Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Plausibility

While Chairman Balfour was orating I was diligently looking for a mouse hole.

So all his words didn't enter my ears.

Then when coming to my senses, the absurd proposal of an international cooking exposition was in a situation of being hastily passed with just nods of a few power holders!

No, suddenly a cooking exposition? If holding a cooking exposition who attends and who proceeds?!

For hundreds of years they spread rumors all over Europe that British cooking is the worst and now with what nerve?

The point here was as expected 'international'.

International exposition. Naturally the range of participating dishes is the whole world.

If British cooking falls greatly behind compared to participating countries? As expected one would hear mockery that British cooking is tasteless again.

That's not the end. The average quality of cooking was also a problem.

I understood Chairman Balfour's purpose. The most important clothing food shelter in humans living, among them boosting harmony and pride through cooking was a justification one could sufficiently present and there was also possibility.

Only the problem was that now is modern society transitioning to the 20th century where the status system still remains.

If going with cooking matching nobles' tastes the labor class would oppose, conversely if pushing with popular cooking nobles would come out lukewarm.

Complaining to each other saying what relation is this to us was also a matter of time!

The method well only popularizing the dishes nobles enjoy like modern times while catching quality, is that possible in that short time? How catch the price?!

In my view close to impossible but there was no one among these who pointed out such parts!

And promoting and preparing at the same timing as the coronation? Isn't one of the two going hastily?!

France? While not particularly good with France now if France boycotts what to do?! A cooking exposition without France had a high possibility of becoming just a half show!

Although a stereotype if excluding France from cooking of the current era conversation itself doesn't stand that was reality!

Of course all these thoughts were all useless tackles that only circled around in my head and disappeared.

While I was losing my mind like that, the 2nd crisis in the tiger's den was gradually approaching.

"Ah right, Uncle, no, the Marquess said science technology or culture, inventions, art etc. one can't say completely unrelated to cooking. In cooking one can graft the latest science technology as much as one wants. The evidence is right in front of the eyes here."

What Chairman Balfour said so and grabbed was... none other than my shoulder!

I was startled and held my breath! No, until now I well erased the presence! Suddenly why am I the target again?!

"Jean-Paul Durand here is actually also a genius inventor. Do you know the detailed details?"

No, what are you saying now? Who is an inventor? Surely me?!

"Jean-Paul Durand is an inventor?"

"Wasn't he just a chef...?"

"No. Everyone, by any chance do you know who invented peanut butter?"

"That... Hmm. Jean-Paul Durand."

"What? Jean-Paul Durand made peanut butter?!"

"Durand made peanut butter?! Is that fact!"

Someone's quietly muttered words became a fuse and instantly the surroundings started becoming noisy again!

Someone knows the fact that I made peanut butter. Saying this in reverse, it also means someone didn't know.

That is well since not publicly disclosing the developer popularly, they would have just known as a new product newly released by a company called Imperial Spreadworks.

Now peanut butter alone was a big trend in London regardless of lower class, gentry, nobles. That was even more so because of the infinite expandability unique to peanut butter.

Even just spreading on bread and eating is delicious, but peanut butter is a food ingredient that truly shows its real value when used as an additive.

Putting in stew is also good, mixing when baking is also the best. Peanut butter was no different from an all-purpose cheat key especially in confectionery baking.

Britain is a country with strong pride that in confectionery baking at least one can surpass France because of tea time culture.

As the number of breads one can produce with only one peanut butter doubled, there were even rumors that peanut butter dessert contests are booming in social circles every week!

In such a situation the fact that the developer of peanut butter is me was disclosed, so even nobles the first time knowing couldn't help but be surprised.

Of course that level was content one could easily find out if investigating me a little. But Chairman Balfour didn't stop there.

He even exposed the secret only a really small number knew that I had hidden until now at this place.

