I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 167 Skilled
After seeing off a group of young men and women, DuPont was not idle; he was pulled into the ranks of the halflings to serve as a laborer.

“This is a great opportunity to show off. Several famous chefs have come with the church.” Judy wiped her hands with a white cloth. “Although they are not very strong and are just monks, they have a special status in the church. They are senior and know many important people. If you do well this time, even if you don’t get much credit, you can definitely get a free meal and drinks by mentioning your name on their church’s territory.”

Having found a powerful backer, DuPont no longer yearned for those big shots, but as a friend, he naturally couldn't neglect this matter, especially since the other party was acting out of good intentions.

After changing into a different coat, DuPont first inquired about the taboos: "What don't these people eat?"

"Offal is probably not an option. Although it's true that non-clergy members are all delicate, they are guests from afar, so we should naturally serve them something good. We can't use ingredients that might offend people." Judy pointed to the meat on the freezer shelf where the food was being prepared: "These are fine, but it's best to avoid bones that can't be used for spicy food, so that it won't be elegant to spit out bones later."

"This is so troublesome." DuPont changed into a white robe and took out his sharp dagger. "Anything else?"

"You'd better not use that weapon. Who knows if it's been stained with human blood? If someone finds out, it could cause a huge problem." The halfling said, taking out a set of cutlery, eight different shapes and sizes: "These are my spares, you can have them."

DuPont whistled, took out a boning knife the length of a dagger, and discovered that the weapon was not only made of fine steel but also exceptionally sharp. It could even cause 1-6 damage when used to stab someone, making it stronger than ordinary finely crafted weapons.

"You're really willing to spend that much. This set must have cost a lot of money, probably over a hundred gold coins?"

"Selling it would probably cost more, but I didn't spend a penny. Huozhu made it for me; I'll just treat him to a few special meals." The halfling smiled. "What are you planning to do?"

"If we're going to have separate servings, I'll make a pig's trotter dish. It can be served as a main course or an appetizer."

"There's no need to be so particular. With over a hundred people coming, it's already good enough if we don't treat them to a communal meal. We can just have a buffet." Judy clapped her hands. "Anyway, the worst that can happen is that we don't have many people to choose from, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Tch, what are you saying?" DuPont glanced at the freezer and had his answer in mind: "Give me some pork belly and beef ribs, and 10 fat ducks. As for vegetables, I don't know what the northerners like, so I'll leave these to you."

"Are you still going to make braised dishes?" Judy reminded her, "Duck and pork can't be cooked together, they'll mix flavors."

"Don't underestimate me. If you didn't know how to make red wine oxtail, I wouldn't mind doing the work for you. The main thing is to make some dishes that these people haven't tried before." DuPont quickly grabbed the spices according to his memory: "This is white brine, which is different from last time. We'll make some dishes that can be eaten hot or cold. As for the kitchen helper, set up three big pots outside for me and start by boiling two of them."

Seeing this, Judy thought they were probably going to cook something again, but DuPont ignored it, glanced at the ingredients and nodded: "You've already cleaned out the blood?"

Judy rolled her eyes at the question: "I'm not one of those amateur cooks, do you think I wouldn't know the answer to this?"

To save himself the trouble, DuPont blanched the beef short ribs, scallions, and ginger in cold water, then picked up a small pot, added salt and Sichuan peppercorns, and roasted them over low heat.

Seeing this, the halfling felt incredibly distressed. Sichuan peppercorns weren't produced in Harua; they were all imported. Even with a spatial bag for transport, their value was comparable to the same weight in silver: "You're really willing to spend that much! This stuff is much more expensive than beef..."

"Since they are all honored guests, it's only right to use some good stuff. Besides, it's not like we can't get reimbursed." DuPont chuckled as he poured the salt and pepper into a large bowl, summoned a mage's hand, and multitasked as he quickly smeared half of the salt and pepper inside and outside the duck. The halfling watching quickly reminded him, "The duck's head, neck, and butt aren't eaten. Don't waste my spices."

