Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Both Garten and Kate were extremely grateful for the help that Animal Pet Shop had given them. They knew clearly that everything they had today was thanks to the support of the Animal Pet Shop.

Therefore, they were both very attentive whenever the shop asked them to learn something, determined to contribute in any small way they could.

Even if they could only lighten the load a little, they would feel incredibly fulfilled.

Now, Garten was one of the newly appointed chefs in the tavern, while his sister Kate, due to her outstanding looks, had been selected as a service staff member in the tavern.

The two siblings had performed exceptionally well during the training at the tavern, which allowed them to stand out and become some of the lucky few selected from all the trainees.

"Alright!" Anne walked in, her expression serious as she looked at the assembled staff in the kitchen, "Everyone can start preparing the food for lunch. Just like we rehearsed, today we will be operating at the scale and state of our future business. Therefore, this trial run is extremely crucial. I hope everyone can stay focused."

"We've gone through countless training sessions, and I believe you can all perform your tasks perfectly today! Any problems?"

The chefs and the support staff perked up and responded loudly, "No problems!"

Anne smiled slightly and nodded at the head chef, Pierre, a veteran chef with decades of experience, before slowly exiting the kitchen that was beginning to come to life.

Pierre, with great respect, watched the head maid leave, and the moment her figure disappeared, he straightened his back and began to energetically shout orders, "Tom! The prep work should be done by now. Go and check if our tableware is ready, and make sure all the plates are neatly arranged on the trays. We can't afford any delays because of such things!"

"No problem, Chef Pierre!"

"Dick, you three prepare the main dishes and bread. We'll serve the dinner rolls first. Each portion should have three different flavors of sliced bread, so don't get it wrong!"

"Yes, Chef!"

"And the appetizer sauces, Eve, you take charge of that. Get the appetizer sauces and side dishes ready to be served immediately. Coordinate with Dick."

"Yes, Chef!" Eve responded and turned to get busy.

Pierre scanned the room and saw that the entire kitchen was bustling, except for the dozen chefs under his direct supervision, who were still awaiting their final tasks. He nodded in satisfaction.

Despite this being his first time managing such a large kitchen, Pierre felt confident in his abilities.

He was an experienced chef, having worked as the head chef in a large restaurant for many years before coming to Animal Pet Shop. However, the owner of that restaurant had been eaten by a beast during a distant trip...

As a result, the restaurant was sold, and all the chefs were out of work.

Pierre was lucky. His skills were excellent, and he soon found new employment when Lorant started hiring for his tavern. After a brief demonstration, he secured his new position.

He was a decisive man and, on the same day, brought his family to join Animal Pet Shop.

Like many craftsmen, he harbored the desire to become a member of the kitchen staff at Animal Pet Shop.

Even though he had a respectable job, he wasn't exactly well-off. He couldn't afford to send his daughter to the church-run girls' school.

"Alright, boys! Now it's time to show what we've got." Pierre turned excitedly and rubbed his hands together, speaking loudly to everyone. The generous pay fueled his enthusiasm for this new opportunity, "Stick to the plan we've rehearsed. Garten and I will handle the most important curry base, and the rest of you, complete your dishes. Everyone, stay focused. Our goal is to leave Mr. Lorant impressed, so we can't afford any mistakes!"

Standing next to this burly head chef, Garten felt an immense surge of excitement.

Finally, this was his moment to shine in his first official public cooking.

Among the dozen or so chefs, apart from a few selected from the orphanage, most were hired by Lorant from outside.

After all, becoming a skilled chef takes years of experience, even for those with natural talent. It was a profession that demanded time and skill.

Without years of experience, one could never be truly adept.

An inexperienced chef would only cause chaos in the kitchen or the entire operation.

Therefore, a team of novices wouldn't be able to handle running the entire shop smoothly, and both Lorant and Martha knew this all too well.

For routine tasks, any experienced chef could handle the job, and as long as their skills were good enough, they could provide guests with a perfect dining experience.

However, as the tavern of the Animal Pet Shop, there were some secrets that outsiders couldn't easily access.

For example, 'Curry.'

Before these unique beast pets were officially sold, all the curry dishes in the tavern needed to be specially prepared. This was the signature dish that the tavern was preparing to launch for the tavern.

A "secret recipe!"

As a signature dish for the shop, curry was indeed an excellent choice for the tavern.

First, curry is incredibly versatile. Almost anything edible can be thrown in and stewed together, and the flavors blend quite well.

After relocating his entire family to live with the craftsmen behind the shop, Pierre began to research how to perfectly prepare and match this new ingredient and dish.

Now, his skills have been recognized by Lorant, which finally put the veteran chef at ease, as he'd been anxious about his new boss.

Curry Monster Feast, Curry Meatballs, Curry Buns, Curry...

A wide variety of curry dishes were developed by Pierre in a short period of time, some of which even Lorant had to admire for their ingenious combinations.

Today, Pierre is eager to give everyone a fantastic first taste of his curry.

The reason he chose Garten as his sole assistant wasn't because Garten's handsome looks could cheer Pierre up, though that wasn't the real reason.

