Chapter 49: Meeting back with family

“Suzy, how’s it going?”(Aby)
“It’s doing well.
Peeling them was a bit of a chore, but it’s done now.”(Suzy)
“Perfect.
Could you cut them in bâtonnet then, please?” (Aby)
“Oooh, so you’re going for chips?”(Suzy)
“Of course, what else?”(Aby)

With renewed vigour, Suzy began chopping down the vegetables she had peeled.

Sadly, I couldn’t find any potatoes.

Well, that’s normal.
They’re from South America after all.

So, to replace potatoes, I decided to go with beetroots and carrots.
They looked quite different from the modern varieties I was accustomed to in my old life, but that’s a given when you know that most vegetables underwent a very strict process of manual selection and cross breeding.

And while the beetroots were only just bigger than “usual”, the carrots on the other hand had a distinct pink colour.

I’ve been told they’re even blood red in the Vampiri Regate.
…
Like, seriously?

Anyway.

While Suzy was buzzy with the vegetables, I wasn’t doing nothing.

I was actually making some home-made beef burgers.

I thought it’d be simple, but I discovered too late that there was just no utensils to grind meat easily.

And yes, it is now in my invention “to do” list.
Along with a peeler.
This will be a best seller.

Hum, anyway.

Like I said, I couldn’t really “mince the meat” so I had to chop it real thin, but that wasn’t really a problem.

Though, I nearly had an accident.

See, I know this recipe by heart.
That’s why, it’s only when I nearly puked my stomach and half of my insides on the floor that I remembered that putting garlic in the mix was not real~ly that good of an idea.

Throwing the “cursed” thing in the trash, and thoroughly cleaning everything it touched, I finished the burgers by mixing the meat with onions, chopped chive, an egg yolk and, finely, salt.

Pepper was out of question, of course, at it was hell of a lot expensive.
My history teacher once said it was used as a currency, or even as a bribe.
Only now do I truly understand what she meant.

I could buy ten bottle of the best wine I could find with only a hundred grams of black pepper.
…
There’s no way I’m using that for seasoning!

No.
Instead, I’ll just use… something else…

Opening what looked like a fridge, I could feel the cold air flowing through its now-open door.

It was one of my newest creation.
A simple thick wooden box, thermally insulated.

Though, I say it’s a fridge, but it was more like an ice box.

The problem is, those kind of appliance could normally only be used by people who could afford to import ice from the closest mountains, as “Ice” magic… didn’t really exist.
Only some species were known to have that ability, like Ice Imps, but only as a racial ability, so it was not something that could be learned.

Sadly, most of those species disappeared as of now, since most of them were put into slavery for their peculiar ability, and the others fled far away to unknown places.

But I didn’t have this problem.

Yup.

827 is one of those few species that can make ice.

Though, I may be the only one to know that right now, since knowledge on dungeons seems to be near non-existent.

But thanks to this, I can use and sell as much ice as I want, and the citizen of Tourblanche can use a cheap way of keeping food from rotting.

And in that ice box of mine, there was something that I didn’t want to rot.
Well, more than it already is.

In the ice box, I thus took out a water tight box, brought it on the table, and opened it.
Inside was France’s own weapon of mass destruction.

Also known as “Roquefort”, a cheese made out of sheep milk and speckled with blue/green mould.

And also a crucial ingredient for the roquefort sauce I was about to make.

It was quite simple in fact, I just had to mix it with hot milk and sour cream, and though it’s so simple, it hides all of the roquefort’s downsides.
Well, it hides that it’s a cheese with blue mould.

After a few minutes, I was finished, and looked at Suzy who was frenetically chopping down the carrots and beetroots so fast I could barely see the movements of the knife…

I took everything she had already done and put them in a big saucepan filled with boiling oil.

I couldn’t put everything in one go so I had to repeat the operation several times before everything could be cooked.

“AAAAH!!!”(Aby)

Feeling cold hands on my neck, I jolted uncontrollably while hearing Suzy’s chuckling right behind me.

“So mean! What did you do that for.”(Aby)
“If you weren’t so focus, you’d have heard me.”(Suzy)

Her tongue sticking out of a devilish smile, she continued.

“I’ve finished with the vegetables, what can I do now?”(Suzy)
“Hmmm… I’m nearly finished with the chips, so you can cook the burgers if you want.”(Aby)
“How long do I cook them?”(Suzy)
“Let’s see… Two minute on each side should be enough…”(Aby)
“Rare it is then, alright!”(Suzy)

…

Suzy opened the door for me as I pushed a tray cart with everything we had cooked on it.

