"Manager. What is this, exactly?"

"I am sorry, madam."

A five-star hotel in Seoul, the Josan. Hong Minseok, the restaurant manager, bent quickly at the waist.

A cold sweat ran down his spine.

"Where has the texture of the layers gone, which is the most important thing in a mille-feuille? The pastry has taken up damp and the crispness is gone, and the cream is far too heavy, so all one tastes is sugar and butter. Where is one to taste the delicate flavour of the vanilla? The macaron's shell is far too hard as well, and the almond in the filling has been buried under the sweetness."

The truth, arriving without warning, delivered quietly and low, almost in a murmur.

We're finished…….

The head of the dessert section who had been working at the Signiel threw in his resignation.

The moment it heard the news, the Josan Hotel moved fast.

Julien Lefebvre, who had been a chef at Ferrandi Paris, the world-renowned school in Paris, France.

They were quick off the mark, put a great sum in his hands and took him on.

Directly afterwards they opened a French dessert festival, and an ambitious one.

A secret plan for opening a gap on the other five-star hotels, and on the Signiel, which has come up right under their noses lately.

Through the Josan Ilbo and media online and off, they hammered the advertising out on a grand scale.

They took particular pains over the publicity, engaging influencers with large followings and Yootube channels as well.

The hotel's dessert section had a hit for the first time in a long while.

But the run has not held for more than a few days and is breaking.

In a matter of days the word went right round: lumps of sugar, sweet and dear and nothing else.

The number of customers fell away sharply, as though it were a lie.

In a hurry, they invited a food critic specialising in French desserts.

A woman of Korean descent with a career behind her as a Michelin inspector.

The moment she tasted the desserts…