The taste of French cuisine

As soon as every trader was handed over his possession, I saw an enigmatic smile on the pirate’s face. He told something to the interpreter and we were told to sit down where we were. Then the interpreter told us that because we helped them to rob ourselves within 20 minutes, we all were rewarded with a complete day of rest before we were taken into the ship. Besides, we were allowed to enjoy the royal food especially prepared by the selected cooks of the head pirate.

 

We were also allowed to talk in very small voices only when we were eating. From whatever I experienced I concluded 2 things about the head of pirates: he was extremely punctual to time and literally respected each single moment and secondly he was somewhat eccentric. First I thought about taking advantage of his eccentricity but then had to shelve the though as the actions of eccentric persons can never be predicted. So I started thinking of another more practical solution.
Soon it was mid day and we saw some well dressed waiters of French origin serving food to the traders. The food had a heavenly smell. To my astonishment the food was served in silver saucers and each vessel used to serve the food was made of silver. Even the spoons were made of pure silver. I saw that the traders first hesitated to sample a foreign food. But then partially forced by hunger and partially feared of offending their “eccentric host” they started eating.

 

I could discern the joy on their face as they ate. They started tentatively and within moments they were eating like gluttons. I first thought of using the meal time for discussing with my trader companions about finding the way to free ourselves from the pirates. but as I sample the first bite of something that looked like a white bread on which some glittering yellow thick liquid was spread, I was amazed and amused. The taste was nothing like what I had tasted before.

 

The white bread was well-textured and so delicately prepared that it almost melted in the mouth, while the glittering yellow spread on its top drooled down and touched your taste buds. Surprisingly no spices were used at all except a bit of salt but the taste was so delicious that I was almost captivated. To my pleasure I noticed that there were other food items too that were served one by one. Each food item had a distinctly different taste. I had never thought that a foreign food can be so delicious. However, It was after finishing the food that I noticed that I had wasted half an hour of the precious time that I could use to discuss plans with my trader companions. How fool I was!

 

However, we were allowed to talk during the night too. So when the food was offered before even started I talked to my trader companions. “What do you think, Hameer Khn?” I asked my companion who was sitting in the adjacent row. “Well I think,” Hameer said with gulping a sizable portion of the bread, “the bread tastes more if dipped in the brown stew that they have served now” He pointed to a huge bowl placed near the saucer. ” “He is not asking for the food you fool” this was the voice of Yasmeen. I was relieved that at least someone could understand the intention of my statement. ”

 

He is asking for this crunchy, silver toned snack. Worry not SInbadd, I was also apprehended at first but as I tentatively sampled a tiny bite I was simply astonished. Nowhere in the entire Baghdad you can get such a delicious snack. It is a real treat for the taste bud, Sindbaad. What I am concerned about, though is this yellow colored sauce in the small bowl. It smells very nice but I remember that when I ate a similar sauce on my last trip to Persia it did some nasty things to my stomach.”

 

I was so angry that if we were not being monitored I would have slapped these fools who were thinking about nothing but taste of the food. This is the last thing you can expect from a sensible trader who had been robbed. As the conversation started the other companions too joined and the main topic of the conversation was veered to taste of the French cuisine.