Chapter 915: Chapter 823 Flying Kitchen
“Two months ago, Her Majesty the Queen summoned Miss Veronique and asked her what reward she wanted. As a result, she said she only wanted to beco your maid. After Her Majesty confird that she possessed excellent court etiquette, personal grooming, silent dusting, and cooking skills, she agreed with pleasure.”
Veronique’s family is hereditary nobility, holding so status at the Palace of Versailles, so being the Crown Prince’s maid was barely adequate. And Queen Mary thanked her for helping Callia, so she consented.
Callia glanced at the girl, then whispered to Joseph: “Your Highness, Miss Veronique really admires you. After she learned she could co to Brussels, she was so excited that she couldn’t sleep for several nights.”
Joseph smiled and nodded at Veronique, but he didn’t feel anything particular in his heart.
After all, he had dozens of maids around him, and he could only rember the nas of a few bedroom maids. Competition was fierce too, and this lady might be replaced in a few months.
“Your Highness,” Veronique cautiously reminded, “what about dinner?”
“Oh, it’s a bit late today, I’ll taste your cooking another ti.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.” The girl’s face showed just the right amount of disappointnt, and she took two steps back, standing again behind Callia.
Joseph turned to Eman and said, “Please have the chef prepare an extra dinner and bring it here. I want to have dinner with Callia.”
He had been away from Paris for a long ti, preparing to hear from the Maid about the King, the Queen, and Charles.
When dinner was ntioned again, Callia suddenly puffed out her chest proudly and said to Joseph: “Your Highness, thank you for your invitation, and I have sothing to give you as a return gift for the dinner.”
Lately, Joseph had been busy with military and state affairs, and now he felt a rare sense of relaxation, so he asked with great interest: “Oh? What is it?”
“It’s in the yard outside.” Callia distinguished the direction, went to the window on the east side, and pointed to a “carriage” not far away, “That, Your Highness. I call it the ‘Flying Kitchen’!”
Joseph’s eyes lit up at these words, and he turned to ask: “Are you saying that cooking can be done in that carriage?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Callia replied, “When I went for a health retreat, I saw the temporary cooking cart used by the nobles for picnics and thought that Her Majesty the Queen often worried that you wouldn’t have tasty food on the front lines, so I improved it with Mr. Picard.
“Then I also got advice from Lieutenant Lelu, you know, he participated in the war in Tunisia.”
Picard is the Crown Prince’s exclusive carpenter, and Lieutenant Lelu is a court guard.
Joseph asked again: “Your… ah, is it called the ‘Flying Kitchen’? How heavy is it? Can it move in the field?”
“About as heavy as a carriage carrying three people,” the Maid said, “Lieutenant Lelu tried it, and it can go as long as the terrain isn’t especially muddy.”
“So what can it do?”
“Inside it has an oven and a stove, Mr. Picard designed them to share one hearth. The wagon’s sides unfold for use. Oh, and there’s a whole set of pots and utensils, as well as coal and seasonings.” Callia saw that the Crown Prince seed to like her little invention and beca even more delighted. “A skilled chef can use it to prepare stew for 150 people in 20 minutes, including the ti to start the fire.”
Upon hearing this, Joseph forgot about dinner and pulled Callia outside: “Let take a closer look. You may have created sothing extraordinary.”
Don’t underestimate the soldiers’ diet.
Eating is directly related to combat effectiveness.
Imagine soldiers on one side eating dry bread with rock-hard cured at, while on the other, they’re having hot at and vegetable soup with soft hot bread. When it cos ti to fight, whose morale will be higher?
The latter might even have more physical strength, especially in cold weather, when a bowl of tomato beef soup can really chase away fatigue.
In this era, the basic rations for the armies of various nations were dry bread and cured at, complented by a bit of wine for flavor.
Even the best elite troops could only heat their food a bit, with fewer impurities in the bread at most.
Even for officers, it was almost a luxury to eat freshly made hot dishes.
The core reasons limiting army als were the cost of food and that battlefield cooking would significantly increase logistical burdens.
During war, armies would rather transport more ammunition than bring a lot of cooking equipnt.
But Callia’s mobile kitchen had excellent mobility; a single horse could pull it, roughly capable of providing als for four to five hundred people.
A regint with three such carriages and eight or nine chefs could greatly improve soldiers’ als, and the added logistical pressure would be entirely manageable.
Joseph recalled that similar battlefield kitchens seed to appear only toward the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars, and they weren’t widely equipped even then.
This treasure of a girl had co up with it so early!
He and Callia ca to the “Flying Kitchen” and instructed the guards to open it; inside was a cleverly designed wooden rack structure, with a stove on the left and tools and storage space on the right.
It seed Mr. Picard had put in quite an effort.
Joseph examined the size of the hearth and the standard iron pots, based on his experience in expeditions with the army, Callia’s catering data was conservative. She probably had the court chefs test it.
If switched to the large rough soldiers of the army, they might cook for 200 people with it in 20 minutes.
He had them unfold the kitchen cart, light a fire, and summoned chefs to cook dinner right there.
Half an hour later, two simple als of tomato-braised pigeon, artichoke mashed potatoes, roasted veal, accompanied by a few slices of bread appeared before him.
This was a communal al, so the ti taken to cook for 2 people was about the sa as for 40.
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There’s a bit more to write, please wait 10 minutes before looking again. I apologize for the inconvenience.
The jewel of Northwest Italy—the Genoa Republic, its history is like a magnificent mariti narrative. As early as the early 11th century, this vibrant city-state rose on the Ligurian Coast, mastering multiple strategic locations in the diterranean Sea with its outstanding navigation skills and sea power, becoming the economic and financial center of Europe at the ti.
In the golden era of the 16th to 17th centuries, Genoa’s comrce was at its peak, engaging in fierce comrcial competition with Venice, leaving a profound imprint on the economic map of Sicily. However, the shifting winds of 17th-century Europe forced Genoa into decline with the rise of Spain, and it was ultimately conquered by Napoleon’s iron hoof in 1798, shattering the Republic’s dream of independence. Despite a brief restoration, it couldn’t resist the annexation by the Kingdom of Sardinia, entering a new turning point in Genoa’s historical chapter.
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