LongTech Industries - The Bake-Off - RPLOG
Participants
Date
3/9/477
Log
All around the square, LongTech staff are making the final preparations. Beings place decorations, apply the final touches to the tables and ensure that there's enough in the way of ingredients to go around. It takes a while, but eventually the commotion ceases and the staff move aside, allowing both the competitors and the beings who wish to watch head to their tables and seats respectively. At the judge's table Samira stands, ready to welcome the attendees.
Elijah is ready. He was BORN ready for this. The gigantic Grizzly carefully ties a bib around his thick neck emblazoned with the word JUDGE in big, bold letters. The burly bear roams among the tables, seeing what wonderful foods the cooks of Firmament would be making for him to sample. He had been overjoyed when his name had been pulled to serve as the "Volunteer Taste Tester!"
Lucasiel slinks along towards the competitor's area, already wearing an apron over her yellow dress. She smiles at the sight and ushers her daughter off towards the observation area as the larger panther takes up a position at one of the cooking tables, stretching out her fingers. This was exciting! She may not be the best baker in the land, but she had experience. And a plan.
Yawning, Calisiel makes her way, quite inadvertantly, to the square. Quickly picking up on what is happening. Or, going to happen, the crow smiles, draws back her hood and glances around. She adjusts her dress slightly, then catches sight of Elijah. Noting his 'judge' bib, and her less than adequate cooking skills, thinks this may not go well for her. She looks for where to sign up, hoping they aren't full yet.
Samira hmmphs quietly and taps her foot on the floor a few times as she glances around the gathering. All the competitors seem to be there, but where are her judges? Slinking off to the side, she weaves her way between tables before spotting Elijah's rather quickly, mostly due to his choice of clothing. "Oh, you must be one of the judges! We need you up by the table!" she churrs with much excitement, casting a glance back before she goes.
As soon as she's back at the judge table, her announcement begins. "Ladies and gentlebeings. As you're no doubt aware, you're all gathered here for the LongTech bake-off! Before everyone gets started though, I should remind everyone that the use of magic isn't allowed in this competition. If you need any ingredients, feel free to ask our staff!" she says, pointing to one particular staff-member in a LongTech uniform before she continues. "You'll have an hour until the judging will begin. Good luck!" she shouts with much enthusiasm, signaling the start of the competition.
The beings occupying the other four benches start their work after only a short delay, moving to prepare the ingredients they'll need while the staff and judges move down to examine their craft.
Should any care to examine it, the slip of paper supplied with the thermometer details how the long metal rod of the device can be pushed into the baked good to check it's temperature, along with Flora's estimates of what temperatures the device's scale matches up to.
Elijah stops to snuffle happily at a pot of some sort of savory stew that a small folk vole is tending too. "That smells wonderful!" he rumbles with a smile, "I can't wait to taste it!" The burly bear looks up with a little surprise as the skunk woman ushers him up to the judges' table. He looks more than a little out of place in his overalls and with his goggles perched atop his head, but he does his best to look official. At least until he is turned loose to snuffle at the cookery once more.
Lucasiel folds her arms for a brief moment, taking a stock of everything she had at her disposal before promptly setting to work! She was going to eschew a lot of the fancy things that other beings were probably going to make. