Macken to disappoint, much less wanted her smoky, greasy masterpieces to be turned into cheap jokes during the chatter of other district chefs. Queens.

For a brief moment, everyone noticed the confusion in Katherine's eyes. She pretended to look towards the lights that seemed to have been tinged with kitchen smoke along with the familiar herbal flavor she used to use. Katherine needs to calm down right now, just a little space, a small amount of time for her to rearrange the thousands of words that are overlapping in her head. Katherine is extremely stressed out today because she just got the news late yesterday. The people at Michelin know how to put people in a passive position. Katherine doesn't want to spread negative energy to the other kitchen helpers at this time. Suddenly, a figure appeared with a calm face so familiar that it was scary: "You have to put all your energy into today's story. What do you think if we get a third Michelin gold star?”