From an embryonic TL of mine where Spain remains Islamic and eventually discovers America...
Mahmoud Rothriqesh, proprieter of 'Ta'aam al-Mahmoud', al-Layn, Federal Jumhurriyat of am-Maghriqqa (OTL Mexico City, US of Mexico):
"I am not going to lie to you, the food that I sell is not 'fancy', I would not serve it to the Sultan of Cordoba... I'm not sure if I am even capable of producing food for His Eminence's tastes... but that is not who I am. I make simple food for simple people. Take this for example, (he says as his young hijab'd assistant chef hands him a bowl to take to a nearby table), look, this is just a simple dish of quinoa and couscous, mashed up together. It is food for the gut, not for the tongue, maybe for the heart, but that is not for where they are intended... they are good enough for Ahmed! (the customer, apparently Ahmed, waves his arm at Mahmoud's direction) Ahmed has been eating here for as long as I can remember, he says he spent his first honestly-earnt dinar on a pitta and a bag of herbs. I can't remember... you'd have to ask his wife where that first dinar went, she is the one who controls his finances! (We stop speaking for a while as he takes a customer's order) Speaking of finances, I am having some trouble competing since the Emiralbahl's opened across the street... people come in here expecting one of the big fat shawarmas that they sell over there, draped in crisped banana-leaf and dripping with polonais sauce... as you know, I like to keep things simple!"
Kamerón Kłync, head chef, Pod Krzyzykiem, Łódź, Polish Rzeczpospolita:
We Poles are very proud of our culinary heritage! The Rzeczpospolita has always been at the forefront of the gastronomic arts, yourself, where are you from? (I reply that I am from Sassenachy) Ahh, the Sassenachs... terrible chefs, what are you eating over there? Ox-heart and clotted cream? No, no, Polish cuisine has always been about the balancing of what compliments, and what contrasts, say if I were to have a joint of beef, I would fillet it thinly... make it easier to digest, none of these uncouth slabs of meat you eat in Western Europe. The human tongue can only taste the outside of food, you have to increase the surface area of a meat as much as possible so that the flavours practically melt in your mouth. Fish, aswell, any decent meat dish must have fish, if the slices are thin enough you can stack different layers of meat and fish... it allows the moisture to travel from the wet fish into the dry meat and improves the taste of both. And, of course, a diced, roasted, spicy tomato garnish is a must for such a dish! And on the side, some of these! (He shows me a plate of tiny dumplings, scarcely more than a centimetre in width each) I am renound for these, they say I can make the smallest dumplings outside of Kraków, each one is packed with a single strain of sauerkraut and the finest Thai chilli powders... mmm... You must only eat them one at a time, mind you. To scoff is uncouth. (As the conversation ebbs I remark that the kitchen is remarkably hot) The heat is essential! All Polish food must come out of the kitchen as hot as Jehovah allows! (Why? I ask) So you can tell how quickly it cools down. Polish food is specifically designed to take as long to eat as physically possible. The food must be hot when you receive it so you can appreciate it when it has become ice cold, (he smiles).
