The first course arrived with the kind of choreographed precision that suggested the servers had been drilling for this moment since dawn.
Crystal platters materialized on tables throughout the hall, each one bearing whole roasted fish, golden-skinned and glistening, their flesh still steaming from the ovens. The kitchen had rubbed them with butter infused with winter herbs and garlic, then packed their cavities with sliced lemons and fresh greenery before roasting them until the skin crisped to perfection and the meat beneath turned flaky and tender.
Each fish was scored diagonally across its body, the cuts revealing succulent white flesh seasoned with pepper and salt and something that smelled faintly of smoke and spice. They were presented on beds of roasted root vegetables, golden and caramelized, and garnished with more fresh herbs and lemon wedges arranged like small suns around each platter.