DuPont threw away the duck tail, but kept the head and neck, only removing the skin: "We can keep them for our meal, they're great with drinks, it's a waste to throw away something so fatty."

Seeing that DuPont's explanation was quite detailed and convincing, the halfling felt relieved and went to prepare the food himself.

Things aren't going so well with DuPont.

Perhaps the Wizard's Hand technique wasn't used much, or perhaps he was multitasking for too long, so the delicate task of applying marinade wasn't done very well. DuPont finished half of it himself before the Wizard's Hand technique was even finished on one, and that was only after he had looked at it several times and given the order repeatedly.

The meal had to be served before 5 p.m., so DuPont had to do the work himself first, putting the marinated duck back into the cold storage to prevent it from spoiling in the heat. He thought to himself that he hadn't used the "Master's Hand" skill enough, so it wouldn't be of much help in the future. He used a strong fire to burn off the sweat glands on the pork belly and trotters, scraped off the ash, and handed that to the kitchen helper. DuPont took out a handful of rock sugar and started to caramelize it.

The halfling didn't speak, only stealing glances. When he saw DuPont about to pour the final product into the pot, he immediately stopped him, scooped a spoonful into a small bowl, and, unafraid of the heat, took a small amount with the spoon, put it in his mouth, and nodded: "Sweet and delicious, quite interesting. Is it a complex flavor formula?"

DuPont shook his head: "Just adjusting the color. By the way, scrape the pig skin clean, blanch it, and then put it in this pot after it's cooked."

Looking at the large pot that had changed color, the halfling frowned and thought for a moment before bursting into anger: "If it's just for the color, why don't you just put in some red yeast rice? The icing sugar is very expensive too. You could even give it to the paladins as a snack."

DuPont coughed lightly, knowing that he had made a mistake in his experience, but who in a normal kitchen would prepare red yeast rice?

However, he also had something to say: "Red yeast rice is also added, but this adds another flavor, a complex aroma, you know? This is what you call a high-end method!"

The halfling was stunned. Although he was a chef, he had never seen this method before and was genuinely taken aback.

However, his intuition told him that something seemed off about DuPont's words, and he thought he would try it himself when he had time.

After the kitchen helper finished his chores, DuPont threw two ingredients, along with scallions and ginger, into the pot to blanch them. Then a question popped into his head: "By the way, do we have any clay pots here?"

"A clay pot??" The halfling was bewildered. "You can make a pot out of sand?"

“No, it’s made of clay and terracotta.” DuPont gestured: “The more primitive kind.”

"Oh, we don't have pots, but we do have earthenware jars." The halfling waved DuPont to the kitchen utensils in the back room, pointing to a large jar with a simple brown glaze: "I usually use it to store oil, do you want to use it?"

DuPont frowned; this was different from what he remembered. "How durable is it against the heat?"

“It’s fired, so if you fill it with enough water, it definitely won’t explode. But whether the heat is even is another matter.” The halfling thought for a moment: “I think I know what you mean by a clay pot, but those are usually earthenware pots used by poor people. Are you sure you want to use that kind?”

"Bring it to me and see."

After searching for a while, the halfling finally found two earthen pots in his spatial bag. DuPont was overjoyed when he saw them. Although there were still some differences in details, the material was fine according to the system.

"Okay, this is it. Give me two separate stoves, just for cooking pig's trotters."

"Hey, didn't we say we didn't want bones?"

“Just shave them after they’re cooked, it’s no big deal.” DuPont pointed to the closed door of the cold storage: “The same goes for the ducks, just remove all the bones and make sure they can’t chew on a single bone.”

The halfling suddenly realized that this was indeed a solution, though it was a bit troublesome.

This wasn't difficult for him; it's just that such uncommon ingredients are rarely used normally. Butchers like Man Shi can dissect a cow piece by piece, and some master assassins can even tell which part a bone came from just by looking at it—it's a matter of specialization.

But DuPont doesn't even have calluses on his hands, yet he's already so skilled?
(End of this chapter)