Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 32.2: “Banquet: Preparation”

　Since it was a practice run, it was possible that the bubbles might overflow due to a wrong opening. In that case, I intended to let the cooks as well as the waiters drink it so that they would learn the taste.

However, I noticed that even the bottles that had not failed were gone before I knew it. The culprits, of course, were obvious. There were only two people I could think of.

There was no room for complacency.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of the appearance of the dwarves.

No, it is rude to say this to the dwarves. They look like they really want to drink, but they would never drink without my permission.

Well, the sparkling wine they have now originally belonged to Liddy, so they don’t need my permission.

And now, I am in the pantry of the serving room.

The waiters in front of me have a strange mood. No, it is not strange, but…

The head waiter and the other five waitresses stood straight and tall, with a white napkin hung on their left arm, waiting in an erect and immobile posture.

In addition, Barbara Harding, the head maid, and 15 other attendants were also standing in a beautiful line, dressed in dark blue attendants’ uniforms and pure white aprons.

To my surprise, the head waiter bowed with a nervous look on his face and immediately proceeded to explain today’s arrangements.

“…For the toast, red wine is served in a silver stemmed goblet. After His Excellency’s opening speech, the sparkling wine is uncorked all at once as soon as the toast is finished. The person distributing the glasses should place them in position quickly but gracefully. However, the guests should be properly briefed. …When the celebration reaches its climax, the spirits should be prepared. Straight, on the rocks, or with water. If the guests are not sure which to choose, you may serve a little at a time. Straight is served in a small glass prepared by Mr. Zacharias. On the rocks, for the Count and higher nobility, the same as instructed by Master Zacharias, and for everyone else, a silver goblet….” (Fergus)

The arrangements were perfect, and there were no questions or confirmations from the servers or headmaid.

This time, about two hundred fluted champagne glasses–wine glasses made of crystal glass with long legs and a narrow body–and about two hundred small tasting glasses–We have prepared about 150 small tasting glasses, which are made of ordinary glass and shaped like wine glasses with legs and narrow mouths.

In addition, we have also prepared about 20 crystal glass rocks glasses, slightly thicker and without legs, that we showed to the Count at the banquet the other day.

All of them are deposited here.

The glasses were presented to the Roswell family as a wedding gift to my brother and his wife.

The glasses were neatly arranged on the trolley next to the waiters.

I picked up one of them without thinking.

I looked at it through the light from the wall lamp light magic tool.

(Perfect. Perfect. Champagne glasses should be polished just before pouring. Probably polished all of them a few minutes ago. As instructed…) (Zack)

Not the slightest bit of fogging, nicely polished, and not a speck of dust on them.

Then I heard a gulp behind me.

Before I knew it, the head waiter had stopped talking, and everyone in the room was staring at me.

“Well, is there something wrong…?” (Fergus)

The head waiter asked me this in a hushed voice.

I thought I might have misled him, so I smiled and told him there was no problem.

“No, it’s well polished and there’s not a speck of dust. It’s perfect.” (Zack)

Immediately after that, the waiters exhale in unison. Their tightened faces relaxed slightly.

(Were they nervous about my inspection? I don’t think you need to worry that much…) (Zack)

I couldn’t understand why they were nervous.

The head waiter’s explanation resumes.

“…The dish we’re going to serve with the sparkling wine is a cracker topped with cheese and pickles. It’s eaten with your hands, so please let them know in advance… This is a cake to be served for dessert, but it is made with spirits, so please explain briefly when you serve it. Be especially careful not to serve it to small children… Afterward, when chatting, inform the guests that there will be cheese and other simple snacks. …Especially this time, it is expected that there will be many guests who might drink too much, so I would like you to double check where their attendants are…” (Fergus)

As one would expect from a servant of a great aristocrat, he is accustomed to large banquets, but he has never had such a detailed meeting. They did it based on the instructions of the head maid and head waiter from time to time and the experience of the waiters, so there was no need for a meeting. Of course, there was no manual.

After the head waiter’s explanation, the head maid nodded,

“Sir Zacharias. Is there anything you would like to add?” (Barbara)

I shake my head and say, “No.” William, the head chef, steps forward.

“Then I would like to request for sir to check on the food…” (William)

I wasn’t expecting that at all, so I asked, “Huh?”

(As expected, I don’t think that’s necessary… I’m just an invited guest, there’s the Count’s right-hand man, Baron Oldham…) (Zack)

“By all means, please. At the very least, I’d like the food to go with the sparkling wine and spirits.” (William)

Saying that he bows his head.

The head maid also says with a smile, “Please,” and I reluctantly agree.

There were two types of appetizers, such as canapés and pintxos, which are finger foods with ingredients on top of crackers or bread cut into small pieces. [T/N: Both canapés (French origin) and pintxos (Spanish origin) are similar but canapés are usually bread/pastry topped with dairy, and protein and sprinkled with herbs. Meanwhile, pintxos are protein or a combination of protein, w/ or w/o dairy. Pintxos are also skewered with a cocktail stick.]

One was topped with a white mold cheese, like Camembert or Brie, with small slices of beautifully colored pickled vegetables like red bell peppers–with little vinegar. The other has foie gras, steamed and sliced, with a few drops of spiced berry sauce. Both were beautiful to look at and made in bite-size portions, just as I’d requested. The taste of the pickles and cheese is perfectly balanced, and the foie gras should go well with the bubbly wine due to the tartness and aroma of the berry sauce.

“It’s delicious. I think the guests will be satisfied with this.” (Zack)

My words brought a sigh of relief from the chef and the cooks in the back.

“Please keep the ingredients on top chilled in the cold storage until just before serving.” (Zack)

The cold storage I’m talking about here is something I made in a hurry.

The reason was that I needed ice for the on-the-rocks, but as one of the invited guests, I couldn’t go out to make it.

In the warehouse at the back of the serving room, a stone chamber-like frame was made with earth magic, and a door was made with thick wooden planks. It is two meters high, two meters wide, and one meter deep. Ice covered with salt is used for cooling. This time, the ice for cooling was made by the Knight Order’s magicians who can use water attribute magic.

However, I made all the round ice cubes for the on-the-rocks. This is because the magicians here could not make a beautiful spherical shape, and the ice tasted different.

When I wondered why the taste was different and asked them why, they replied with a wry smile, “I have never thought about the taste.”

On the contrary, the fact that I even thought about taste made him ask, “Does Sir Zacharias care about taste even in offensive magic?” I was taken aback. I know exactly what he means because they were making ice using the ice bullet, which is offensive magic.

Later, I also checked the pork terrine to go with the spirits, which was satisfactory enough, with a slight hint of cider.

When I told them this, the chef finally smiled.

(Anyway, everything seems to be fine, so let’s get back…) (Zack)

“Well then, everyone, thank you very much.” (Zack)

I bowed my head and left the place.