My Lady Chef novel Chapter 66

Pierce's POV:

Initially, the senior dockmasters were reluctant to go to this opening since the food they are aware of the usual fare at the tavern which was greasy meat, bland potatoes and hard break that that easily pound a nail.

"Micheal. I meant no disrespect to ye. But this cafe thing is ridiculous. We have wives who cook us food and that is all we need. This venture will go under in a month." one master gruffly used my first name as I led them to the cafe.

"My wife makes better soup and fried meat. But she was so excited to meet a real duchess so she asked me to come." a younger master sighed as he held hands with his missus.

But they stopped abruptly when they saw the cafe which was made of earth-toned wood and stone walls. From the way they reacted, I suppose they expected a more posh and expensive-looking place.

The duchess did well when she said that she wanted the feeling and decor of the cafe to invite people in.

The dockmasters and seniors were oddly silent but their wives and children were all oohhs and aahhhhs over the spacious and comfy tables and decorations.

As I seated them at two wide tables adjacent to each other, one of the servers greeted them and gave them the menu. Their expressions were again shocked at the menu items.

"What is this? Set Meals? Plus desserts and drinks?" one dock worker question. "What is Hamburg....Steak?"

"It is a patty made from ground minced beef with its own special sauce. It comes with vegetables or mash potatoes."

"And this baked chicken with gravy?" one wife asked.

"Yes, it is seasoned with a nice herb mix and spices and baked to perfection. The chicken has crispy skin and moist tender meat, Ma'am." the server nodded.

"This all sounds delicious. I'll have this Set Meal D then." a younger boy, the son of a dockmaster pointed out.

The server promptly took all our orders, I was hankering for that Hamburg Steak and ordered that too. I even ordered a basket of that jam bread and a whole roll of cake.

"Well, the servers here seem very well trained." said one young dockmaster whose name was Benjamin. He had been used to dining in a noisy and rough tavern after late hours so the warm atmosphere and professionalism of the staff was a surprise.

"I-Is that?" one of the kids gasped, her eyes sparkled when she pointed at the person leaving the kitchen.

Everyone gasped and so did I. The cutlery was simple and durable but the food was presented very well. Usually the food they were used to at the taverns and small eatery were very sloppy like someone just messily dumped everything in a plate but Neo's immaculate plating mirrored the same set meal she presented during the preliminary tasting back at the Culinary House.

My Hamburg Steak looked plump and had a shiny glaze from the sauce that surrounded it, the creamy mash was also drizzled with the same steak sauce while the steamed vegetables looked colorful and smelled delightful. The dessert that came with the meal which was Vanilla Pudding was set in a small ramekin bowl topped with whipped cream and caramel bits.

It looked hearty, simple, and rustic.

"Thi...This is incredible." the dockmasters looked at their meals and I can see them holding back their saliva as they started to eat, almost afraid to ruin the image of the delicious plates.

As I ate my hamburg steak and moaned softly at how tender and juicy it was. I heard everyone moan in delight and dig into their meals with gusto after their initial bites. Even the younger children attacked their food as they exclaimed words of appreciation.

I focused on my food as the atmosphere soon turned for the better as the wives speculate how can these meals be so delicious and the men talked amongst themselves as they took bites from each other's plates.

Soon after the children and women also started swapping food and they all agreed...

That Cafe Terra's cooking is out of this world.