Several traditional Welsh harp players were set up at the entrance of the studio to welcome the guests, and a small clog dance team was performing nearby.
These clogs are not the clogs from the island countries, but the clogs from Wales. The two types of shoes have basically nothing to do with each other except for the similar names due to translation problems. In those days, these clogs were spread to all parts of the world by Welsh sailors, and were most popular in Australia. Both places have clog dances, which are adapted from the movements of Welsh sailors wearing clogs and moving around in the warehouse on the ship. They are very local in nature.
…
"Hey, look who is this?"
Alan came in the same car with Boss Cha. As soon as he entered the studio, he ran into the Duke of Westminster and his beloved son who came to greet him.
This little guy is now two years old and can finally be brought out to meet people.
Alan and the Duke of Minster looked at each other. The old guy had very thick eyebrows, and his eyes were almost invisible when he laughed. He looked very funny.
"Your Highness, you are here. This is my youngest son, Hugh."
Holding his son in his arms, the Duke of Minster showed his son to Boss Cha. Unable to bear Alan's picking, he handed his son to Alan.
Holding the little guy, Alan looked at the little yellow-haired boy, and the two of them stared at each other. Alan didn't say anything, and the little yellow-haired boy certainly didn't say anything either.
Seeing Alan's serious expression, the little guy pursed his lips and dared not move, and just lay obediently in Alan's arms.
"Call me daddy!"
Alan doesn't care what the difference is between the godfather and the godfather here. Anyway, he is the godfather of this little guy. As long as he has the word "father", he is his father!
“…”
The little guy looked at the fierce Alan, his mouth pouted and he felt like crying. He was usually pampered by his father. Since he grew up, he has only gone out a limited number of times and has met even fewer people. Everyone who sees him is afraid that he will melt if they hold him in their mouths, or break him if they hold him in their hands. How could Alan be like this?
"Don't cry! Look how timid you are!"
Alan rubbed the little guy's nose with his thumb and continued to stare at him with his head tilted. Although the little yellow-haired boy might not understand what Alan said, Alan didn't let him cry, so he really held back his tears.
"Your Highness, shall we take our seats?"
While holding the future little duke in his arms, Alan turned around and called out "Boss Cha", and at the same time teased the Duke of Minster who was talking to Boss Cha.
"Call Gerald, His Highness is here, why are you calling me His Highness?!"
The title of Duke is rarely addressed as "Your Highness" except for members of the royal family. It seems a bit too pretentious. So when the Duke of Westminster heard Allen's address, he was speechless and pointed at Allen and retorted.
"Haha, Gerald, your achievements over the years deserve the title of His Highness. Let's go."
Boss Cha laughed, as if agreeing with Alan's words, patted the Duke of Simminster on the shoulder, and the two walked side by side.
…
The layout of the studio is a traditional large stage, but the innovation lies in that dozens of round dining tables are arranged in a circle around the stage.
This kind of table may not be in line with traditional etiquette, but it is more appropriate and convenient for watching the performances on the stage. If the long table is arranged according to the tradition, the direction will be difficult to get, and some guests will have to twist their bodies to watch the show, which is uncomfortable. The key is...
If we use a long dining table, everyone will gather together, which will be awkward with too many people. If we use a small dining table, people who have a good relationship with each other can sit together and watch the show while eating, which is also comfortable.
Allen led Boss Cha to meet a group of guests. Of course, the first thing these people invited looked at was Allen's identity as the main inviter. In addition to this...
The reason why Alan was able to invite so many people this time was that he was taking advantage of the power of others. He made it clear on the invitation letter that he had invited the Crown Prince of England to watch the show together and that the standard of the evening party was very high. With this reason, these people accepted Alan's invitation.
He used Boss Cha's reputation to coax and deceive people into coming.
…
"You said that Felipe didn't come?" Boss Cha looked in a very good mood. He walked with his hands behind his back and asked Alan in a low voice.
