39 Sonoka's First Visit to the Tavern (2-in-1)
In Zane's original world,
There was a globally authoritative gourmet guide organization. Restaurants rated by them would instantly become busy and fully booked!
In the world of "Food Wars," the same type of organization exists!
WGO.
This is a world-class gourmet association.
Because the idea of "food is supreme" has been deeply ingrained in people's hearts.
So the importance, authority, and influence of the WGO Gourmet Organization are actually unparalleled compared to the Michelin gourmet guide in Zane's previous world.
Well!
Currently,
WGO, for any gourmet restaurant in the world, only offers ratings up to three stars.
But the leap from zero to one star, from one to two stars, from two to three stars is often a deep chasm.
For many restaurant chefs, if their restaurant can be rated at the lowest level of one star by the WGO Gourmet Organization in their lifetime, it would be a huge achievement!
Even Kojirō, a Japanese man who was the first to receive the "Pluspol" in France after graduating from the Academy, currently runs the SHINO French restaurant, which is only two stars!
You can imagine how highly regarded the three stars from the WGO Gourmet Organization are.
Conversely, if a restaurant is well-known, makes a lot of money, but loses its star rating, it will likely have to close its doors.
Every year, the WGO Gourmet Organization sends out a team of "gourmet spies."
Their task is to explore and evaluate gourmet restaurants worldwide, and these individuals are collectively referred to as "executives."
Generally, for the sake of fairness and to avoid the possibility of underhanded dealings, when executives are evaluating a restaurant, they first conceal their identities and quietly critique it as ordinary diners!
But nothing is absolute, some executives may directly reveal their identities and provide feedback!
Regardless of the process, their standards for evaluation are extremely strict.
Simply meeting their requirements in terms of presentation, taste, texture, cooking precision, and more is not enough to receive a star rating.
It also includes the quality of ingredients, the restaurant's profits and dining environment, staff service levels and etiquette, the restaurant's unique features, innovation and creativity, dish prices, and value for money, among many other criteria!
In conclusion, the WGO's selection standards are comprehensive.
These standards aim to ensure that diners at star-rated restaurants can enjoy high-quality gourmet dishes and service.
It is precisely because of the WGO's rigorous evaluation standards and the gathering of a group of outstanding executives that it is the most authoritative gourmet organization in the world!
...
"No time to waste."
"I'll first taste the dishes your restaurant offers!"
After speaking, Anne's gaze fell on the plate of golden and tender goose liver on the table.
In French, goose liver is called Foie Gras, and when sautéed it's Saute, so on French menus, you often find an appetizer called "Foie Gras Saute."
Although dishes like goose liver may have become cloying to an executive like Anne in her lifetime.
But this portion of goose liver sautéed by Sonoka seemed somewhat different, feeling like some additional ingredients were added.
Therefore, without scrutinizing, she directly cut a small piece of the goose liver with a knife and fork and began to taste it slowly.
Golden!
Delicate!
Smooth!
Furthermore, there was that sensation of goose liver melting on the palate.
Only when heated to 35 degrees Celsius does the interior fat of the goose liver begin to melt.
While the goose liver is delicate and smooth like butter, it contains veins inside that need to be meticulously cleaned before sautéing.
The process is very intricate, comparable to preparing a bird's nest, thus it truly tests the chef's skills.
After sautéing, the goose liver's own flavor, instead of presenting the usual greasy feeling of meat, becomes more fragrant in combination with caramelized apples made with butter and sugar.
As one of the world's three great delicacies, simply sautéing goose liver over low heat can greatly increase appetite!
Furthermore, Sonoka also paired it with caramelized apples and black vinegar.
To the extent that this especially delicate and fragrant taste and texture made Anne almost want to exclaim in surprise.
...
"Not bad."
"For this goose liver, you used the most traditional method."
"While goose liver seems to be the most important ingredient on the surface, the apples, caramel, and vinegar also play a significant role!"
