Multi-course meal and novel food breakdown
I've never been to a super fancy expensive restaurant (as in, the most I've spent on a meal is less than $30) so I was wondering, what consists, in general, of a multi course meal? I'm talking more than just appetizer, main course, and dessert. I mean meals that have more than half a dozen courses.
In my tarot novel series, I have four books dealing with four countries in different regions with different climates. Culture is a huge part of my writing, and it's my favorite part of world building. Here's what I have so far:
Wands: Partially desert, rely partially on imported goods for the more exotic things, especially for the upper class. I've come up with ideas for delicacies, but in terms of what they would eat day to day I'm not quite sure. I need help with anyone who lives in a dessert/arid region as to what type of food is common there. Even in places that is not desert, the area is still dry, so farming is not done a lot except in the north where it is closer to a plains region because storm fronts from Swords occasionally make it that far south.
Cups: Coastal country, most of their meat comes from seafood on the coasts and some cattle, etc. further inland towards the north. Tea is also grown in abundance here, and it's a major staple in everyone's diet. (let me know if this is even possible for tea to grow in this type of climate. It's a warm coastal like the U.S. lower west coast but not quite as dry, not like New England coastal). Many flowers and herbs are grown here as well.
Swords: I actually have not thought too much on this country's food yet because it's not a major export to the other countries. They have a lot of underground mines, so jewels, gold and silver are their main concern because they control the flow (and therefore price) of all of that. But the climate is a little harsher than Cups, similar to the U.S. Midwest (but with more predictable weather!) hot summers, cold winters, mainly plains where it hasn't been settled by people on farms or in towns and cities. Only difference is that it rains in certain regions that don't have the mines of course, at least they try not to (perhaps rice could be grown in those regions or other food that needs lots of water?). I assume livestock could be raised there, too. This country is closest to the major cities in Pentacles, so they have greater access to their markets. Perhaps that affects their cuisine.
Pentacles: Mainly plains like Swords but dryer. They have more land than the other countries because at one time most of the land were forests and were considered worthless except for game hunting. But the majority of livestock, grains, and wine are from this country (it's the bread basket of this world, but it gets very cold. Think of it as a combination of the central and northern midwest). A lot of their cuisine is heavily red-meat based. Being able to make certain types of bread takes years of training and is considered an art form, and the artisans are highly prized among the upper class and the nobility. And because the majority of the population are either farmers or are connected to agriculture, that is a focal point in their culture and also their religion, more so than the other three countries. You can tell I'm going to have fun with food in this one. But unfortunately, this is the last book, so that won't be for quite a while.