I would add to it that this was also not fast food, like in Napoleon’s time, each meal had to be cooked personally, so you may not know what the chef was doing, you don’t know necessarily what to expect. So I think Napoleon’s reasoning in that case was that you should try what the chef prepared for you to see if you like it as is before you start altering it.
After all, like food science was very much in its infancy at that time, so you can eat the exact same meal prepared by the exact same recipe by two different chefs and have two wildly different food experiences.
I would add to it that this was also not fast food, like in Napoleon’s time, each meal had to be cooked personally, so you may not know what the chef was doing, you don’t know necessarily what to expect. So I think Napoleon’s reasoning in that case was that you should try what the chef prepared for you to see if you like it as is before you start altering it.
After all, like food science was very much in its infancy at that time, so you can eat the exact same meal prepared by the exact same recipe by two different chefs and have two wildly different food experiences.