"Jean-Paul Durand developed peanut butter, if everyone has tasted peanut butter you'd know, but that's not a food one can make just by deciding to mass produce. One has to softly grind very hard nuts until it becomes jam form. Impossible with manpower. And Sir Jean-Paul Durand here did that with a very genius method! It's devising an innovative electric device called 'electric grinder'!"

"Electric grinder? Is the chairman talking about the hand-turned grinder used when grinding coffee beans?"

"The principle is the same. Only grinding directly by turning the motor with the power of electricity not human hands. Thanks to that mass production at the factory became possible without particular labor. I was also very surprised when receiving this report."

If saying the real fact, that was developed by the genius engineer Henry Royce not me! And the factory process was also the result completed jointly by Mr. Royce and Mr. Pitton not me!

To make an automated factory in Britain, and mass produce products with that one has to report to the authorities and receive permission by law.

One had to report in detail what machines to use, what procedures to make, and in the end information accumulating at the Board of Trade monitoring all domestically produced products was an unavoidable result.

So, even without monitoring me if Chairman Balfour paid a little attention one could obviously find out what business I'm doing that talk.

In this era there was no information protection law or whatever. So Mr. Henry also earnestly requested from the start to watch the mouth in front of Chairman Balfour.

In fact the reason I first asked to introduce Chairman Balfour was also the same reason.

Anyway if starting the Nutella business information would leak the same, but the aftermath that would burst then would be much bigger so the intention of rather making one side before that would be comfortable inside.

That the snowball rolling would sit me in front of these great power holders now I didn't imagine at all at the time!

"And if everyone knows how far the electric grinder prototype developed in just a few months you'd probably be surprised. As far as I heard, miniaturization is completed to the point one can even supply to British homes. If supplied like that there was also a report that the complex cooking process one had to do by hand until now would be halved. With this level can't one be recognized as a world-class innovation even at the cooking exposition?"

"Hmm..."

"Hmm."

Chairman Balfour was thoroughly piercing even intimate business secrets.

Of course such information wasn't something one could obtain just by planting spies. Somehow because I'm getting along with Chairman Balfour these days Mr. Royce or Mr. Henry just openly confessed!

Such spineless people!

Chairman Balfour's words were right. Mr. Royce intoxicated by the big success of peanut butter completely went crazy about the grinder in the meantime.

In fact the electric grinder itself was a period about to be gradually introduced to industry, so him falling wasn't a strange matter at all. Already at mills they were grinding grains with coal steam motors, and changing that to electric motors was a matter of time.

It was a period power grids were being laid all over London.

Even when first giving the design drawings I drew to Royce I prepared miniaturization plans and home supply strategies, and even investment lists when industrially utilizing as 2nd and 3rd plans.

At that time I handed over without particular thought, but later looking Royce utilized that like a roadmap and already completed development up to 3rd and 4th generation!

The peanut butter factory expanding in an instant was also largely thanks to the initial grinder model being standardized, and production quality sharply rising while improving.

Initially peanut butter stopped at about 80% completion of modern prototypes, but now it caught up to the point almost no difference in texture from the product taken out from my point shop.

"In fact I'm looking at a bigger picture. If the electric grinder is supplied to homes, one can save the enormous time spent on cooking. If inputting that time into other production work, Britain's productivity will improve by leaps and bounds!"

"Indeed! Did you look ahead to such a future! As expected Chairman Balfour!"

The audience started becoming noisy again! Even the Marquess of Salisbury who initially made an unsatisfied expression seemed immersed in deep thought while stroking his beard.

No, wait a moment. Now everyone seems too fallen into delusion?!

With just one electric grinder there's no way such a great transformation would occur, right?

At least as far as I know the supply of refrigerators has to be for dramatic changes in productivity to occur.

And that change was also scheduled to leave a very huge footprint in modern society.

The start of the frozen food industry, great development of medicine due to long-term storage of medical products and blood becoming possible, metropolis-level big cities arising even in provinces not capitals due to expansion of electric infrastructure.

Food waste due to spoilage decreases and resource efficiency greatly improves, and the biggest advantage was that women liberated from the kitchen get the opportunity to advance into society.

