God-Given Business Genius

I was overwhelmed by the flood of chat messages.

The number of viewers had increased unexpectedly. The text was scrolling so fast that it was difficult to read properly.

Amidst the chaos, a few messages stood out, generally along these lines:

-Looks like you’re using all the sugar you prepared kkk

-Does mojito usually have this much sugar?

-That three spoonfuls is not the three spoonfuls I’m familiar with kkk

Oh. This is strange.

I tilted my head and asked:

“Ah, is the sugar too much?”

The chat window then filled with delayed responses like ‘Yes’ and ‘It seems so’.

Suddenly, a realization hit me.

‘It seems people don’t use much sugar when cooking at home, but how would I know that?’

Both in my previous life and now, I’m in the profession of researching restaurant recipes, far removed from home cooking. Moreover, before my regression, I didn’t communicate with the public like this, so I never had the opportunity to compare the two.

I don’t know how home-cooked meals are prepared, and people don’t know how much of each ingredient goes into the food they buy outside. No wonder both sides are confused.

‘But I can’t explain all this background in detail.’

“Ah~ It might seem like a lot of sugar, but you need a good amount of sugar for it to taste better. That doesn’t mean you should make it overly sweet though. What I mean is, to achieve a taste similar to what you’d get at restaurants, you need to add a certain amount.”

Feeling like I might have appeared as someone who overuses sugar, I hastily offered an explanation.

“If you add a lot of sugar, it does make the flavor stronger. You can adjust the amount of ingredients to suit your taste. The reason I teach you with a stronger flavor base is that it’s easier for cooking beginners to achieve a good taste that way.”

Even if the ingredients aren’t properly prepared, or if there are off-flavors due to ingredients not being fresh, as long as the sauce is made in the right proportions, it won’t be noticeable.

“And you know, I’m not focused on bringing out the inherent flavors of ingredients or anything like that~ I’m trying to teach you how to make delicious food easily and simply, right?”

I set aside the mojito and prepared for the next dish. While taking out the pre-prepared ingredients, I continued:

“Your mothers will be the best at home cooking, so ask them about that. My recipes are perfectly suited for commercial use! They’re recommended for those who want the taste of food you’d buy at a restaurant. This applies not just to this recipe, but to all the dishes that follow.”

I smiled brightly at the camera.

“Originally, food can be delicious with a stronger flavor, but it’s not easy to make something tasty with a mild flavor.”

That’s why food sold in restaurants generally tends to have stronger flavors.

“Keep this in mind~ Let’s move on to the next recipe.”

I thought this explanation would help everyone understand.

“The next dish we’ll make is a simple dakbokkeum-tang (spicy braised chicken)! Many people think this is difficult, but there’s no need to worry. The ingredients you’ll need are……”

And so, I naturally transitioned to the next recipe.

Completely unaware of the aftermath that would follow this broadcast.

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[Anyone watch Song Woo-yeon on My Small Television? kkk]

(Broadcast capture of Song Woo-yeon pouring sugar)

Is that amount of sugar correct???

→kkkkkk She explained in the broadcast that it’s basically a commercial recipe, so the flavors are stronger

→Isn’t it dakbokkeum-tang? Not sugar-bokkeum?

→I watched the broadcast and she really used sugar everywhere kkkkkk She said to use sugar if there’s bitterness in anything, and to add extra sugar if it’s countryside doenjang instead of store-bought kkk There’s no place where sugar doesn’t go in

→Isn’t that too unhealthy?

→I guess the flavors in restaurant food are really strong;;

[???: Add just three spoonfuls of sugar]

(Capture of a spoon heaped with sugar like a mound of rice)

This much~

→Aren’t you supposed to level it off before adding?

→That curve that shows absolutely no intention of restraint is so funny kkkkkkk

→But I tried following that recipe and it was actually pretty goodoo The best part is being able to easily make a mojito with perilla leaves. It’s so tasty that you keep sipping, but there’s more soju than you’d expect, so it hits you quickly kk

→→Oh, sounds delicious. I should try making it too

[Ah, is the sugar too much?]

(Capture of Song Woo-yeon pouring sugar)

Endure it

→Are you crazy kkkkkkkkk

→Oddly likeable

→The recipe is tasty but I’m a bit worried about diabetes kk

→Become the Sugar Girl

[Any moms who saw Chef Song Woo-yeon from Cold Cooking appear on a new program…^^?]

It’s called My Small Television… Seems like she’s doing a new program^^

She always taught easy-to-follow recipes on Cold Cooking which I often referenced, and now it looks like she’s doing a personal cooking broadcast.

I hope it’s helpful for our members, so I’ve summarized the recipes~

Perilla Leaf Mojito

Ingredients: 1/2 lemon, several perilla leaves……

→Thank you for sharing~

→Useful tip! Recommended

→I watched it too and it was really good~ She explained that you can use sugar if you don’t have corn syrup, and that you can use coarse or fine red pepper powder interchangeably if it’s hard to distinguish them, which made it much easier!