The Felipe he was talking about is the Crown Prince of Spain. He has always had a bad relationship with Boss Cha. The two of them dislike each other and have been old rivals for many years. Of course, Allen also invited the Crown Prince to come this time, but he is not as humble as the King Gustav of Sweden. The Crown Prince was very arrogant. When he heard that it was Allen's invitation, he refused without even thinking about it.
"Your Highness, I invited him, but he refused."
"Humph, it seems that he is afraid of me. He is quite self-aware."
…
The first opening show was a large-scale stage dance program "Long Live the Queen" selected by India. Alan was a little confused about the Indians' train of thought. They said it was for Boss Cha, so couldn't you change the name?
Make a "Long live the boss" or something, flatter him more, why do you have to make it so serious...
Alan sat next to Boss Cha, and the waiter came over with a tray, showing the champagne appetizer before the meal.
This champagne is from Pol Roger, the exclusive brand of the British royal family. It has an emerald-colored bottle with the Queen's certification logo on it.
This brand of champagne may not be very famous outside, mainly because the production is too low. Their winery is still using the most traditional full manual production until now. Even the wine transfer is purely manual. There are only four wine transfer masters in the entire winery, working in two shifts.
The daily output... depends entirely on the physical strength of the winemaker. If a winemaker takes sick leave or something, the winery will have to stop production.
Alan glanced at the bottle and nodded, then motioned for the waiter to show it to the others.
…
In Britain, except for the luxurious and ostentatious banquets of the Middle Ages, modern banquet standards generally refer to the standards of state banquets.
It is a traditional long table dinner. Whether it is the placement of the plates or the distance between the chairs and the table, it must be accurate to the millimeter level. It is very strict and rigid.
Of course we can’t be so strict at evening parties now.
Alan simply borrowed the standards of a state banquet and prepared nine dishes.
For a party in Wales, French food is definitely not an option. If Alan had hosted it in his own name, he could have eaten whatever he wanted. But now he brought Boss Cha with him to save his face. How could French food be used?!
But if you have a full English meal, you can imagine how difficult it would be.
Fortunately, Alan still has his old chef at home, the traditional British chef Old York!
Although Old York was the head chef of two generations of earls in the Hill family, his merits lay in everything except his unpalatable cooking. However, he was only good at British cuisine. It is no exaggeration to say that there is nothing in all the British cuisine that Old York cannot cook as long as it is unpalatable!
But in recent years, because Allen recruited several chefs from outside, including those from France, island countries, China, etc., Old York learned a lot from these foreign chefs over time and his cooking skills improved.
In order to determine the menu for this party, Old York went to the Imperial Library in London and Allen's home library several times, and found several recipes from antiques that were both famous and not too unpalatable.
…
After having some appetizers accompanied by champagne, the first two dishes served were.
Prince Albert lamb ribs and Queen Mary salmon.
This is the official name of the dish. Our Great Britain has a long history, and the royal family loves to name dishes after celebrities. Each of these dishes is closely related to that celebrity.
Most British food is generally unpalatable, but these dishes with celebrity names are definitely not that bad!
These are all delicious dishes that the British chefs of the time racked their brains to come up with. At least among all the British dishes, they are definitely up to par.
…
Gustav cut a piece of salmon and put it into his mouth with a fork. The taste... was pretty good. Swedish rice and British rice are both on par with each other. Let's not criticize each other. Gustav was mentally prepared. He didn't expect that the food would not be bad after he took a bite!
After picking up the wine glass and signaling to Alan next to him, he took another sip of the wine before putting the glass down to watch the show.
The taste and aftertaste of the red wine were quite good. Gustav glanced at the waiter beside him without leaving a trace. The waiter bowed and walked to Gustav and said, "Dear guest, please give your orders."
"What brand of wine is this? It wasn't shown just now."
The waiter gestured to Allen and whispered, "Dear guest, this is the red wine from the Earl's house. It has no brand."
"Oh! I see. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
…
"Alan, do you have any homemade red wine at home? It tastes good. Give me some when I leave!"
Since he was going to give it to his daughter, Gustav didn't treat Allen as an outsider. He asked Allen directly for this little thing.