The main reason was that Garten was the luckiest chef among them all when it came to being compatible with the 'Curry Monster.'

He was the most favored by the Curry Monster, and the curry extracted from it by him was the most fragrant.

Yes, after numerous experiments, several mages responsible for testing the Curry Monster's data discovered that even if different people used the same technique to extract 'curry' from the Curry Monster, the taste would have subtle differences. Moreover, the same material prepared by different people using exactly the same steps would also result in different flavors.

They speculated that this subtle difference was related to the Curry Monster's mood when it sprayed the curry powder.

Therefore, to obtain the best curry flavor, a chef with high compatibility with the Curry Monster needed to extract the curry liquid or powder from the beast, and then this chef would cook the dish, ensuring the curry reached its perfect taste.

And Garten was that lucky chef with extremely high compatibility with the Curry Monster.

Of course, extracting curry from the Curry Monster didn't need to be done in the kitchen. The night before, Garten had already gone to see those little guys, spending some time playing with them before extracting rich curry from them.

Speaking of the Curry Monster, this unusual beast pet amazed Martha and others. This small, jelly-like creature had an oddly endearing charm.

Lorant had always thought that these little guys had a lot in common with the beast pet Slime, the only difference being that one was a round ball, while the other was more like a flat, soft flying saucer.

However, as a Class C beast pet, the Curry Monster was much smarter than the beast pet Slime.

The beast pet Slime had almost no intelligence; they couldn't even recognize who fed them every day.

For example, in Slime Ranch, even if a different employee went to spray nutrient solution for these beast pet Slimes every day, it wouldn't be a problem.

These soft, big blobs would just continue eating and drinking, completely indifferent to such details.

But the Curry Monster was different; it was a very lively beast pet that needed a lot of exercise every day to burn off its excess energy.

In this regard, the Curry Monster was actually quite suitable to live with the young of Glassy Ice Flame Dogs. If they were interested in each other, their play could save Lorant a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, despite its thick outer skin, the Curry Monster is still too fragile compared to the sharp claws and teeth of the Glassy Ice Flame Dog. Even in play, the overly energetic young pets might accidentally cause the demise of this fragile beast.

After Kimberly and the others reached this conclusion, Lorant abandoned the idea of keeping these two types of pets together.

As a pet of the same rank as the Windbreaking Horse, the Curry Monster also has a wide range of expressions. This little creature seems to crave human companionship. There were two days when Lorant and the others were busy, and the curry they produced had a bitter taste...

When these little creatures are played with and kept happy, the curry they produce becomes much smoother and richer in flavor.

Based on this, the Curry Monster is actually a pet well-suited for household breeding. Not only does it have a quirky, cute appearance and always make faint, subtle sounds, but its one-on-one relationship with humans allows it to receive more attention, which helps keep it in good spirits.

No one in this world has ever experienced the taste of curry before. However, everyone at the Animal Pet Shop, including the shop helpers and the orphanage children, quickly grew to love it.

This boosted Lorant’s confidence. If the curry flavor couldn’t be accepted by people, the Curry Monster would only be a limited specialty pet, which would somewhat waste the talents of these little creatures. If that were the case, Lorant wouldn’t plan to breed more Curry Monsters. The first batch might be the last of its kind, which would leave Lorant feeling regretful.

Under Pierre’s guidance, Garten poured a large amount of curry ingredients into the pot, added the right amount of water, and mixed in fragrant Highland Ironhorn Sheep milk. He also added several types of juices blended together and began stirring in a large pot.

Soon, the rich aroma of curry wafted out, spreading from the large pot that required two people to stir it. The entire back kitchen filled with this delightful scent.

The penetrating aroma of curry quickly reached the guests in the hall. The hungry crowd, who hadn’t eaten anything that morning, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

"Shop owner, what is this?"

"It smells so good! Is it food?"

"Can we order dishes today? I want to eat this!"

"This scent seems new. Is it a new product developed by the Animal Pet Shop?"

Several familiar customers, most of them students, eagerly asked Lorant. Having interacted with him for a long time, they were bold enough to ask questions when they weren’t in class.

Drawn by the enticing aroma, they gathered around Lorant, eager to ask questions.

Lorant smiled faintly. Though he was younger than most of his students, Lorant carried himself with an air of authority. In their presence, he felt like a mentor. "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let you guys starve!"

"Today is the first day of business for the inn. We’ll serve everyone according to the highest-grade package. The smell you’re experiencing now is a byproduct of a brand-new pet, the Curry Monster, which the Animal Pet Shop has not yet released."

"Soon, the kitchen will serve small portions for everyone to try. You can decide if you can accept this new flavor. If not, just let the kitchen know not to include curry in your meal today and just have the regular food instead," Lorant said to the eagerly listening guests. "Rest assured, even without the curry, there will be plenty of regular food to go around."

About five hundred people came today. Naturally, on such a grand occasion, every family was present in full force.

Even so, this was only half of the inn’s expected full capacity. They didn’t even fill the second floor.

Thus, even though it was the first official day of business, the staff and kitchen, having undergone extensive training, handled their first service in an orderly fashion.

