Gustavs Restaurant
Soon after begining to travel through shadow, Gustav developed an appreciation for the finer aspects of foreign cuisine, both in its consumption and its creation. It was always something he missed when he returned to Amber from one of his foreign adventures, so decided to do something about it. Ingredients were the hard part. While most could be imported, it was troublesome. The small quantities he needed for his personal consumption made them a speciality import, usually not available when he wanted them, or not fresh when they were. The long lead time for a special order was equally annoying. What he needed was a steady market for exotic foreign foodstuffs. Not finding one in the foreign embassies that inhabited Amber City, Gustav decided to create one. Thus was born Gustavs Restaurant.
From the start, Gustav had decided his restaurant would cater to those who cared about quality food. Arrangements were made with local producers to procure the finest local produce. Regular imports of foreign foodstuffs were contracted through Crenshaw, Godiva, and Hart Importers. Chiefs were personally recuited by Gustav from shadow, given near total control of the kitchen, generous salaries, and ample time off to travel and discover new recipies for themselves.
Almost from the start, Gustav decided that, while fine dining was a wonderful thing, restaurant manaagement wasnıt. Simone Olafsdotter quickly came to his rescue. The assistant to the Assistant Chamberlin of the castle, she offered to leave that job to take on running the new restaurant. Gustav accepted gladly, but soon began to question his decision. Simone insisted that the restaurant at least try to be profitable. That meant at least some semblence of a regular menu, so potential customers would know what sorts of cuisine they could expect when. It also meant tailoring the menu so the larger foreign contingents in Amber would get a larger share of the menu; the expectation being that foreign nationals might appreciate being able to get a taste of home. Accordingly, each of the major Golden Circle treaty kingdoms would have one night of the week dedicated to them. The Saturday menu would alternate among Ambers lesser trading partners, while Sunday would be a grab-bag of dishes from more remote shadows and experimental dishes. The formula worked, and has been followed with little alteration ever since.
There are currently three principal chiefs on the staff:
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Luigi is short, round, olive skinned, dark haired (although itıs thinning on top), and quick to laugh. Heıs got a good sense of humor, and an instinct for creating a truly appealing dish. His speciality is Corillainean cooking, but he also likes variety and is frequently to be found working the kitchen on weekends. A husband and father of nine children, his oldest son works as an apprentice in the restaurant kitchen.
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Francois is tall and gaunt, with grey eyes, a pale complexion, and close cropped brown hair beginning to show signs of grey. He is a prima donna, firey of temper and sharp of tongue. He rules his kitchen with an iron fist, drawing out the delicate subtlties of Katanian seafood. He also serves up an excellent menu from the southern parts of Genesh. The more heavily spiced cuisine from the northern end of Genesh he tries to avoid, referring to it as primative and barbaric.
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Raoul stands half a nead shorter than Francois, heavily built, well muscled, and black as coal. His short pudgy fingers are more nimble than they have any right to be, especially when wielding a knife. Speaking with a thick accent marking him as a native of Memphis, Raoul runs his kitchen with military precision. Memphis and Antioch are his arena.
[Gustav]