Prepared on the counter in front of him were beef, pork, eggs, onions, and bread, in addition to various seasonings.

Anyone with even a little knowledge of cooking would be able to guess what would be made with this.

「Now then, as I promised, I’ve come to teach you how to cook……」

As he said that, he glanced around at the people in the kitchen.

There were nearly 20 chefs present.

They had cooked a very large amount of food for the victory celebration party that had lasted late into the night and, this morning, they had only just finished preparing breakfast a few hours ago. Yet, not a single one of them looked tired.

No, in fact, their eyes were shining with curiosity as their chef’s instinct directed them towards a new recipe they never seen before.

(I’ve taught people how to cook udon and seafood okonomiyaki before, but I’ve never had people like this. Maybe it’s because they’s chefs at the best inn in the Bestir Empire.)

Though slightly intimidated, Rei spoke again.

「First of all, I have to point out that even though I say I know these dishes, I’ve never actually made them. All I know are dishes I’ve read in books, this will be the first time I’ve actually made them. Please listen with that in mind.」

A man in his fifties, the head chefs, nodded in understanding at Rei’s words.

「Yes. We are aware of that too. But, it’s still many time faster than creating a new dish from nothing. Plus, if there are any flaws in the dish, we will improve it. Right, everyone? Show us the spirit of a chef at the Eternal Sky Pavilion!」

『UOOH!』

The other chefs all raised their voices in unison at the words of Maxim, the head chef and general manager of the kitchen.

Despite his stiff faced appearance, he was a man with a flexible way of thinking.

Rei spoke with some relief after hearing that.

「I understand. Then, let’s stary with……」

Muttering out loud, Rei turned to look back at the counter.

The dish he was going to make with the ingredients in front of him was a hamburger steak. However, Rei only had experience making it in elementary school cooking classes, so he only remembered from very vague memories.

「Umm……first, we need to grind up this meat into something called minced meat.」

「……You want to grind up this meat? Well……no, you’ve said what you’ve said. Got it. We’ll do it right away.」

Maxim was surprised by Rei’s sudden instructions, but he gave the order to the chefs under him.

Following Rei’s instructions, the chefs began to grind up the high quality portions of beef and pork.

Rei only had average knowledge regarding cuts of meat, so he didn’t realise that what was being cut up was high quality meat. In fact, when he looked the portions, he just felt that there was little fat in it.

「So, finely chop those onions over there and fry them until they’re translucent. Lightly toast the bread and then shred it.」

The instructions were given immediately and the chefs began to chop the onions and fry them.

The bread was shredded into small pieces immediately after toasting the surface.

As one would expect from chefs who worked in the kitchen of the Eternal Sky Pavilion, everyone did their work smoothly without any hesitation.

In the meantime, the meat was minced, the onions fried, and bread turned to bread crumbs……or more accurately, imitation breadcrumbs.

(I’ve seen something about soaking the bread in milk on a cooking show on TV or something……but I guess it’s best to leave that sort of thing to the professionals. As for the breadcrumbs, I had sliced bread in mind, so I don’t know if it can be done with this bread.)

Still, Rei gave the next instructions as he recalled his vague memories.

「Minced meat…….7:3 No, half and half will be fine for now. Season it lightly with salt and pepper. Also, we might add something to get rid of the meaty smell……well, we don’t have to worry about that for now, we can do that later when we improve it ourselves. Oh, and add the eggs and knead it until it blends into the meat.」

A chef kneaded the meat with the fried onions, breadcrumbs, minced meat, eggs, salt, and pepper.

The mixture was kneaded until everything was blended and formed into palm sized balls. A small depression was made in the centers and placed into a heated frying pan with oil.

Both sides were seared with high heat until firm and then the heat turned down to low and the pan covered as it was steam fried.

It was then left like that for a few minutes. Rei trusted the chef’s intuition more than his memory here on when to turn off the heat.

Normally, a demi-glace sauce would be good here, but Rei only had experience in elementary school cooking classes, so there was no way he’d be able to make it. So this time, he decided to use the sauce meant for skewers they normally served.

The sauce itself was extremely time consuming to make and the flavour couldn’t be made at an ordinary restaurant.

Anyhow, Rei somehow managed to line up the completed hamburger steaks in front of the chefs……

「This dish is called hamburger steak. Please try it.」

Following Rei’s words, Maxim, who was in charge of the kitchen, reached out his knife and fork to the hamburger steak on the plate.

The outside was well cooked, so when it was cut with a knife it felt similar to a steak.

When he cut the surface, the meat juices flowed out from inside, which was plump and soft thanks to the steaming.

Even so, the amount of juices wasn’t as much as Rei had hoped for, probably because the meat used to make the hamburger was a high quality cut with little fat.

However, what Rei hadn’t expected was that the reductions of juices from the steaming of the finely minced meat would give it a fluffier texture than a normal hamburger.

Maxim placed the hamburger in his mouth without adding any sauce first.

He slowly savoured the hamburger, drawing the attention of the other chefs around him.

The surface was well cooked, giving it a fragrant, chewy texture and the meat at the center was very tender.

「Wow, this is quite good……」

He really felt like he was eating steak! But it wasn’t a steak. And yet, he could still fully enjoy the meaty texture.

The other chefs watching from nearby were surprised by Maxim’s words.