“Tadaaa!”(Suzy)

With way too much manners and gestures, she introduced our work to the people sat around the dinner table.

“So, what is this surprise of yours?”(Dad)

Everyone was here.
Mom, dad, Catherine, Julie, Sylvia, Neleanna and Laarii.

“Well, as I already said, this is food.
And since you all just arrived and are certainly exhausted, I thought I’d be good if I were to prepare you a meal.
And also, I’ve decided to open a restaurant.”(Aby)
“A… restaurant?
What is it?”(Dad)
“Ah…
Hum, it’s like an inn, but without the sleeping part.”(Aby)
“So, you just go there… to eat?”(Mom)
“Yes.”(Aby)

They were all looking at me, not understanding why I’d want to do that.

See, the concept of eating next to stranger in a place that isn’t your home is a concept that did not really appear before the end of the middle age.

Which is more or less when the world nearly ended in this dimension.

Well, there’s things like inn, but they really are just for travellers.

But this is a great opportunity.
I want to make a restaurant that could attract all sorts of tourists.
And also make some more money.
I already make tons of it, but I spend so much on all of my projects that it makes me dizzy just to think about it.

Also, I need to make the people of this city happy.
And for that, I wand to open a restaurant that will bring them food that they wouldn’t be able to afford, or even find in this world.

Happy people work more, they work best, and they tend to not use guillotine to make your head roll on the floor.

That, and I also prefer when people I see around me smiling.
It’s like, how can I be happy if everyone around me isn’t?

“I know what you’re thinking.
You’re wondering how that would work.
And that’s why I decided to test it on you all.”(Aby)

With Suzy, we put beautifully dressed plates in front of evrybody.

“Steak Frites et sa sauce Bleu.”(Aby)

Perplexed, they looked at the food and back at me several time.
Except Laarii, who was happily eating everything.

“What… is this?”(Dad)
“Carrots, beetroots and beef.”(Aby)
“What?!”(Dad)
“The vegetables are fried in vegetable oil and the has been chopped and mixed with onion and chive.”(Aby)
“And the sauce?”(Catherine)

I winked at her.

“Secret.”(Aby)

They all quietly ate their meal with a very serious attitude.
Catherine even looked like a scientist, looking the food under different angles, eating only very small bits, like she was analysing everything.

Well, Laarii was just devouring everything and asked for seconds.

Suzy and I quietly ate too, waiting for everyone to finish.

“It is the first time I ever ate something like that…
I’m starting to see how this would work out.
But… when did you learn to cook?”(Dad)
“I’ll have you know that I didn’t pass all this time with Lisa-sensei just idling around.”(Aby)

That’s entirely true, in fact.
Though I already knew the basics, the life of a student doesn’t live you much opportunities to cook anything more than pasta or instant noodles.

“Did you come up with this new recipe by yourself then?”(Dad)
“Not at all.
I just found it in a book.”(Aby)
“A book?
Was it a rare one?”(Dad)
“You could say that, yes.
It was written by an outworlder.”(Aby)

Well, by me, to be precise.
But they don’t need to know that, do they?

“By an… Could I see it?”(Catherine)

Catherine suddenly asked, herself surprised by the fact that she asked this question by pure reflex.

“If you wish, but it’s just a copy.
And you may want to wait for the translation.”(Aby)

I wrote it in french, after all.
They already know I sometime “dream” of the other world, so they should understand how I can “translate” it…

“So, this is my plan.
I’ll make a place where you can eat things that you literraly can’t find on this world.”(Aby)

And a place were I’ll be able to try and make tons of cake too.
All of the recipes I knew but never had the chance to make.
I could do it now!
It would take some time to test everything, as it’s mostly things I vaguely remember, and there’s also the fact that cooking with a gas stove or with plain old fire made from wood are two very different things.

“Cuisine from Another World.
That will be its name.”(Aby)

This world’s very first real tourists trap.

“Well, who’s up for a visit of my city?
There’s tons of things I have to show you!”(Aby)

Hi everyone. Just wanted to appologies for being late. I kinda had the blank page syndrom for most of the month. Well, it should be good now. I hope, at least?Maybe I’d take a bit of vacation after christmas, I dunno. I’ll tell you before hand anyway if it comes to that.Well, anyway, see you next time!

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