(Continued from March 19, 2010)
The food server had removed the soup bowls and reset the table so unobtrusively that it hadn’t interfered at all with Alphonse’s narration, but my young friend sensed that aunt Dorothy was about to make an announcement concerning the next dish.
“This chef’s chicken fettuccini creation is the most delectable that I have ever tasted and it probably is the most decadent as well. However, you, young people, don’t have to worry about the extreme richness and I have my way of neutralizing the excessive calorie intake.”
Thea also praised the chef’s talent: “He has a way of bringing about a dish that has the familiar flavors, but it also contains a unique entity that increases the intensity of one’s sensory impression. It is undoubtedly the combination of spices that he employs. Anyway, this dish is only available here; it is not on the menu in the boutique hotel where he frequently plies his trade. So, enjoy a unique experience.”
By means of the double-decked cart, the server brought six plates with steaming contents and, for second helpings, a large bowl filled to the brim. Alphonse’s plate contained a double portion, which had disappeared before the other single amounts had been consumed. Everyone had second and third helpings “in order to fully appreciate” the unique flavor that Thea had described so neatly.
In the mean time, a low-level salad bar came rolling toward the table; it was loaded with a tremendous variety of uncooked ingredients for creating a run-of-the-mill or a not-so-common salad. Bottles, containing a dozen different vinaigrettes or seasonings, were securely held in a special series of compartments. The server brought a remote so that the guests could wheel the bar around the table and serve themselves without getting up.
Because he had created his salad while the others were still eating pasta, Alphonse had quickly become familiar with the various settings of the remote and the ladies were quite happy being served by my young friend.
Attached to a lever, each container or bottle could be maneuvered in front of the individual who was in the process of piecing together a salad. Consequently, there was no need for turning around or reaching. One can easily imagine the laughter that resulted as the semi-tipsy ladies, one by one, made their creation.
“If our clients could see how easily the various components of the bar can be manipulated, orders would double,” aunt Dorothy proclaimed. “Young man can I persuade you to attend the next board meeting in order to demonstrate, in front of other board members, the correct way of operating this salad bar?”
(To be continued)