"First, the Fuji apple, which contains 9 to 11% monosaccharides, with its tight flesh, is sweeter and crisper than many other apple cultivars."
"Therefore, to balance the salty richness of the goose liver, yielding a sweet and pleasant effect."
"Additionally, the fresh apple flavor enhances the texture of the goose liver, making it more delicious."
"Then, there's the caramel and vinegar."
"When the sugar is caramelized to amber color, quickly pour in the apple pieces, sauté them until they're slightly golden on both sides, allowing the apples to fully absorb the aroma of the caramel."
"As for the black vinegar, you used a combination of thirteen ingredients, including red wine vinegar, olive oil, honey, and black pepper."
"Overall, this goose liver does bring out the richness of the goose liver, the sweetness of the apple, and the crispiness of the caramel."
"Finally, when combined with the sweet and sour taste of the black vinegar, it enhances the distinct layers of flavors in this goose liver dish, ensuring that all the ingredients harmonize well with the goose liver!"
After clearing her throat, Anne began to analyze each detail and method of this goose liver dish in front of Sonoka!
It's evident that, as an executive, she appears particularly professional in her approach to gourmet cuisine.
...
You know, the selection of goose liver is extremely meticulous!
First, the goose must be born in the spring season, then they are fed with a diet that includes a mixture of wheat, corn, fat, and salt, beginning a process known as "gavage-style" feeding.
Every day, they're stuffed with at least 1 kilogram of food, for at least a month.
Only when the goose's liver expands to a weight between 700 to 1000 grams is it considered to meet the standard.
In comparison, the preciousness of goose liver can be equivalent to Chinese cuisine's shark fin, sea cucumber, and even surpasses them!
Therefore, it's often joked:
"Goose liver!
More expensive than the goose itself!"
Clearly, this goose liver dish has taken the so-called "romance" of French cuisine to an unprecedented extreme.
However, it seems that even the most delicious goose liver may not be enough to satisfy this WGO Gourmet Organization's first-rank executive!
—------
Night!
Thick fog swirling around.
At this time, the tavern continued its usual business.
However, tonight's first guest was not anyone else but the owner of the neighboring Shunkatei restaurant, Sonoka.
This former Elite Ten Council's second seat found an empty table, sat down, and ordered two bottles of the strongest shochu.
Shochu, also known as soju.
The term "shochu" means distilled liquor brewed two or more times.
Just like whiskey is beer distilled, cognac is wine distilled, shochu can be understood as a type of distilled liquor in sake.
Despite being reformulated by Zane, the alcohol concentration of this liquor still remains at 30%.
As she gulped down the shochu, Sonoka could feel the fiery sensation in her stomach.
Soon after, a rush of heat emerged internally, exhaling a strong aroma of alcohol through her nose.
Beside her, Zane instinctively noticed that something was off with Sonoka.
Given her soft temperament, she wouldn't have willingly come to the tavern, let alone consume strong liquor in large amounts.
However, faced with this situation, Zane didn't stop her. He could see that Sonoka was using alcohol to numb herself and vent her inner dissatisfaction!
...
"Owner, do you have omurice?"
"Yes!"
"Then I'll have an omurice, can... can you add two more eggs?"
"Sure, please wait a moment."
At that moment, a homely housewife in a dress entered the tavern and ordered omurice with two extra eggs from Zane.
Sometimes, the simplest dishes bring the most surprises.
When it comes to the combination of rice and eggs, many people's initial impression would likely be omurice.
After all, in most food novels, omurice is the beginning of nine out of ten.
However, rice and eggs can actually be made into omurice.
As a convenient and beloved home-cooked dish in Japan.
Omurice is actually quite easy to make, even someone who doesn't know how to cook can learn with just a non-stick pan at home.
Witnessing this, Zane took out the super-light non-stick pan and poured in the beaten eggs. Once the bottom layer of eggs solidified, he deftly used chopsticks to fold the eggs towards the center, allowing the uncooked egg mixture to flow out quickly.
Then, he twisted the chopsticks counterclockwise as he rotated the non-stick pan clockwise, creating folds in the egg in the pan.
