Chapter 121
The dishes meticulously prepared by first-class chefs of this era are not tasty.
In any field, those who have reached the top have abilities incomprehensible to ordinary people, so it seems unbelievable that food made with such care by them wouldn't be delicious, but…
The food they make for banquets and balls wasn't originally made for people to eat deliciously.
To show off wealth, they poured pepper into wine and used coloring spices until it looks like paint - that's considered the finest cuisine.
Noble family chefs have no choice but to make tasteless food focused only on 'showing off'.
'My cakes were so popular because they were pretty and delicious.'
Even if you pour in lots of sugar, it's almost unobjectionable compared to pepper or other stimulating spices.
"Chloe, do you think the food eaten by nobles or rich people is delicious?"
Hearing those words, Chloe shook her head.
"The food eaten at banquets is honestly not tasty. They sprinkle spices like pepper or nutmeg too heavily. It would be better if they didn't sprinkle any at all."
When ordinary people get a chance to eat fancy food like at a buffet to their heart's content, they prepare thoroughly by fasting from the night before.
Because it's a chance to eat expensive food freely, this is the same for nobles too.
Even nobles usually eat relatively cheaper food compared to what they eat at banquets, and eat gold-plated food at events like balls.
'But here it's the opposite.'
To eat even a little less of the food heavily sprinkled with spices during long balls, they eat a lot at home before coming.
"Chris said nobles provide such food at places like balls to show off their family's prestige. But honestly, I find it hard to understand. Why do they have to make precious food so unpalatable?"
Now Chloe is living a life of luxury together with me.
But until just 3 years ago, she was in a situation to be sold as a slave in a poor rural area.
It can't look good to make pork and beef inedible by slathering them with spices.
I also think it's a waste of food.
"Chris, then what do you think would happen if the food nobles eat became available for middle-class city dwellers or merchants to eat occasionally? Would they still want to eat food slathered with spices to show off wealth like now?"
"Nobles aren't fools, so they wouldn't try to make dishes by pouring in spices worth their weight in gold. Isn't all the food served at banquet halls now to show off 'wealth incomparable to lowly beings'?"
Interpreting Chris's words more deeply, if 'middle class' people, who are lowly by their standards, could eat similar food to them even once a year.
There would be no need to eat such spice-slathered dishes anymore.
Because it's not tasty, and its value as a means of showing off wealth has plummeted.
"But even when Father was alive, it was burdensome to make. How on earth are you planning to lower the price?"
Chris's Modina family were executives of a great merchant family.
They were rich enough to be in the top 3% of society including all nobles.
But it's virtually impossible to make it so those who are relatively short on money, in the top 10-25% of our empire, can eat it.
If you think trapped in common sense so far, that is.
"Anything becomes cheaper per unit if you make a lot. So we can reduce the number and scale of dishes in the course, and make it so several groups can eat together. And unlike your family, Chris, the reason skilled craftsmen and merchants who earn decent money can't eat food nobles eat in their lifetime is because of labor costs."
Even a head chef of a ducal family doesn't receive 4-5 gold coins monthly.
Because chefs in this era are ultimately civil servants, and if you really think about it, they're like 9th grade cooking civil servants.
They just have slightly better social status than other craftsmen.
'The average salary was about 3-4 silver coins monthly, right?'
Our empire doesn't have proper recipe books, and there's not even a concept of hiring chefs daily, so you have to hire them at least annually.
Unless you're exceptionally wealthy, it's impossible to serve 'high-class' dishes that require a lot of labor while bearing the labor costs.
Even rich people can hardly dare to spend 100-200 million won annually including labor costs, ingredient costs, and various expenses just to eat fancy food once.
Instead, if it costs 1 million won per person for one meal, ordinary people can't afford it, but anyone who earns good money would want to try food 'nobles' eat at least once.
"We'll provide about 10 dishes like roast pork leg heavily coated with pepper, decorative food colored with spices or dyes, and cakes like those made at Cafe Medici. The price will be about 1 silver coin per person."
"Is there really any profit at that price? It seems like you'd need to charge at least 4 silver coins."
"If we standardize the menu and attract many customers, we'll make money."
Chris pondered for a moment and sighed before saying:
"If people come in droves enough to form lines, we would make some money, but… Will that many people really flock to it?"
Having lived in a world where places are crowded even though they burn tens of thousands of won for one meal, like 5-star hotel buffets, 3 Michelin star restaurants, omakase, etc., which are a bit cheaper than the restaurant I'm trying to create.
I can be confident that citizens of Florence, if we open an elegant restaurant selling precious food nobles eat in a city where a fair number of people gather, citizens will line up.
'The reason we go to 5-star hotel buffets isn't just to eat delicious food.'
"Looking at it rationally, no one but fairly rich people would want to come to our restaurant. But humans are beings ruled by sensibility and emotion rather than reason."
If you think only rationally, even nobles don't need to be obsessed with choosing beautiful concubines.
Thinking only of preserving genes, it would be cheaper to take in several women who seem like they'd bear children well.
They would try to eat only relatively cheap food like rat meat, and wouldn't think of indulging in luxury or showing off.
But because humans have emotional and sensible thoughts along with reason.
They want to embrace beautiful women, crave delicious food, and wage wars to enjoy even a little more wealth and glory.
Coldly speaking, isn't reason just a tool to efficiently realize human instincts?
"Change your perspective and think about it. For just 1 silver coin per person, you can experience being the protagonist of a banquet nobles enjoy."
Hearing those words, both Chris and Chloe's eyes lit up.
"Gorgeous dishes that please the eyes, beautiful music, furniture with mature elegance that you've only longed for all your life. A time to be at the center of nobles' banquets you've only imagined in dreams."
It's the same in any era, any country.
Once survival needs are met, humans wander in search of luxury.
Among luxuries, one that relatively many people can easily satisfy is indulging in gourmet food that rich people often go to (actually they can't go often because they're busy).
That's why there was once a craze for omakase or hotel buffet certifications.
'You feel like you've become elegant, at least when indulging in luxury.'
Not to mention in a world where the class system is actually alive and discrimination exists openly.
While hating nobles they have to look up at for life, they still admire and remain curious about them.
Satisfying that desire by eating the food they eat and enjoying luxurious food?
It would be the ultimate luxury they can imagine.
And they'll quickly become addicted to it.
Just like how there's no one who hasn't been to a 5-star hotel buffet even once, but someone who's been once keeps going repeatedly unless something major happens.
Chris nodded, seemingly convinced by my words now, and answered:
"What you're saying seems to make sense, Baron. Certainly, if there's a chance to taste the luxury only nobles enjoy once a year, everyone would want to come. But to get a noble feeling, we need someone to design the minimum table manners, furniture, and food courses, and a chef to take charge of the kitchen..."
"Certainly, such high-quality personnel are hard to find."
We can get good people introduced if we request a conversation (not threatening with knives) with the chefs' guild for chefs.
But for someone who can simplify etiquette while maintaining dignity...
'It has to be a servant who has served high-ranking people for a long time.'
Such people wouldn't want to do this kind of work easily.
But I have ways for everything.
"Use the spies to find a chef and someone to design the courses. I'll take care of the rest."
**
A few days later, I went to meet the person waiting in the reception room, carrying tools needed for persuasion (not torture devices).
"It's truly an honor that you've moved your feet to my humble mansion."