As the man in charge of the kitchen at the Eternal Sky Pavilions, Maxim was strict on himself and expected the same from others.

At the occasional presentation of new dishes, those present had been subjected to harsh words on numerous occasions.

Maxim had spoken words of praise without any complaints. That alone was a surprise to the other chefs.

The reason why Maxim had spoken such words was because he had made the dish based on Rei’s instructions, who was an amateur at cooking. If another chef had made the same dish, they would have received countless criticisms, from the way the ingredients were cut and the way the seasoning was added to the way the meat was mixed, shaped, cooked, and flipped.

「Try it, you guys. You’ll see why I was surprised.」

Upon hearing this, the other chefs also pointed their knives and forks at the plates with the hamburger steaks.

Like Maxim, they started with just the hamburger steak, without any sauce.

Rei followed suit and took a bite, but felt that something was missing.

After all, a hamburger steak to Rei was one that oozed out a lot of juices when cut into smaller pieces.

However, Rei was the only one who knew what a hamburger steak was. The other chefs who now knew about it were only eating it for the first time.

「Oh, this is pretty good……」

「You can taste the meat, but it’s cut into small pieces, so even people with weak jaws or teeth can eat it.」

「But, the sauce……」

「It can’t be helped. In the first place, the sauce is meant for skewers and, um……was it called hamburger steak? It’s not meant to go with that sauce.」

「Personally, I think a sour sauce made with raspberries or something would go well with it.」

「Really? I think a more substantial, powerful sauce would be better.」

「Hmm, as far as I’m concerned, maybe it would be better without sauce. Instead, it should be well seasoned.」

「The hamburger steak itself is fine. But what about the side dish? Since the hamburger stake is meat, should it be vegetables? Vegetables that go well with hamburger steak……potatoes, perhaps?」

「Potatoes……won’t hat make you feel too full with the hamburger steak? I think something more refreshing would be better.」

「What about raw leafy vegetables?」

「In that case, can’t we just serve a salad.」

Various opinions were given, but hearing that everyone was basically positive, Rei breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a dish he had taught with some confidence, but if the chefs didn’t like it, he would have to teach a new, different dish.

Rei turned to look at Maxim and saw that Maxim himself seemed to be looking at him as well.

Eventually, it was Rei who broke the silence.

「The hamburger steak can be used in a variety of dishes. For example, you can stew it or place it in round buns with leafy vegetables and tomatoes. Also, the recipe for the hamburger steak itself is something I’ve only seen a book and remembered, so I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. I’ve for you to make this hamburger steak into a specialty dish at the Eternal Sky Pavilion.」

「……Hmph, that goes without saying. I saw how it was made according to your instructions and I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. Especially the choice of meat. It’s true that these portions with less fat was delicious, but I think a portion with more fat should have been used.」

Rei nodded at Maxim’s words.

He never thought that Maxim would be able to predict how a hamburger steak should have been just from tasting it.

「That’s right. They should have used a portion with more fat, so when you cut the steak, more juices will come out……apparently at least. But I think this is tasty enough, it will be well received by customers who don’t like strong flavours. And……」

Rei continued to speak as he pointed to a bowl on the counter. Or more precisely, the hamburger steak inside the bowl.

「As for the meat, pork and beef was used this time, but I think it would taste even better if monster meat was used. I don’t need to tell you this, but high ranking monster meat is a lot tastier due to the magic power in it.」

「Yeah, I was thinking that too. Luckily, the Eternal Sky Pavilion is famous for a lot of things, so it’s not impossible to get high ranking monster meat……but it’s also true that obtaining it regularly can be difficult in various ways. If the monsters are killed in the wrong way, the meat will lose its flavour. Instead of pork, it will be Orc meat, and as for beef……I think there’s a cow like monster called Lance Bulls about a week’s distance from the Imperial Capital. I’ll order one and try to make a hamburger steak with it. First, I’ll have to increase the ratio of Orc meat……no, considering the quality of a Lance Bull’s meat……」

It seemed that Maxim had already thought of some ideas. Muttering to himself, Maxim reached for some nearby ingredients, thinly sliced some mushrooms he was holding, and began frying them in butter.

The other chefs, seeing Maxim like that, all gave wry smiles.

It seemed it wasn’t an uncommon sight.

「I’m sorry, Rei. When things turn out like this, he just has to keep cooking with all his heart until he’s satisfied with the results.」

A kind looking man in his 30’s, who was Maxim’s assistant, called out to Rei.

He was the second in charge in the kitchen.

「No, I’m glad my knowledge was useful. Besides, I asked for a lot of different dishes as well.」

「Ahahaha. When you first asked for that much food, I wasn’t sure what to do, but……item boxes are really convenient. I’m jealous that ingredients never go bad……well, it’s good and bad, since you can’t age ingredients or anything similar. Regardless, I understand the recipe better now, so that’s fine. Here, this is my thanks for you.」

With that, he handed Rei a tart topped with colourful fruit.

After receiving the tart, Rei thanked him lightly before leaving the kitchen.

 

 

As a side note, the hamburger steak recipe eventually spread from the Eternal Sky Pavilion and was used to create what were basically meatballs. Such meatballs were then combined with udon recipes from Gilm to create meatball udon……but all this was still some time away.

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