A mid-level (middle-aged) office worker's laid-back industrial revolution in another world - Chapter 143

Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

Frederick had left Grandpa Elvis and Alice in the parlor and returned to the kitchen.

Smith had left the house to go to his training with Harold.

“Hotly debating, I see,” said Frederick, upon his return to the kitchen.

“Oh, Frederick. We can’t decide on how to use fresh cream for tomorrow’s dinner.”

“Is that so?” asked Frederick, looking at Takeo.

“Yes. We’re wondering if we should make something like the carbonara pasta we tried out yesterday. Or perhaps we should bake something like a gratin in the oven. We’re even considering a stew, using milk and fresh cream – half and half.”

“They all sound delicious, you know?” said Frederick.

“Yes. Any one of them would probably be all right for the main course, but…”

“With just one dish…”

The head chef and the main course chef were frowning.

“We’ve been going back and forth like this over which dish we should make,” said Takeo.

“I see.”

“By the way, we’ve decided that tomorrow’s dinner’s dessert will be ‘shortcake’,” said Takeo.

“Oh ho, and what would that be?” asked Frederick.

“I was just discussing it with the dessert chef. Basically, we will thoroughly cover a chiffon cake with a whipped cream made from the fresh cream, and then top it with dried strawberries.”

“Ahh, wow,” said Frederick.

“I believe the light sweetness will go well with the acidity of the strawberries,” said Takeo.

“I see. It sounds good.”

“Yes… And so, we settled on the dessert first.”

Takeo then groaned, “Hmm…”, deep in thought.

“If we’re going to make the after-meal dish this sweet, we were thinking we should probably avoid making a heavy dinner, you know?” said the head chef, putting the unresolved problem into words.

“I see. That makes sense,” said Frederick.

“One can think of fresh cream as concentrated milk… If we put it in two dishes during dinner, that heavy taste will carry on to the dessert.”

“That said, it kind of feels like a shame to use this precious fresh cream for only one dish.”

“That is difficult,” said Frederick, also thinking deeply upon it.

..

.

“What if we served smaller portions of the carbonara and the vegetable soup with fresh cream and milk?”

“Hmm, yes. That could work. Well then, we could purposefully serve a salad with a refreshing, lemony dressing.”

“If we’re going for refreshing, it might be just right to have thinly sliced cucumber and onions with the lemony dressing,” said the salad chef, throwing in his two cents.

“Yes, there should be enough vegetables in the soup, anyways. That shouldn’t be an issue.

It appears the carbonara will fit into place as the heavy entrée… Well, then. Tomorrow, we shall serve a carbonara, a vegetable soup with milk, and a cucumber salad.”

“Yes, sir,” said the chefs. Everyone got up from their seats and started on their individual duties.

“Oh, Takeo-sama and George-”

“Yes?”

“What is it?”

The two of them came over to Frederick.

“The dessert that I just served.”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“It didn’t work out?” asked Takeo, fearfully.

“No, it was a big hit,” said Frederick, “All three masters were present, and so I had them all try some. They all kept saying things like, ‘This isn’t enough. Please make some more.’”

“I see. Well, that’s good news. I suppose one or two more for each of them would suffice. It’s a good thing to leave them thinking they would like to have some more.”

“Yes. If we’re to serve two each, we should make smaller pieces.”

“Yes, we’ll prepare it that way, next time. I think it would be easier to prepare it with butter rather than fresh cream, and so I think it would be a good dish to serve to guests and see what they think.”

“Yes, I think that’s the way to go. As for tomorrow’s lunch, they all demanded quite strongly that we serve this dish for dessert.”

“Did you hear, that, head chef?” asked Takeo.

“Got it. Once I’ve prepared the fresh cream, I’ll make sure I get some butter, tomorrow.”

“Yes, that should be fine.”

“Well, it seems we’ve decided on everything that should be decided.”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you tomorrow,” said the head chef.

“George, I look forward to working with you, as well,” said Takeo.

Takeo yawned and said, “I believe we still have quite some time until we need to start preparations for tomorrow’s dinner, so I think I will sleep for a bit in my study. I plan to wake up on time for the preparations, but if I don’t come down, could you please come wake me up?”

“No problem.”

“Thank you,” said Takeo, and left the two of them in the kitchen, and returned to his room.

..

.

“George, about tomorrow- ”

“Ah, Lady Layla and the other two?”

“Yes. How does it look?”

“It’s not a problem. I haven’t mentioned it to Lady Alice or Takeo,” said George, “Everyone in the kitchen is aware of it, as well. And so, for tomorrow and the day after, we have increased our stock of ingredients, and we plan to have enough eggs to serve the pudding twice.”

“I would expect no less from you. I expect we will use a large amount of eggs tomorrow, too.”

“Yes, you’re right. Come to mention it, Takeo’s cooking really does use a lot of eggs.”

“Indeed. He had said it himself, but apparently, where he comes from, the price of eggs are about a fifth of what they cost here.”

“What?! I see… Well, then, I can understand why he uses so many eggs. If this recipe catches on, I wouldn’t be surprised if eggs went up in demand.”

“Yes. I’ve informed civil officials that they should expect our villages to expand, considering the effect Takeo will have on this place.”

“I see. If the villages’ economies expand, we can expect surpluses in all kinds of fields.”

“I doubt it will be quick… but, I believe the price of chicken, eggs, and vegetables will all go down.”

“That is a good thing. It sounds like thanks to Takeo, the Elvis household will be developing more and more recipes.”

“Oh, do you really think so?”

“Cooking with eggs, and the dashi we made today, and sweets… It’s not just recipes that Takeo is familiar with. He makes us come up with our own ideas, too… All of our chefs are crying with joy every night. I consider it a good opportunity to improve my cooking skills, but even more so, I’m busy reflecting on how important imagination is for chefs.”

“…George, you sound like you’re having so much fun.”

“Yes, it’s fun, all right. I had thought I pretty much knew all the recipes in this country. It feels like a miracle to be able to learn about this many new recipes at this age. You sound like you’re having fun, too, Frederick.”

“Yes. Thanks to Takeo-sama, I’ve been exposed to many new ideas on city expansion, and even new ways of thinking. It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited by finances and land management.”

The two old soldiers spoke with joy in their voices.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]