Although there were a few minor chaotic episodes, they were quickly resolved without causing any disturbances upfront.

Just a few minutes after Anne signaled the kitchen to begin, a team of servers wearing uniquely designed formal attire by Lorant walked out gracefully, holding trays.

Lorant had designed several different outfits for the servers who would work in the inn. For instance, the female attendants who would serve on the third floor wore the elegant long dresses that were now on display.

As the beautifully carved circular wooden doors with flower and bird patterns opened, a procession of graceful young women in light blue dresses emerged. Their gentle smiles spread subtle fragrances as they moved.

Their elegant movements and gentle smiles made it seem like they belonged in a painting, especially as they carefully placed small plates on the tables and explained how to savor the unfamiliar dishes.

These guests thought they were young ladies from wealthy families.

Although people say that grace is something that comes from within, Lorant never believed it. At least in his eyes, with sufficient training, anything could be faked.

By dressing them in elegant light blue dresses, tying their long hair into graceful updos, leaving a few carefully curled strands of hair on their foreheads, and applying beautiful makeup,

and finally adorning their necks with uniform accessories and dabbing scented balm on their wrists.

From the outside, it was hard to believe these girls had once been unkempt and dirty, like wild children.

Even most girls from less affluent families in the city didn’t have such an appearance.

However, Lorant wasn’t satisfied with just that. After transforming their appearances, he had someone specially train the girls’ demeanor, refining every detail from the way they walked, served dishes, and stood still.

The rigorous training, which took place almost every moment except when they were sleeping, eventually produced a group of waitresses whose behavior and manners were indistinguishable from those of wealthy young ladies.

Listening to these girls, who could now captivate people with just their appearance, gently bow and respectfully explain the eating methods of the dishes, many who had never seen such a scene felt a little uneasy.

How could they let such girls serve them!

The true wealthy merchants and nobles, however, smiled and accepted the girls' service. This wasn’t a new idea for Lorant; many high-end establishments that catered to the nobility had done the same.

For instance, the Holy Light Rose Club in Mauplan had always hired students from the Knights Academy as waitstaff. Having practitioners serve as waiters was essentially the same as what Lorant was doing now—cultivating a group of waitresses.

The girls in the tavern were all very tactful. After giving a brief introduction to the guests, they silently retreated with another waiter holding a large tray.

Guests were equally impressed by the elegance of the waitresses and the beautifully presented dishes on the table.

Lorant didn’t intend for the tavern to focus solely on a high-end clientele.

The kind of treatment available now would only be found on the third floor after the grand opening, while the first and second floors would be more like ordinary taverns. Gathering places for adventurers didn’t need to be overly elegant; a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere was sufficient.

The first and second floors would have more waitstaff than the third floor. The ones currently helping the girls carry the trays were mostly children from orphanages, some from Blue Star Orphanage and others from the Knights of the Thorns Orphanage.

These children were quick learners, and Lorant had provided them with basic training. Now, their once restless and mischievous personalities were gone.

They had all become much more composed, and in their dark blue long-sleeved outfits with subtle patterns, they looked quite sharp.

The first dish served was a small plate of sliced bread, clearly cut from three different types of bread.

On the side of the plate were three small cups containing different sauces.

Following what the waitress had said, Gibson picked up a piece of bread and examined it carefully.

The bread in his hand was soft and airy.

The other two pieces were chewy and crispy, respectively.

These were obviously bread products from the 'Candy Rabbit House,' part of the Animal Pet Shop. Freshly baked bread from the Candy Rabbit House was very popular in both Mauplan and Holland due to its limited production, sold in limited quantities during two time periods each day. If you missed those times, you could only look at the other products from the Candy Rabbit House.

The more scarce it was, the more people liked it. Every day, at fixed times, people would line up in front of the shop, waiting for the bread to come out of the oven.

Gibson had naturally eaten this bread before, but he had never seen those three sauces.

One of the sauces was a bluish-purple sauce. According to the waitress, it was a 'fruit sauce' containing the fruit of a plant-type beast. Compared to the jams sold by the Candy Rabbit House, this freshly made sauce had a more pronounced flavor, tasting sweet with a hint of just-right fruit acidity, leaving a refreshing floral aftertaste.

The second sauce was a red chili sauce. A small dip of the bread into it exploded with spiciness on the tongue, a numbing and hot sensation that Gibson had never experienced before, but he liked it after just one taste.

The last sauce was a small bowl of light brown sauce. As Gibson examined it, he could smell the rich curry aroma.

It’s strange that after initially releasing a burst of curry aroma that caught everyone's attention, the smell suddenly vanished.

This was, of course, also by design in the tavern.

Between the kitchen and the main hall, Lorant had specifically had someone install very thick sealing doors to ensure that the kitchen's smoke and fumes wouldn't drift into the main hall.

Of course, a little aroma escaping when the doors opened wasn't a problem!

The boss, watching the guests enjoying their meal with enthusiasm, smiled to himself.

Maomao perched on the ceiling beam, sensing Lorant's thoughts, carefully stuffed a piece of curry-soaked bread into its mouth without getting any curry on its white fur and nodded in approval.

Yeah, Maomao's got a point!