Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Banquet

The best gourmet of the British Empire.

In 1901 there was no term fine dining of modern times. Because that word was a word used from after the Second World War.

But from modern times the form of high-end banquets clearly existed.

The term used instead of fine dining was haute cuisine originated from France.

It was the concept of not sparing money and implementing the best taste from ingredients to atmosphere and serving.

Most haute cuisine recipes were developed through dozens of years of luxurious banquets that France's Sun King Louis XIV held at the Palace of Versailles.

Louis XIV poured national budget without sparing to make France the center of European gourmet, and very precise and complex cooking methods, combinations of original ingredients that no one has tried until now, thoughts of taking only the ultimate 1% taste and discarding the unnecessary remaining 99% of ingredients started becoming widely known in the world receiving abundant support of nobles and the state.

And that lineage reached until now and contributed to France really becoming the best cooking country, but the people couldn't continue to turn a blind eye to such endless luxury acts.

The time when there was no industrial revolution, therefore no worldwide economic development, and most of the distribution and production of ingredients depended on human hands.

At that time to implement haute cuisine recipes, it was literally the level of grinding and eating money.

Even the same cooking a bit exaggerated it was the talk that 10 times the budget that would go in in 1901 was needed.

Of course at the time of the republican revolution haute cuisine also was revolutionized together with the heads of nobles that were cut off.

Then where did all the high-end chefs who were in charge of French noble cooking culture at that time go?

Some remained in France and barely survived by transforming upper class cooking to suit middle class tastes.

One of such results was Le Cordon Bleu the French cooking school established in Paris a few years ago.

However the chefs who couldn't put down the pride of implementing the world's best taste until the end had no choice but to scatter to various countries of Europe where noble culture was still alive.

Demand was many.

The 3rd grade absolute monarchy country Russia wanted to employ French chefs to heighten the pride of the imperial court, and 2nd grade countries like Austria or Italy were the same.

German Empire's Wilhelm II also welcomed French chefs.

However the ones who wanted to spread wings more freely headed to the 1st grade country British Empire.

Because just in time sufficient capital to implement haute cuisine was prepared on this side.

Luxury hotel industry investors who wanted to decorate Britain as the world's best noble culture tourist destination brought France's highest level chefs giving large amounts of expensive employment fees.

If when French haute cuisine faltered that funds were invested in improving British cooking, now Britain might have become the world's best gourmet country.

However British nobles in the end were satisfied with reproducing French-style haute cuisine in Britain.

Upper class or gentry chose to eat sincere French cooking rather than eating shabby British cooking.

So the expression 'Britain's best gourmet' of high society, in fact was often meaning French-style haute cuisine made employing France's best chefs.

Substantially since haute cuisine collapsed in France it's not wrong words but...

Anyway this was content Mr. Doyle hurriedly ran out and explained just before I rode the carriage and went.

The appointment place being the place he said know at least this much and go in case, and it really matched. As expected Detective Holmes.

"Sir Durand, looking at your growth background I thought there wouldn't have been opportunity to properly encounter French cooking. Don't be surprised, here at Carlton Hotel past French haute cuisine that was only eaten at the Palace of Versailles is perfectly implemented. It might become good inspiration."

Haute cuisine. Would there be something for me to be surprised?

I followed Mr. Henry and tasted French cooking at other high-end restaurants in London for prior investigation a few times, but in fact French cooking I ate in my previous life suited my taste much better.

Even if cooking of the time when the prototype of haute cuisine was preserved, in modern times cooking methods considering even molecular level come out, so one couldn't ignore the development according to the times that talk.

Moreover with refrigeration storage technology the freshness of ingredients, or the quality of factory-made spices itself was completely different.

"Just in time I received contact that the head chef here developed a new recipe and course. So today's composition is also the first for me. By any chance, have you studied about 7-course meal?"

"Are you talking about things like amuse-bouche, poisson?"

"You know well. By any chance did you learn cooking from a French chef?"

"No, Chairman. I just studied by self-study."

You said you did background check on me too? Is there still more content you want to dig?

Chairman Balfour seemed to be doing ordinary chat, but occasionally threw sharp questions and tried to track my origin.

However no matter how hard he tried he absolutely couldn't grasp about me.

Especially up to the fact that most of the cooking knowledge I have is brought from modern times he absolutely couldn't know.

The gap between my actual body age and ego that occurred due to that might continue to arouse the interest of such big shots.

Of course this was a problem that would naturally be solved as time passes.

Anyway, the question the Chairman just asked was really about the classic course order.

Amuse-bouche the one-bite dish to stimulate appetite before the meal, entrée the real appetizer, poisson the fish dish composed lighter than the main, plat principal meaning the main dish, fromage the cleanup dish composed of cheese, dessert the sweet dessert that decorates the end of the meal, and mignardises provided in one-bite size like the last farewell greeting.

This is exactly the basic of French courses.

These courses sometimes increase to 11, 12, and if reduced sometimes only 3 courses are provided. Depending on the chef's tendency or philosophy they can be completely replaced with others. Sometimes pre-meal drinks are added. But the fundamental doesn't change.

Ding ding.

While waiting briefly, one serving cart quietly entered the room with a clear bell sound. Thanks to the velvet laid on the floor there was almost no presence.

The start was as expected amuse-bouche.

A dish given small so one can eat just exactly one bite, a kind of self-introduction where the chef's philosophy and creativity are condensed inside.

Usually not included in the course composition. Because it's a service concept just one bite.

But the dish that came out as the first amuse-bouche was really unexpected.

"Hmm, really savory and soft. But you... Why? Is it a dish you can't eat?"

"No, it's not that."

What on earth is the thought, this chef?

