Chapter 439 Imperial Kitchen
Feng Hanhe finally understood what a buffet meant: "It sounds quite interesting."
Wen Zhenyi smiled and said, "This will also make it easier for everyone to communicate."
"Okay, let's do it in the buffet format you mentioned. You decide what to prepare and how much to prepare. Han Xing will be responsible for the layout of the venue."
Chen Hanxing looked up at Feng Hanhe and said, "Your Majesty, I don't hold any official position, so I'm afraid I'm not suitable for this task."
Feng Hanhe now regretted letting Chen Hanxing resign. It was indeed inappropriate for him to command people in the palace without an official position, but only the two of them knew what a buffet was. What should he do?
Wen Zhenyi said, "Your Majesty, we can draw up the layout and hand it over to the Ministry of Rites to arrange it."
"That's fine. Draw it as soon as possible."
"Please lend me your Majesty's brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."
After getting Feng Hanhe's permission, Eunuch Mo placed the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the table in front of the two men.
Shen Hanxing wrote, and Wen Zhenyi spoke beside him.
Feng Hanhe and the others were very curious and walked over to watch the two of them.
As soon as Wen Zhenyi said some words that they didn't quite understand, Chen Hanxing had already drawn what she wanted on the paper.
The grass, the long table, the flowers, the tables and chairs, everything was drawn.
Zhongli Zhuang also liked this arrangement and felt it was very dreamy.
Seeing that his sister liked it, little Abu naturally didn't interrupt.
Feng Hanhe also took the time to ask Wen Zhenyi some details about the wedding, such as whether the ceremony could be held here.
Wen Zhen nodded: "Of course it's up to you."
"Would it be disrespectful to be here?"
"I think this marriage is a good idea. Aren't you going to announce the imperial decree in the main hall? After announcing the imperial decree, wouldn't it be better to come here and complete the next step?"
Feng Hanhe nodded: "That's fine."
Shen Hanxing also used some colorful paints to make the painting on the paper more three-dimensional.
His decoration makes the whole painting fuller.
Feng Hanhe took the painting, examined it carefully, and nodded with satisfaction: "Xiao Mozi, go ask the Ministry of Rites to decorate the imperial garden accordingly."
"yes."
Wen Zhenyi wants to go to the kitchen and food storage to take a look.
Xiao Abu and Zhongli Zhuang also had other things to discuss with Feng Hanhe.
When Wen Zhenyi came out of the main hall, Chef Fan's face was already red from the cold: "Chef Fan."
When Chef Fan saw them coming out, he hurried over and asked, "Princess, Prince Consort, where are we going now?"
"Let's go to the imperial kitchen."
A young eunuch who was in charge of delivering imperial decrees stood by and waited for the three of them. After they finished speaking, he took them to the imperial kitchen.
Wen Zhenyi and the others followed the young eunuch to the imperial kitchen: "Sir, how many imperial kitchens are there in the palace?"
"Is Her Royal Highness the Princess asking about the entire palace?"
"right."
"It's hard to say how many imperial kitchens there are in the entire palace. Every empress has her own imperial kitchen in her palace."
"So that's how it is. How can there be such a huge imperial kitchen?"
"The large imperial kitchen is divided into the outer imperial kitchen and the inner imperial kitchen. The outer imperial kitchen is where food is prepared for us servants, while the inner imperial kitchen is where food is prepared for the emperor, empress, and princes."
"Which imperial kitchen are we heading to now?"
"Of course it's the Imperial Kitchen. All banquets held in the palace are in the charge of the Imperial Kitchen."
When Wen Zhenyi and his companions arrived at the inner imperial kitchen, they were really shocked. There were hundreds of people working in the kitchens, big and small, not counting the blisters.
"So many people?"
Chef Sun bowed to the eunuch and said, "Eunuch Guo, what can I do for you?"
"I'm here to announce the decree."
When Chef Sun heard that someone was here to announce an imperial decree, he immediately asked everyone to put down their work and kneel down to listen to the decree.
Wen Zhenyi discovered that these imperial edicts were all very formal. The general meaning was that Princess Jingle was in charge of the Ninth Prince's wedding banquet, and everyone in the imperial kitchen had to obey her orders.
After reading the imperial edict, Eunuch Guo turned and looked at Wen Zhenyi with a smile: "Princess, I have to go back and report. I will let Chef Sun show you around for the rest."
"Thank you, Eunuch Guo."
"It's my duty, it's my duty." Eunuch Guo said and stood up to say goodbye.
Chef Sun hurried forward and saluted: "Greetings, Princess."
"Chef Sun, don't be so reserved. Tell me about the specific personnel and division of labor in the imperial kitchen."
"The Imperial Kitchen has one chef, two deputy chefs, hundreds of cooks, butchers, and servants. It's divided into five major sections: the Hanging Stove Section, the Dim Sum Section, the Rice Section, the Meat Section, and the Vegetarian Section."
"Tell me more about the division of labor."
"The meat section is responsible for fish, meat, and seafood; the vegetarian section is responsible for vegetarian mixed dishes and cold dishes; the hanging oven section is responsible for barbecued dishes, such as roast duck and roast suckling pig; the dim sum section is responsible for steamed buns, dumplings, sesame cakes, and cakes unique to the palace; and the rice section is responsible for porridge and rice."
Wen Zhenyi was also enlightened. The division of labor was quite detailed. It seemed that by leaving the preparation of the dishes to them, he could save himself a lot of trouble.
After Sun Paochang finished speaking, he waited for Wen Zhenyi to speak, but after waiting for a long time, she didn't speak: "Princess, is there anything wrong?"
"No. This way I can leave the banquet dishes to you, which is a lot more convenient."
"I wonder how many dishes there are in total for this banquet."
"This banquet has a total of fifty-eight dishes."
The people in the imperial kitchen gasped when they heard this. They had never prepared so many dishes at one banquet.
Chef Sun frowned and said, "Princess, don't you have to cook hundreds of the same dishes?"
"That's not necessary. This time it's a little special. You only need to make one portion and don't need to make it separately, but the quantity must be large enough."
"That's good. Otherwise, if we do it separately, we might not be able to finish it in time."
Wen Zhenyi looked at him with a smile: "Did you all learn everything from the last triumphal banquet?"
“It always tastes weird.”
"If you have any questions this time, you can ask me directly. I will also answer your questions about the dishes in the triumphal banquet."
A smile appeared on Sun Paochang's face: "Thank you, Your Highness the Princess."
"Don't be so polite. Take me to see the food storage." Wen Zhenyi thought for a moment and said, "This is the chef Fan from my house. Please ask someone to show him around."
"good."
"Princess, Prince Consort, please follow me."
Wen Zhenyi followed Chef Sun to the food warehouse. The fresh ingredients here were all just brought into the palace, and some chickens, ducks, pigs, cows and the like were specially raised.
When needed, someone will deliver it specially.
There is no need to say much about the various precious ingredients in the palace, there are so many that it is dizzying.
When Wen Zhen saw these ingredients, he felt so itchy that he thought it would be great if he could steal them all.
Shen Hanxing saw that her eyes were almost glowing green as she looked at the ingredients: “One by one.”
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Tips: Imperial Kitchen
During the Qin Dynasty, a specialized agency called the Guanglu Temple emerged. While the name originated in the Han Dynasty, it evolved into the institution responsible for imperial meals during the Wei and Jin dynasties. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, another agency, the Shangshi Bureau, emerged to manage the emperor's meals. By the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Kitchen, as we all know it, emerged.
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