Knights, Let’s Smash Them

55 – Let’s try the legendary pepper crisp (2)

There are no cooking competitions in this world.

In the first place, most of the cooks in charge of meals for the Imperial Palace, that is, the Imperial Emperor, are selected through such a cooking contest.

However, the clear difference from now is that the tournament is generally held only in the imperial family or the capital.

It was not a way to form a separate judging panel like I do now and invite the audience, but only to guests invited by the imperial family.

Those guests, too, are people with more power than counts.

As a result, cooking contests were regarded as a kind of extravagant event.

From noble mtl dot com.

Recently, the price has dropped a lot, but in this era where spices are still treated as a semi-luxury item, you can watch and eat food made with plenty of spices. What if it is not a luxury event?

That’s why ordinary citizens tend to regard cooking contests as a kind of ‘private property of the nobility’.

Today I was thinking of breaking that perception.

In technical terms, the Panoplie effect.

The theory is that by purchasing a specific item or performing a specific action, one identifies with the group that is the subject of the item or action.

As I’ve said every time, spices were still a luxury item, except for a few ‘relatively’ popular products like pepper.

There was a widespread perception that dishes seasoned with such spices were also naturally luxurious.

In addition, the cooking contest itself was an event where only certain people directly selected by the ‘Imperial Family’ were allowed to watch it.

Of course, I thought that the panoply effect would occur in various classes, from commoners to local nobles.

And that prediction was completely correct.

Thousands of people flocked to watch the cooking contest.

It barely reached 10,000, but considering that Petaronto has only 3,000 citizens, it’s no wonder that the city’s capacity was too much to handle.

I continued to progress while feeling the hot smoke of the venue with one body.

“You can use the materials freely. Special sauces, spices, whatever. However, don’t deviate from the main topic of fried or grilled chicken dishes.”

“The time limit is one hour from the moment I ring the bell in front of me. Even unfinished dishes must be submitted to the jury after the time limit has elapsed.”

At my words, whispers came from all over the audience.

“…… 1 Hours? It’s too tight.”

“Yes, this person. Do you feel good when you go into a restaurant and it took more than an hour for the food to come out?”

“That’s right. Besides, it’s a chicken dish.”

“It’s easy to cook, but there’s no reason it takes more than an hour.”

The representative meat of common people.

Even though it’s a fantasy world, beef is a fairly high-end ingredient here too. Pigs and lambs were more expensive than chickens, but not as much as cows.

This is the reason why I chose chicken as my main item.

Chicken is the truth.

Of course, chicken is a food that anyone can enjoy, whether it be the aristocracy or the common people.

Even in Hyundai, the first thing our Samsung Jae-Dragon hyung ate as soon as he got out of prison was chicken, so he said everything.

“As the moderator and judge, I will personally go down to the venue and ask questions to the contestants throughout the event.”

“No matter what kind of reaction comes from the outside, the one who responds leisurely and creates the finest dishes can be the winner of the prize money!”

“When I rung the bell, ladies and gentlemen, please be willing to give a thunderous applause for the contestants!!”

I finally said those words and vigorously shook the small bell hanging above the stage.

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding!!!

“Waaa!!!”

“Fighting!! You are the hope of our town!!”

Heavy applause and cheers.

At the same time, participants’ hands begin to move busily.

I shifted my gaze to the judges.

Judge Arthur Tarantino, who was reluctant to participate until the end, now has a look of anticipation as if he is unexpectedly interested.

Latheon, the captain of the 3rd Division of the Black Lion Knights, had already emptied his third glass of beer, even though the tournament had just begun.

It was a move worthy of a drunkard. It’s a shame because that kid doesn’t have an injection, and I’m dizzy about what would have happened if he had an injection.

And last.

The special judge, Count Dionaos Rupel, the lord of the county, was watching the contest with a joyful expression.

Unfortunately, Princess Lilia was unable to participate. She

She came secretly, and said that she wanted to enjoy her vacation leisurely until tomorrow.

Still, thanks to that, I was sweet.

