Gochei at Bright Summit
Gochei at Bright Summit is a dish originating from the court of the Shogunate. It consists of a boar, which has been covered in a woven lattice of edible shoots or saplings (most commonly stems of Butterbur), in turn covered with a thick crust of miso, sesame, and Rice flour. Properly arranged, the whole gives the appearance of overlapping plates of lamellar armour. This doubtless contributed to the name of the dish, which references an officer in some long-forgotten battle, and its martial reputation.
Traditionally the dish is presented whole, the diners provisioned with blades. Each diner is expected to take their own thin slices of flesh, leaving a clean cut for the next diner to continue, while removing a slice that keeps a sliver of the armour along the edge of the meat. To accomplish this demonstrate’s the skill and refinement of one’s bladework, and while few scions of the Scarlet Dynasty are incapable of a passable cut the work of a truly practiced blademaster is sure to receive much praise from those at the table. When several swordswomen dine together, the contest of skill can grow intense, and there is at least one instance recorded where the carving of this dish was chosen to carry out a duel.
Amongst the households of House Tepet, the dish makes frequent appearance once children have reached their fifth year and moved from wooden to live blades in their training... the child is able to demonstrate their improving skill directly to their parents at the table, receiving proper admonishment for their errors until they are able to accomplish the task sufficiently to perform without embarrassment in front of cousins and guests.
The chefs of Jade Halberd School Cuisine are known to be well-versed in preparation of the dish, and practice its cutting during their apprenticeships until they have mastered it. It would, of course, be embarrasing for a Dynast to request the chef do their slicing for them.
Blossom at Bright Summit
A variant of Gochei at Bright Summit is also found amidst the ranks of Dynastic Dim Sum, known as ‘Blossom on Bright Summit’. It eschews the martial traditions of the blade and is thus not favoured amongst Legion officers or the Dynasts of Lord’s Crossing Dominion though it is far more popular amidst the galas of the Imperial City.
To create the Blossom, the kitchen prepares the full dish in traditional style (though the coating is oft not layered for its ‘armour’ effect), and then sliced as thinly as possible, a time consuming process requiring great skill that in itself demonstrates the wealth of a host who can afford enough servants of such significant talent to carry it out.
The thin slices of meat are folded and arranged on a platter, overlapping layers taking on the shape of a Rose. This dish is placed atop a larger platter whose Bamboo Shoots (cooked in dark soy and rice wine) are arranged as its ‘thorns’.