Only in this era refrigerators haven't appeared yet. If I hadn't intervened, at least 10 more years would have to pass for even prototype development to be attempted.

Popularization? As far as I know after World War I ended? Then at least a 20-year remaining story. But in the current situation, thanks to my intervention one might be able to see something similar to a refrigerator around next year at least.

Edison-Tesla Refrigerator Limited Company.

A few months have already passed since this roughly named name finally passed and a signboard hung at a factory in one corner of New York.

And I was registered as an outside director there as promised, and scheduled to receive about 10% shares if the business succeeds later.

Wait a moment, surely...?

Chairman Balfour, although a thought of by any chance, wasn't close with Sir Crookes the President of the Royal Society?!

So by any chance received a tip about the refrigerator...?

The possibility was sufficient! That Sir Crookes is immersed in spiritualism and parapsychology was content I heard to the point my ears hurt because of his long chatter.

And Mr. Doyle said, Chairman Gerald Balfour here also very rarely showed his face at London's spiritualism gatherings!

Who knows if they built friendship there?

Moreover Sir Crookes is currently dedicating himself to refrigerator development together with Mr. Edison and Mr. Tesla in America. A figure called President of the Royal Society pouring time into such new inventions in another country, there's no way reports wouldn't go in.

If not deliberately deceiving information with lies, a long-term outing that requires at least the tacit approval of someone in the upper echelons.

Who permitted that outing now a feeling of one corner of the puzzle fitting.

Then from when on earth was Chairman Balfour grasping about me? Surely, already before Churchill introduced me...?

I was engulfed in astonishment and blankly stared at the side face of Chairman Balfour who put his hand on my shoulder.

But his firmly standing waist gave no answer.

Instead, His Majesty Edward VII stood up from the seat and gathered people's gazes.

"Good! Anyone can do just talking with words! I'll directly show the gentlemen how innovative development Sir Durand's grinder caused in British cooking!"

"Your Majesty?!"

"Gentlemen also know now that I'm proceeding the Edward Sandwich recipe contest, right? And you'd be curious what among the recipes received until now is designated as the grand prize candidate. Today's concert dinner I'll replace with that! Gentlemen if tasting will be sufficiently satisfied! Come, everyone charge to the banquet hall leading Sir Durand!"

I absolutely couldn't follow the flow of this conversation!

His Majesty also knows the electric grinder? And already installed that in the Buckingham Palace kitchen?!

The commercialization of the electric grinder was already entrusted to Mr. Royce long ago. Patent rights also split half and half with me so I said just settle later and completely cut off nerves.

So now I couldn't know at all where and what he's doing. I thought he'd be busy with peanut butter factory expansion?!

In my restaurant's kitchen I also recently completed installation with the 3rd generation version. Mr. Royce brought and directly installed.

The performance was amazing. Thanks to that I could finally try one dish I was considering.

Hamburger patty. And that meatball version.

Of course one can mince meat with a knife too, but if using a grinder one can obtain more consistent texture.

And when mincing with a grinder one can adjust the fat ratio, and mix onion or herbs, spices more evenly so sufficient taste is guaranteed regardless of the chef's skill.

So, if only having one grinder even ordinary housewives can show minced meat skill matching me that talk.

That soon meant overall improvement of cooking quality. Not for nothing the grinder is counted as an essential electric appliance connecting refrigerator and microwave in the kitchen.

Anyway the ultimate king of minced meat, in Europe from long ago they regarded meatballs as the best.

Hamburger patty also ultimately evolved from the meatball tradition. Taste is taste, but because of the tremendous labor entering when mincing meat it was a food hard to taste usually unless a noble.

Surely, Mr. Royce, blinded by the 10 pound contest prize offered the grinder to His Majesty and submitted the manufacturing method of meatball patty ground with the grinder...?!

It was a sufficiently possible story!

Please, at least the fact that the actual developer of the Edward Sandwich is also me wouldn't be revealed!