Chapter 53
The first test subjects had to be chosen carefully.
Molecular gastronomy—no, cooking with magic? Whatever this new technique was called, it was honestly dangerous.
If done wrong, it would look like a prank rather than food.
From a guest's perspective, seeing mist rise before their eyes, sauce burst like pearls, and cold cream hold firm on a hot plate would certainly be fascinating.
But it couldn't be merely fascinating; it had to be delicious.
The reason the molecular gastronomy boom had eventually died down was that, in the end, it hadn't done much to make food taste better.
To borrow the words of a certain famous chef, it was like apple-flavored molecular gastronomy that tasted worse than an ordinary apple.
Anyway, that was why I chose two people as the first tasting guests.
Count Rosenhart and Count Klever.
Aside from Elysia, they were the two most money-obsessed people I knew.
As it happened, the two were coming together for a meal at House Rosenhart for a joint business venture.
Marie looked at the list and immediately nodded.
“You want the two people most familiar with money to check whether this has business potential?”
“Correct.”
“Yay~”
“Oide~”
“What?”
“Nothing. By the way, what is our lady mage doing?”
“She’s still researching over there.”
Estelle had been moving her fingers in the corner of the kitchen for quite some time.
“The membrane is weaker than yesterday. The fruit-sauce pearls react to pressure inside the mouth, and the aroma-preserving membrane breaks upon contact with a spoon. The cold cream’s holding time has been extended to four minutes and thirty seconds.”
I nodded.
“Good. Four minutes and thirty seconds is enough.”
“I can extend it to five minutes.”
“Will that change the taste?”
“Slightly.”
“Then we can’t.”
Estelle immediately nodded and made a note.
Marie watched her in amazement.
“She really does exactly what she’s told.”
“She’s a good researcher.”
“Hmph.”
‘Why the hmph?’
I had no idea.
“It’s been a while, Kyle Pratt.”
“It’s fascinating to see you two arrive together. Welcome.”
Some time later, the two money fiends came looking for lunch.
“Today’s menu includes a somewhat experimental addition. I received help from a mage from the Mage Tower. Before officially adding it to the menu, I wanted to serve it to the two of you, our investors, first. Since the full course isn’t ready yet, this is only an abbreviated version, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
“Oh-ho, how interesting. Let’s give it a try.”
The first dish was a clear soup with its aroma trapped inside.
At first glance, there was nothing unusual about it.
Only a very thin membrane covered the clear broth.
The moment a guest inserted a spoon, the membrane would break, and the aroma of roasted mushrooms and herbs trapped inside would rise first.
Then the warm broth would enter their mouth.
Count Rosenhart took a spoonful and narrowed her eyes.
“So the guest can control when the aroma spreads.”
She understood it immediately, as expected.
Before Count Klever could even take a second spoonful, he said,
“This is astonishing. It doesn’t end with the food; the experience is included as well. You could sell it at a higher price.”
“Are you already calculating the profits?”
“The more successful Maison Monbel becomes, the greater my gains as an investor will be.”
The second dish was roasted root vegetables topped with very thin slices of western cheese, along with small sauce pearls.
The sweetness of the roasted root vegetables, the rich aroma of the western cheese, and the tart fruit sauce bursting inside the mouth.
The sauce spread the moment the guest chewed, tempering the cheese’s heavy finish.
Count Klever initially viewed the pearls with suspicion.
“They look like jewels.”
“They’re edible.”
“Are you sure?”
“You won’t die.”
“That isn’t a very reassuring explanation.”
He cautiously ate one.
Then he stopped.
It was the moment the sauce burst with a pop and spread through his mouth.
Count Klever’s eyes widened.
“This is…”
Count Rosenhart was eating too.
She chewed very slowly, then dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin and said,
“The order of the ingredients has changed.”
“Yes.”
I answered,
“Normally, the sauce mixes on the plate first. This time, I made it burst inside the mouth.”
“So the guest is completing the cooking.”
“You could look at it that way.”
Count Rosenhart smiled.
“It’s a dangerous idea. Nobles like feeling that they’ve completed something themselves.”
Count Klever immediately nodded.
“Exactly. This can be sold as an experience. You’re selling a moment, not a flavor.”
The two of them looked in the same direction at once.
Very good.
The main course was just an ordinary steak.
I cooked it exceptionally well, but I didn’t play around with molecular gastronomy.
The two of them turned the steak over as though looking for something, then realized there was nothing unusual and simply chewed.
Count Klever said, sounding slightly disappointed,
“What a shame. I thought there would be something.”
Count Rosenhart, on the other hand, nodded.
“It’s tiring if something new appears every time. There are many occasions when a classic like this is preferable.”
Dessert was hot fruit topped with cold cream.
I placed cold cream on fruit roasted until hot, and Estelle’s magic kept the cream from melting.
When a spoon broke through it, the temperature-preserving membrane broke, and heat and cold arrived together in the mouth.
This time, Count Rosenhart gave a small smile.
“I remember drinking warm liquor on snowy days when I was young.”
Count Klever looked almost awestruck.
“This should be sold in winter. On snowy days. Light the lamps outside the window, serve this to the guests, and…”
“You could raise the price.”
Elysia said,
Count Klever smiled with satisfaction.
“As expected, Lady Monbel understands quickly.”
Elysia smiled gently.
“I learned from Kyle.”
I pretended not to know what she meant.
The tasting was a success.
The two discussed why the dishes would sell, which guests they could serve them to, and what seasons and stories they should use to market them.
Estelle kept asking whether any magical residue could be detected.
“Is there a lingering magical residue? If the food tastes metallic, it’s a failure.”