Since the Duchy of Hebron is right next to the Rupel Mansion, close cooperation is needed in the development of the territory, whether in the short term or long term.

Friendship with her, who is predicted to be the likely successor to such a territory, is a valuable achievement that even money cannot buy.

‘There he is.’

This time, let’s move our attention to the audience seats, especially the nobility and guests.

She catches her eye in her robes, sitting down beside our knights.

The robes were also provided for wearing in the Snow Leopard Knights, so even in the robes, they did not stand out so much that they drew attention.

Lilia Hebron shook her hand lightly when I gave her a quick glance.

Then, the preparation phase must be over…….

“Aha, everyone is slowly starting to cook. Now let’s go down slowly!”

It’s a fun Gensei time.

***

“Everyone is diligently disbanding. By the way, this knife, the shape is strange, isn’t it?”

I started walking around the venue and talking to the contestants, just like I once saw on a cooking variety show.

“This is called a rose knife.”

Wow.

It’s a naming that looks like it’s going to blow up anything.

If you think there is something unusual about the costumes, tools, chickens and ingredients of the participants, they will tell you right away.

The audience also naturally joined the trend.

“Does that kitchen knife look really sharp?”

“Sure. It cuts well.”

“Who is the artisan who made that pot?”

Since the cooking has not yet been completed, it is a high-level hosting technique that emphasizes these elements and attracts the attention of the audience.

Besides, let me add one more thing.

For the cooks who participated in our Rupel Mansion, special cooking utensils made at the Albert Blacksmith’s were distributed.

There was only one reason.

“This pot doesn’t get soot at all when you put it in the oven, right?”

“Yes, this is a special pot only available in Petalonto. You can buy it at Albert’s Forge, north of town.”

PPL.

Originally, indirect advertisements are effective in competitions like this.

I thought it was a fun festival, and when I came to my senses, I’ll let you carry an armful of Petalonto items on your side.

“Huh? Is that true? No, even as an administrative officer, I didn’t even know that such a good thing existed.”

I performed deftly, lifting the pot and showing it to the audience.

“Look, there is no soot at all.”

There were people in the audience who nodded their heads and seemed full of desire to buy, as if it had certainly attracted interest.

In the meantime, Albert, the maker, is still mass-producing pots because he rowed when the water came in.

Like last time, even though he’s a blacksmith, he reads the flow of money amazingly well.

From the ladle in the pot, to the ‘base potion that adds umami to food’ (Made in Alchemist Compton), which is only produced in the Rupell estate.

While promoting the unique items of Petalonto merchants that only those in the know have known about, several flagship products that have been kissed by large merchants in advance.

As time passed, the finished food gradually began to appear.

“Ah, the moment I speak! The long-awaited first dish has arrived!!”

Chicken deep fried. I approached the contestant standing with a confident expression and put the loudspeaker in.

“Participation number 11! Mr. Harland from Sanders Town! Please explain this dish.”

The cook, who had white hair and looked like a friendly old man from the North American continent, answered proudly.

“I just fried the chicken that I marinated in a special sauce yesterday. It is not applied on the outside of the tempura, but the light and hot scent that remains inside the immaculate flesh is excellent.”

As I followed his words and lifted up the large chicken legs, I could hear mouth-watering sounds from everywhere.

“The name is Sanders Fried Chicken, with my heart for our town.”

Sanders Fried Chicken!

It’s a beautiful sound.

I handed out the chicken to the judges before it cooled down.

“Please try the first one!”

“Kuhmm…… !”

Judge Arthur first smelled what was on the plate, then carefully tore off the flesh with a fork and put it in his mouth.

I closed my eyes and savored the taste slowly.

A judge standing still as if time had stopped.

“Justice Arthur, please express the taste.”

“This is…… Oh my god this is…….”

A look of astonishment is overlaid on top of the expression that was always strict and serious.

“Before I speak of this flavor, I will use my legitimate powers as Judge Rupell! From now on, the recipe for this food will be protected under the Ruupel Act!!”

“Yes?”

“I can’t hand over such delicious food to other provinces. Cancer!! aaa!!!”

He began to make absurd arguments.