Chapter 131: Preparing for the Banquet

“Yes, Father, I plan to hold a dinner party at the Manor,” George said directly, revealing his second goal.

“A night banquet? For what reason? And who do you need to invite?” Viscount Bolam pointed out the key issues while casually tidying up his desk.

George touched the bridge of his nose with his right index finger and spoke a bit shyly: “It’s just a simple family dinner. As for the reason, we’ll tell everyone outside that it’s to celebrate my passing the Path of Questioning the Heart! So originally, I planned to invite my few friends in addition to the knights and squires in the Manor. So, Father, do you plan to send invitations to anyone else?”

Viscount Bolam thought for a long time before giving his answer: “No, no need. After all, this is just a celebration for passing the Path of Questioning the Heart, so it doesn’t need to be too formal. Hosting a private gathering with this reason is enough, but there’s no need to use this method to bond with the few people I am close to. For those further away, this is not a good reason to invite them, especially at such a time. So just prepare it according to your own wishes! However, when you become a Formal Knight, you will need to hold a grand banquet. Remember to prepare well so you don’t disappoint your guests!”

“Then I won’t disturb you any longer. I will go arrange for others to start preparing.” After bowing, George was about to leave, thinking to himself, ‘That’s still far off! At least I need to wait three or four years!’

“I really look forward to seeing what delicious food you can produce!” Just before George left, Viscount Bolerum said this without much dignity.

“Eh!” If George hadn’t been agile enough, he would have tripped over after turning around. He had to turn his body sideways to reply, “I won’t disappoint you, Father.”

After saying that, he opened the door and left the study. This avoided the awkwardness of facing each other directly, making both father and son feel less embarrassed.

After leaving the study, George went straight to find Steward Craig to arrange the preliminary preparations for the banquet.

Yes, the preliminary preparation for a banquet is not an easy or relaxing task. First, one needs to arrange people to notify the guests, and then decide the specific schedule of the banquet based on everyone’s itinerary. A situation like George, who decided to hold a banquet on a whim, is completely an exception.

However, the guests he invited were not truly busy people, after all, the second generation of each family has not yet inherited their family business. Also, as a break after the Autumn Hunt, according to past conventions, the social activities between nobles who have just had extensive exchanges should not be as frequent as usual. This is also the reason why he dared to hold a banquet with only two days’ notice. If he had chosen a different time, the guests might not have all shown up. In that case, George, as the organizer, would have lost a lot of face.

With the help of Steward Craig, George sent a clever servant to notify the guests attending. Then, George and Steward Craig inspected the Manor to see where important cleaning was needed.

Fortunately, the guests invited from outside were George’s minor friends, and the banquet itself was not that formal. Otherwise, just sending a servant to notify them would be considered rude according to the unwritten rules of nobles in Karada over the past few years, and the guests could have completely refused. However, as the organizer of this banquet, George invited the younger generation of each family. To the elders of those families, this was more like children playing house! The attitude towards them was different from how adults are treated. This is the benefit of being young.

As for the cleaning work inside the Manor, it was a common situation under the times and environment. In fact, in this period, every noble’s home had a certain number of empty rooms. These were specially prepared for other nobles who might come.

These nobles might have some connection with the host family, coming from far away for travel or study. This part could also be called a kind of long-term stay in a sense, because it is very shameful for a noble to stay in a hotel for a long time in a certain city.

This world did not have luxury hotels like the “Hilton Hotel” before the protagonist traveled through. To be more correct, finding a hotel that is clean, has no bugs or lice, and has bedding that smells of sunshine instead of mold is not an easy thing in this world. There are a few places in Karada that can meet the latter standard, but it is hard to say about the former. In other cities within the Nohan Kingdom, it is even less likely. For example, in Poitou City of Bolerum Territory, there is only one hotel that can meet the latter standard.

As for excellent room service, that is even more of a luxury. In the world before the protagonist traveled through, the truly comfortable and standardized room service only developed after the 1950s. In this world, it is not even worth thinking about.

The most important point here is that various knowledge related to service is firmly held by the nobles. This does not mean the nobles themselves master this knowledge, but rather that those who know this knowledge serve in noble families, and the outflow of knowledge is prohibited. People naturally seek higher ground, and water flows downhill. It is a common phenomenon in this world that those who learn this knowledge as a craft will definitely hope to work in noble families rather than be waiters in a small hotel. Learning martial and literary arts to serve the royal family is exactly what this means.

Of course, some people also stay overnight after dinner parties or balls due to drunkenness or because it is too late. This belongs to temporary stays, which is a situation that Bolerum Manor might need to deal with in two days.