"Okay! But after we use it up this time, there won't be much left. Besides, the taste of the products produced each year is different, and the quality varies."
"oh?"
After these two days, Gustav has completely seen through Alan's strength. He thought that his family had several winemakers who were responsible for making wine. However, with professional winemakers, even if the quality of grapes is slightly different every year, it is impossible for the difference to be too big. Alan's statement seems a bit strange.
Boss Cha took a sip of red wine. When he heard Gustav's curious question, he turned his head and looked at Gustav meaningfully and explained, "Although their red wine tastes good, you can't drink too much. As for why the taste is different, you'd better not find out. But the quality of their red wine in recent years should be good."
Allen also laughed when he heard Boss Cha's explanation. He patted Gustav and said, "Yes, as long as you like it. Don't ask about the specific contents. I will definitely give you a few boxes before you leave."
In the past, he always said that he would ask someone to chop someone up and use it as fertilizer. Alan was not joking, he really asked someone to do it!
The biggest beneficiary here, of course, is the grape vine at home.
Every time after being nourished with this kind of fertilizer, the quality of the wine will be quite good in the next one or two years. Of course... if it is a normal year, then the quality of the wine at home will be a little worse during that period. However, Alan has not been honest in the past few years, and the grape vines at home have never lacked fertilizer.
…
The show on the stage continued. The programs selected by each colony were very representative. Some programs might not be grand, but they were all very entertaining to watch. The dishes on the table were served one by one as the show progressed.
The other tables were taken care of by waiters, but Alan's table was taken care of by him personally. Every time a dish was served, Alan would personally introduce the story behind the dish.
Each of these dishes refers to a famous person in the history of the British royal family. Talking about them on such occasions is not only to popularize this niche knowledge to others, but also to flatter Boss Cha from the side.
…
"Your Highness, you must have never eaten this dish."
As another exquisitely presented dish that didn't look like British food was served, on the white plate, the snow-white and slightly yellowish fish slices were slightly curled, and on the fish slices were a few slices of not-so-green vegetables, which smelled a little sour.
"This is a dish named after me. I call it 'Alan's Pickled Fish'!"
Boss Cha leaned back slightly. He hadn't noticed Alan's little thoughts yet. He just thought the dish looked quite creative and smelled okay. He picked up the fork, tasted it, and nodded, "Not bad, it tastes very good, boy!"
"Haha, Your Highness, you are too kind."
Alan smiled honestly and simply. He looked like a loyal minister who presented his favorite dish to his monarch.
…
For Allen, who never wanted to suffer a loss, this party lasted two or three hours, with hundreds of noble guests, but there were only nine dishes for them to enjoy. Among these nine dishes, eight were famous dishes of the British royal family, which were quite interesting.
There is only one dish named after Allen. This dish is mixed in with these eight dishes. After the waiter's professional explanation, at least every guest who comes to the party today will have a psychological impression of it.
Even people who didn't know Allen well before might even make a wrong prediction because of this dish, but at least they would be impressed.
Master Allen's reputation has reached the same level as the historical celebrities of the British royal family! Isn't it awesome? !
…
As the last dish was served, Alan stood up on his own initiative, which was rare, and prepared to introduce it solemnly.
Boss Cha watched Alan's actions and his curiosity was aroused. Are there any other dishes in the royal family that are worthy of Alan's introduction so solemnly?
Could it be that this guy is messing around again?
When he thought of this, Boss Cha couldn't help feeling uneasy again.
…
"Your Highness, this last dish has a special meaning. I prepared it specially for you."
As Alan introduced, he lifted the lid of the dinner plate with one hand, revealing the last dish inside.
On the white plate, neatly cut chicken was placed in two rows, covered with a layer of golden sauce mixed with a little bit of chopped vegetables.
As the lid of the plate was opened, Boss Cha looked at the dish that finally revealed its true appearance. The expression on his face was first astonishment, then strangeness, and a little bit of confusion.
He really couldn't imagine why this dish was so serious to Alan and why he even said it had a special meaning.