Count Rosenhart said,
“A very faint trace remains, but it isn’t unpleasant. Rather, it feels like evidence that this meal wasn’t made in an ordinary way.”
Estelle’s eyes gleamed.
“Then I don’t have to erase it completely…”
I immediately said,
“Let’s leave only a trace.”
“Pardon?”
“Enough for the guests to appreciate the novelty, but not enough to interfere with the taste.”
Estelle thought for a moment, then nodded.
“It’s possible.”
Marie said from beside us,
“We really do look like a research lab.”
“It’s a restaurant.”
“That statement is losing credibility.”
I couldn’t refute that.
A few days later, word came from Duke Kalden.
He wanted to try food made with the new cooking techniques.
He was a customer deeply involved with Maison Monbel since its early days and the person who had proven that the Duke Course lived up to its name.
When he came on the day of the reservation, the expectation in his eyes was even more blatant than before.
“I heard you have a new cooking technique.”
That was the first thing he said upon arriving.
I bowed my head.
“It’s still being tested.”
“Then it’s even better.”
The duke smiled as he sat down.
“That means I can taste the failures too.”
Real nobles sometimes had courage in strange places.
The duke reacted much like Count Klever and Count Rosenhart.
The important thing was his reaction to the ordinary steak placed midway through the course. Unexpectedly, he agreed with Count Rosenhart as well.
“There’s no need to play around with every dish. It’s good to have one that’s simply ordinary and delicious.”
“Your Grace thinks so as well?”
“For now, that’s merely my personal opinion. How did the other nobles react?”
“Their opinions were split evenly.”
“Hmm. Then do as you see fit.”
I changed the final dessert.
Cold ice cream inside hot bread.
I made ice cream with fresh milk and cream from the West, eggs, sugar, and fragrant fruit, then froze it solid with Estelle’s cooling magic.
The problem was putting it inside the bread without letting it melt.
This idea had existed in my previous life too.
The coexistence of hot and cold.
There had been things like fried ice cream, as well as methods of putting cold cream inside a warm cake.
In this world, magic allowed me to take a more direct approach.
On the outside was a small loaf of freshly baked bread.
When torn open by hand, steam rose from it.
But hidden inside was cold, creamy ice cream.
It had to look impossible, yet feel natural in the mouth.
Estelle’s hands trembled until the very end.
“If the protective barrier is too strong, the bread and ice cream won’t go together, and if it’s too weak, the ice cream will melt.”
“It only has to hold until the first cut.”
“What about after that?”
“After that, it only needs to last long enough for the guest to be surprised.”
Estelle nodded.
“Three minutes.”
“Good.”
The bread was served.
The outside was hot.
When it was cut open in front of the guest, steam rose from it.
When Uncle Bernard cut the bread open with a silver knife, cold white cream was revealed inside.
Duke Kalden’s eyes froze.
“This is…”
I explained,
“I put cold cream made from milk inside hot bread. The outside is freshly baked bread, while the inside is cold. It won’t hold for long. You need to eat it now.”
The duke immediately picked up his fork and put a piece in his mouth.
“……!”
The duke’s eyes widened, and he immediately began chewing in silence.
A moment later, the duke ate a second piece.
Then a third.
‘Huh?’
His speed was strange.
The duke was eating with decorum.
But within that decorum, he was eating at a mad pace.
The hot bread and cold ice cream were disappearing at an unbelievable speed.
Duke Kalden didn’t set down his fork until he had eaten the last piece.
“Kyle Pratt.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“One more.”
“Pardon?”
“Bring me one more.”
I hadn’t expected this.
“Your Grace, the amount of this dessert we prepared…”
“I’ll pay whatever it costs. In my opinion, unlike the strawberry sherbet last time, this dessert won’t compromise the completeness of the course even if I eat more of it. Am I wrong?”
“Your Grace is correct, but…”
When I looked toward the kitchen, Estelle’s eyes were already shining.
“An additional serving is possible. However, since it must be cooked to order, it will take a little time, and there will be an additional charge for the special dessert.”
The duke replied without the slightest hesitation,
“I don’t mind. How many gold coins will it cost?”
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
A second loaf was served shortly afterward.
The duke ate it at almost the same speed as before.
However, this time he briefly smelled it before eating, then split open the bread to check the cold cream inside.
It was the attitude of someone confirming an impossibility for a second time.
After finishing it, he said quietly,
“The heat is embracing the cold.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
When I asked, the duke answered with complete seriousness,
“This is dangerous.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“I’ll keep thinking about it.”
There was no better review than that.
After the duke left, the kitchen briefly took on a festive atmosphere.
Marie ate a leftover piece of bread and immediately said,
“This is seriously cheating.”
“Is it that good?”
“Yeah. It’s hot but cold, and it’s bread but ice cream. My brain is protesting, but my mouth loves it.”
That was a good review.
Estelle looked almost moved to tears.
“The protective barrier worked. However, during the second serving, the center melted about twenty seconds faster.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll improve it.”
“Good.”
When I smiled, Marie and Elysia looked at me at the same time.
“What is it this time?”
Elysia said calmly,
“Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“We need to add that dessert to the regular menu.”
“Yes. It would be best as a seasonal limited-time item or part of a special course.”
“Set the price high.”
“Of course.”
“And we need to increase the supply of milk from the West.”
“That’s necessary too.”
“I’ll send a letter to Roenheim right away.”
Elysia moved quickly.
Estelle organized the magical structure, Uncle Bernard calculated the additional costs, and Marie was eating the remaining bread crumbs.
“Pig.”
“That’s too harsh!”
Lately, I was worried that Marie seemed to be putting on more and more weight.
Her butt seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, but saying that would count as sexual harassment, right? I’d better keep quiet.