After finishing the appetizers, Bernadette looked at the clear soup the maid brought over with a faintly indifferent expression, because she actually recognized this soup.
Or rather, it was a soup that person had once had the kitchen make.
"Tomato Egg Soup. As I said before, don't dwell on the name 'tomato'; this time, translate it into Loenese. A classic, simple appetizer soup."
An appetizer soup? Any normal person should already be full by this point... Bernadette grumbled inwardly. She lifted the bowl and took a sip, only to find that it was slightly different from what she had drunk as a child.
How should she put it? The overall flavor was similar, both light and refreshing, yet upon closer tasting, it had a distinctive flavor of its own.
The Sage's power activated again, and the cooking process behind this bowl of soup, minimalist to the extreme, flashed before her eyes. Then she noticed that the oil in the soup differed from the oil used in the previous dishes. It was neither rapeseed oil nor animal fat, nor was it some high-end cooking oil like olive oil.
Tracing it further back, Bernadette saw the entire process of producing the oil, as well as its original form—sesame.
This plant existed on both the Northern and Southern Continents, and plenty of people ate it. However, it was more often used as a cheap substitute for chopped nuts, sprinkled over bread to improve its texture and nutritional value, or even used medicinally. Pressing it for oil, on the other hand, was rather rare.
"The variety of cooking oils is quite rich too..."
Bernadette set down the bowl, which had somehow already become empty, and saw Sno wave for the maid to bring out the main courses.
"Rice?!"
"Yes, the staple food is rice.