What came out as amuse-bouche was Escargot Bourguignon.

If expressing Korean-style snail butter grill.

I imagined at best canapé with cheese on top, or meunière (*Meunière, butter fry) made in one-bite size.

Putting out escargot as amuse-bouche? And that in Britain?

In fact the fact that French people enjoy eating snails was a widely known fact even now, and British gourmets also absolutely didn't avoid eating snails.

The texture of well-cooked snails is not much different from abalone. It's only the core how well one removes the unique snail earthy smell.

If pouring butter there a flavor no different from Jeju Island abalone butter grill came out.

However removing the earthy smell itself isn't easy, and filling the completed dish back into the snail shell and perfectly finishing even the decoration is never an easy work in a busy kitchen.

So escargot was often used as a symbolic dish that shows off the skill of French chefs.

But if in Britain the talk is a bit different. Because one of the expressions Britons tease French people is the words of guys who even catch and eat frogs and snails.

Snail dish in Britain? Familiarity is second and the meaning is suspicious from the start.

Amuse-bouche is the chef's greeting words, and a device that represents philosophy.

Considering such points, that is this... was no different from a kind of provocation.

"So, how is your evaluation?"

"This is exactly excellent gourmet as the Chairman said. Soft and chewy, and the butter, garlic, parsley of the Bourguignon sauce are in perfect harmony. To the point of wanting to learn one thing."

The essence of real haute cuisine is the point that it's custom-made thoroughly analyzing the guest's taste and preference, even current condition. No matter how delicious a dish if likes and dislikes divide the emotion is halved.

The Chairman's preference he would have known well, and if the intention was to treat gourmet to me it would have entered the chef's ears up to who I am.

So I accepted this as provocation. French snail to an ordinary Briton?

But leaving such thoughts, this escargot had nothing to pick on at all. It was the skill of a true master.

"Hahahat! You're really interesting! Matching Bourguignon! Are you really working class origin?"

The Chairman also seemed to have noticed this provocation. He clapped and burst into laughter, but the eyes weren't laughing so it was a bit scary.

What came out as the next entrée (appetizer) was consommé.

Mixing broth simmered from meat or vegetables with egg white and making into soup.

It seems tomato went in, is it consommé Madrilène (*Madrilène, Spanish-style consommé)?

This was definitely a cooking method I saw for the first time both in previous life and this life.

Until living until now I had never seen a dish with this level of splendid technology entered. Making the broth this transparent, it was literally the realm of art.

"Hmm... The chef's skill has grown one layer more. Such clear and clean consommé."

It was as those words.

French cooking often uses unnecessarily precise technology, and sometimes there were times it felt like stagnant water tea-bagging against newbies.

And that with elements that have nothing to do with the taste and quality of the cooking.

Consommé is a dish whose characteristic is enjoying the deep and rich umami simmered from various ingredients, and making as clean as possible so not even one impurity remains was considered the best.

Especially even meat broth they did meaningless work of eliminating as much as possible even oil droplets floating on top.

A dish where the philosophy of French cooking that pursues not only taste but even visual perfection is reflected as is, and the second provocation.

With the feeling of you can't make such things?

In fact I really can't make. I don't have the skill to make such things, and don't know the method either. The French dishes I've encountered until now were all kids' play.

This person, who is he really?

So this time too I ate deliciously. Even mixing a bit exaggerated expressions.

"The concentration and transparency of the soup, really the best. Rich tomato aroma seeps out thickly, yet plain and no gamey smell of meat at all. Amazing skill."

"Right? The chef really did his best. The next dish is really anticipated."

It is anticipated, right? Why do the eyes continue not to laugh, Chairman?

The appetizer plays the role of stimulating the guest's palate, and maximizing the expectation toward food by fully arousing their curiosity. In that aspect this entrée was really perfect.

Next was poisson (fish dish) as the standard.

But this time, a dish that literally betrayed the Chairman's expectation appeared.

Meunière (butter fry) made with sea bream.

In the amuse-bouche and entrée he showed off skill and displayed such splendid technology, but in this important poisson he suddenly pulled strength and put out an ordinary sea bream dish.

Decoration was also just putting a few pieces of herbs on top all.

Of course looking at the dish itself it was excellent. The aroma was also perfect, and the color of the fry was also luxurious.

But if ordinary French cooking they would have added special sauce or ingredients to further maximize the flavor of the fish, but here there was none of that.

To the point it felt like fish and chips one can see anywhere at London stalls.

The Chairman also seemed to have felt that and frowned. This time the Chairman's status window was read. The point that he was considerably disappointed was clear.

But this was also clearly a message toward me.

Double frying. And up to the special seasoning blending method I newly researched and introduced to my restaurant.

A taste one absolutely couldn't find if not absolute palate, but absolute palate is the realm of imagination so there's no way.

Unless there's cooking skill that has reached the ranks of genius.

At the same time I obtained a big realization.

While flying to early 20th century Britain and meeting various historical celebrities like Tesla, Edison, Mr. Doyle, and mixing words with big shots like Chairman Balfour, there was one person I was curious if I'd encounter sometime.

I should have noticed from the moment I tasted Bourguignon and consommé.

The people who can complete such cooking in this era were extremely few as far as I know.

The person who organized all fragmented French recipes and made the foundation of modern cooking science, and the man who established the French mother sauce system.

A person who if said created the aesthetics of modern French cooking it's not an exaggeration, literally the greatest genius chef in history.

The god of cooking, the maestro of cooking, the king of cooking a person whose titles aren't regrettable.

Auguste Escoffier.

It was certain he was here as the head chef of Carlton Hotel.

Finally the moment to encounter came. The heart pounded fiercely.