Finally, he removed it from heat, carefully poured the egg sheet on the rice.
The entire process looked simple but flowed smoothly like running water, without any flaws.
The most challenging part of making omurice might be wrapping the rice in the egg sheet.
Too little rice will make the finished product unappealing and leave diners hungry, but slightly more egg will easily cause it to crack.
So, mastering the balance between the two depends on the chef's experience!
And if omurice isn't made frequently, it's easy to falter in the final step, causing the piping hot egg to slip off the rice.
"Alright, here's the omurice you requested."
Finally, as the completed omurice was placed in front of the housewife, Zane stepped back to the cooking counter.
...
"Huh?"
"Is this omurice?"
Beside her, Sonoka's cheeks were flushed due to consuming half a bottle of shochu.
Her big watery eyes couldn't help but glance at the freshly cooked omurice, quickly realizing the clue.
Soon, the housewife sliced a cross pattern on the egg skin.
The hidden egg liquid suddenly poured out like a golden waterfall, covering the rice.
In that moment of steaming heat, a strong fragrance of rice began to permeate the entire tavern, continuously stimulating everyone's sense of smell!
Even from a distance, one could experience the unique and fragrant aroma of this omurice.
Even Sonoka sitting next to her couldn't resist, and her stomach started growling.
Fragrant!
So fragrant!
Not just the pure aroma of rice and eggs.
There was also the savory aroma of ham, the fresh aroma of green onions, the rich aroma of the sauce...
…
Omurice, compared to the Chinese dish of fried rice with egg actually have some similarities, like the main ingredients are the same:
Eggs!
Rice!
And they're both simple home-cooked meals.
But clearly, these two dishes have many differences.
The surprise of Zane's omurice lies in the fact that with just one bite, the customer can uncover its secrets, with tender egg skin and rich filling!
Therefore, Sonoka found it increasingly difficult to resist this aroma.
After hesitating several times, she asked Zane, "Could...could I also have an omurice, please?"
"OK, please wait."
Seeing Miku's mood seemingly getting a little better because of the food, Zane began preparing the ingredients and started making the omurice again.
In the fast-paced life, the soul's satisfaction can never fulfill the hungry body.
Especially since her own cooking failed to earn recognition from the Executive Annie, causing Sonoka, the owner of the Shunkatei, to miss out on a two-star rating this year!
But even with a bad mood, even with breakdowns, she still needed to eat.
Soon, the golden omurice was finally placed in front of her as requested.
At first glance, the round omurice was placed on the plain white plate, with a thick curry sauce flowing down from one side, creating a puddle, moistening the golden rice grains...
Sonoka couldn't wait and gently cut open the egg skin layer.
The tender egg mixture inside immediately poured out!
Then, she involuntarily scooped up a mouthful from the fullest part of the rice, sending it into her mouth.
The soft touch of the rice, enveloping the tongue gently, followed by the thick curry sauce, covering the skeptical taste buds, completely relaxing the guard.
Finally, with each bite of rice, it was so delicious that it was hard to stop.
The unique simplicity, directness, and homely warmth of omurice are like a home-cooked meal served by a diligent wife after a day's work.
The rice quickly blended with the curry sauce, along with the perfectly cooked, runny egg skin, permeating the rice, that flavor:
Absolutely exquisite!
"Mmm, it's really delicious."
"This is definitely the most delicious omurice I've ever had in my life!"
Covering her mouth, with sparkling eyes, Miku couldn't help but exclaim.
Zane then glanced at Sonoka and smiled, saying, "Curry omurice might not be very popular in a tavern!"
"Why?"
"It's especially delicious."
"The omurice you made, owner, looks great, with rich and vibrant ingredients."
"The key is the perfect cooking time, the silky egg skin, the soft rice, and the specially made curry sauce that's the soul of the dish."
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This was a 2-in-1 chapter, meaning there is 2 different chapters in this 1 chapter. Make sure to give more power stones!