In fact, to reduce unnecessary expenses, although these empty rooms are cleaned regularly, they are not thoroughly cleaned. After all, if every empty room needs to be cleaned thoroughly like those occupied by nobles, the number of servants in Bolerum Manor would need to be increased by at least fifty percent. This involves not only the issue of paying servants’ salaries but also training and other aspects.

“Yes, it is those rooms from before. Although I don’t know how many guests will stay overnight, we need to estimate the maximum number. These rooms must be cleaned and have sun-dried white bedding changed by tomorrow evening,” George said while Steward Craig directed his servants around.

Then George pointed to the wooden beam on the corridor: “Hang a tapestry here. Let’s choose the violet one we bought last year!”

The main purpose of this tapestry is to prevent guests from entering the wrong rooms. Before the tapestry are the cleaned guest rooms, while behind the tapestry is the part that has not been thoroughly organized yet. In a sense, this large tapestry is a small piece of dignity for the nobles.

After solving this problem, George began to focus on preparing the menu for tomorrow. As for other issues, after a deep discussion with Steward Craig, he entrusted them to him, which should not be a problem. After all, the Steward is already quite experienced in this area. The only problem is that having two Craigs in the same room is unfamiliar. George hates the naming style of this world.

“How is the raisin yeast liquid prepared earlier?” George, standing in the kitchen, asked the male and female servants and several chefs in front of him.

Raisin yeast liquid was a method to make high-quality bread yeast before the protagonist traveled through. In fact, it works very well for making steamed buns. It is a huge loss in diet that there are no steamed buns in this world! You know, the steamed buns from The East are much tastier than these breads that can be used as weapons. However, there is a hard flaw in terms of preservation time.

“Of course, it is ready! Although the recent drop in temperature has slightly affected the fermentation effect, ten days is enough.” Saying this, a relatively young assistant chef took a wide-mouth glass bottle sealed with Linen from the shelf.

Looking at the swollen raisins and amber liquid inside, George nodded and said: “Good job! Now, who is ready to go with me to the market to pick the ingredients we will use tomorrow?”

“Me! Me! Me!” Someone in the kitchen shouted eagerly.

The trading market located at the southernmost end of the Commercial District in Karada can be said to be the intersection with the Commoner district. However, compared to other places, it is so bustling that it makes people dizzy. A large open square is crowded with people buying and selling all kinds of things. Centered around the vegetable market, meat market, livestock market, and cooked food stalls, four basic centers are formed. Another largest crowd center is a group of third-rate Bards and some others forming a beast-taming performance troupe, who encircled a large area with old gray cloth to make a theater. Someone at the entrance collects entry fees with a hat. In this era lacking entertainment, many people do not mind spending a few Copper Coins to watch bears dance or dogs jump through hoops. The market is filled with dust, and the noise is as loud as a flood, full of petty bourgeois vulgarity and the smell of sweat.

The air is quite turbid, so turbid that it makes some people’s noses allergic and itchy. The smells of various vegetables, the scent of cheap spices like rosemary and bay leaves, plus the bloody smell of animals just slaughtered. The smells of these goods mixed with the smell of people themselves test one’s endurance greatly. One of the most important reasons why most nobles will not personally come to such a place is that they are unwilling to endure these smells.

“This seems to be a pig-nose fungus!” George picked up an egg-sized lump in front of a stall and observed it himself. This oval brown object has polygonal warty bumps on the surface. It reflects a red luster in the sunlight, and the top has a depression.

This thing is the truffle, which was known as one of the “Three Great Gourmet Treasures of the World” along with foie gras and caviar before the protagonist traveled through. Of course, in this world, it has not been praised to that extent, and its price is only comparable to non-imported spices. Otherwise, it would not appear in such a market-like place. As for the other two, caviar has been mentioned before. As for foie gras, George has not yet seen it and does not seem to plan to experiment in this aspect. Fattening birds’ livers in that way is too cruel, and doing so would likely make the agricultural Druids in the Territory quit directly.

George picked up the pig-nose fungus in front of him and smelled it in front of his nose, thinking to himself, ‘It seems the original plan can be slightly adjusted. I wonder what kind of fish the two people assigned to handle aquatic products can bring back.’

The preservation technology in this world is not as good as before the protagonist traveled through! So things like aquatic products are quite rare in Karada, an inland city without large rivers. These live fish transported back in large wooden barrels with water are rare commodities that noble families fight to buy! This is why George sent someone to check a day in advance, hoping that the procurement for two consecutive days would be enough for the banquet.