→It seems useful for students living alone too~ I recommended it to my college daughter…… haha. I scolded her saying she’s about the same age but doesn’t know how to cook at all, and she just slammed her door and went into her room……. Sigh.

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I rested my chin on my hand, deep in thought.

“Was there really that much sugar?”

I don’t usually skimp on sugar in my recipes. No, didn’t I say it? Commercial recipes originally need stronger flavors.

Jo I-ruk nodded beside me at my words.

“It did look like more when seen on broadcast. Plus, when you explained that viewers should take the sugar amount into consideration, it actually drew more attention to it.”

“Hmm……. Should I reduce it from next time?”

But if I reduce it, it won’t have the taste I want.

If I’m aiming for a home-cooked feel, it would be right to tone down the strong flavors, but then again, as the CEO of a franchise company, it doesn’t seem quite right to emphasize home-style cooking.

As I tilted my head in thought, Jo I-ruk gathered his reports and said:

“The reaction isn’t bad. Public opinion is rather favorable. It’s created a more approachable image.”

“I’m concerned about the perception that it might be harmful to health.”

“It’s natural that eating out is less healthy than home-cooked meals.”

That’s true.

I nodded at his clear answer.

“Of course, there are some criticisms about health concerns and franchises in general, but overwhelmingly, people are just happily chatting and joking about it. It could be said that it’s actually helping to create a more relatable image for the brand.”

“Well, that’s a relief then.”

Phew.

I was worried that I might have damaged the overall brand image, but since that’s not the case, I felt relieved.

“You’ve also gained an interesting nickname.”

“A nickname?”

“Yes.”

Thwack.

Jo I-ruk placed another report on the desk. The large print was a news article headline……

「’Song Sugar’ Song Woo-yeon: “Sugar? A safeguard to prevent beginners from failing”」

The title in front of my name feels quite unfamiliar. I was usually called something like ‘Cold Cooking’s Chef Song Woo-yeon’.

Now, words like ‘Cold Cooking’ or ‘Chef’ are gone, replaced by a new nickname.

“……Song Sugar?”

This can’t be ‘sugar’ as in shooting guard. It must be the ‘sugar’ in sugar, right?

“Yes. Various nicknames like Sugar Girl, Sugar Chef, and so on were used, but it seems to have settled on ‘Song Sugar’ now.”

This is really perplexing. I never intended to create such a nickname.

Of course, before my regression, I refrained from appearing on broadcasts, so I never had any nicknames. It’s truly unexpected, and I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

“Come on, people might think I use sugar excessively. Well, I do use a lot of sugar, but! Not… that much, I don’t think.”

“That’s how ‘memes’ work, isn’t it?”

It’s true that when people keep emphasizing something small as a needle, it can grow to the size of a large club as it spreads among people.

The idiom ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’ didn’t come from nowhere.

It seems that how much sugar I actually use has become less important.

Rather, people find joy in exaggerating and reproducing the image of me using a lot of sugar, laughing about it. I understand. I do, but…… it’s not entirely pleasant, to be honest.

“Ugh.”

But I can’t suddenly sue people for defamation just because they’re joking around like this.

I could only hope it would quietly pass.

“Well, thanks to this, the viewership for My Small Television seems to be quite good. The PD is especially excited.”

“Didn’t you say Cold Cooking’s PD Kim Seol introduced you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I received a thank you message yesterday evening. And an apology too.

The sugar issue became such a hot topic that they apparently added emphasizing edits related to it. Even in the original broadcast, they zoomed in on the spoon adding sugar and added an image of pouring in a whole bag of sugar, making quite a fuss.

But stimulating viewers’ interest in this way is precisely a PD’s job. What can I say? I just have to humbly accept it.

“I should reduce the sugar from the next broadcast……”

“Haha. You can do that if you want.”

Jo I-ruk seems to be laughing it off lightly, but I’m quite serious.

Come to think of it, the sunlight outside the window is quite warm now. I could feel summer approaching.

Ah, speaking of summer, I just remembered.

“By the way. Are we still in good communication with Jihyang-eup?”

“Yes. We’ve sold the produce from last fall to existing clients, and they’ve promised to deal exclusively with us starting this year.”

“How about the number of stores?”

“The expansion is faster than expected, but we’ve secured additional suppliers, so we shouldn’t face any shortages.”

Good. Everything is going according to plan.

‘This summer is expected to see record-breaking heavy rains, causing agricultural prices to skyrocket.’

Except for one place. Jihyang-eup.

Isn’t that why I rushed there last year to sign a contract with Jihyang-eup? Even pulling out the long-term contract card.

I nodded with satisfaction, feeling that everything was going smoothly, when Jo I-ruk suddenly asked:

“Why did it have to be Jihyang-eup?”

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t get to ask at the time, but it was so sudden.”

Ah, I guess I never properly explained. I think I was busy developing the new nuclear chicken feet menu at that time.

“……Is there, something special about Jihyang-eup?”

But.

Was Jo I-ruk always the type to pry into things like this?