By the time George finished all the shopping, the two people behind him were already holding full bags and boxes. This situation will continue tomorrow. Today’s harvest will give George enough time to consider special dishes. Some materials that must be kept fresh will be purchased separately tomorrow.

Back at the Manor, George began to arrange for people to prepare ketchup, yes, ketchup. For tomorrow’s special meal, ketchup is one of the key elements. Fresh tomatoes are washed, scored with a cross with a knife, and then lightly shaken over the fire to easily peel the skin. Heat olive oil in a pan, add minced garlic, diced onions, and chopped celery, stir-fry until the onions soften, then add chopped peeled tomatoes and apples. After stir-frying, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, ground carrots, rum, apple cider vinegar, coarse sugar, salt, and pepper for seasoning. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens, remove the bay leaves, pour in some mustard sauce, and stir with a small amount of sifted flour. Finally, when the sauce is reduced to the appropriate consistency, turn off the heat and add a small amount of mustard to make George’s special flavor ketchup.

The reason George went to so much trouble was entirely to prepare for the star pizza of tomorrow. In the world before the protagonist traveled through, this is also called pizza. It is a food originating from Italy and is very popular worldwide. The usual way to make pizza is to cover a fermented round dough with ketchup, cheese, and other toppings, and then bake it in an oven. Besides ketchup, the other key element is cheese. Before the protagonist traveled through, mozzarella cheese was usually used, and there were also forms of mixing several cheeses, including Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, Italian country soft cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese.

However, in this world, there was no cheese that met the requirements exactly. But after mixing several different cheeses, it could still barely achieve that effect.

“Fortunately, we got this light buffalo milk cheese from the Oak Tree Tavern not long ago. It is just right to pair with the pig-nose fungus tomorrow,” George sniffed the palm-sized cheese in front of him and muttered.

‘According to reason, a top-quality pizza must have four characteristics: fresh dough, high-quality cheese, top-tier pizza sauce, and fresh fillings. The crust must be made fresh. Flour is usually selected from a designated brand. Dough made from first-class wheat ground in spring and winter will have a crispy outer layer and a soft inner layer. Pure cheese is the soul of pizza. Authentic pizza usually selects cheese rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and calcium with low calories. Pizza sauce must be secretly made from fresh tomatoes mixed with pure natural spices, with a rich flavor.’ Recalling the key points of making pizza he had seen before traveling through, George scratched his head awkwardly and said: “Everything else is fine, but how can the flour here compare to before I traveled through! Let’s try it first and see what the difference is.”

Opening the oven, George used a long handle to take out a pizza baked with apple wood. After letting it cool slightly, he took a piece and put it in his mouth to start tasting.

According to the evaluation standards before the protagonist traveled through, all pizza fillings must be fresh, and high-quality varieties are recommended to ensure quality. The finished pizza must be neither too hard nor too soft. Even if it is folded like a “wallet,” the outer layer should not break. This has become one of the important bases for judging the quality of pizza craftsmanship now. In fact, American pizza is a bit harder, which may be related to their fast-paced lifestyle. And authentic Italian Neapolitan pizza is much softer.

“The gluten strength of the flour is obviously not enough! It seems my previous concern was correct. Using the current flour to make pizza is a bit of a stretch! Should we add bean flour to try? But if we do that, the gluten strength might be enough, but how to solve the taste of beans?” Saying this, George fell into thought again.

Thinking and thinking, George suddenly had an idea: “Right! Grinding some of the pig-nose fungus into powder and adding it should be able to cover it up!”

This world is not like before the protagonist traveled through, where various machines are available for use. George has to use the most famous handmade pizza making technique—the Italian hand-tossed pizza making technique. Mainly because George does not know and has not seen many other methods. In the process of shaping the pizza base, there is a hand-tossing technique. The pizza chef tosses the pizza base into the air with his hands, using centrifugal force to rotate the base to the required size. This technique is very spectacular, and guests will praise the chef’s superb skills endlessly. It is a good method for professional pizza shops to attract customers. For George, who has extremely high muscle control, all of this is not a problem.

After solving most of the problems, George said with a headache: “It seems difficult to teach those chefs the pizza tossing technique in a short time! It looks like I will have to personally solve so many pizza bases tomorrow! Sigh! I am really looking for trouble for myself.”

The sun of the second day rose like this. Everyone in the Manor was busy preparing for the evening banquet. Silver tableware that was not used often and special high glass cups were taken out from a special cabinet. Usually, only the host’s family’s quantity was used, but this time the guests’ portion also needed to be prepared.

The ivory-white curtains had all been washed and changed. Waving in the wind, they looked like little girls waving handkerchiefs to welcome guests.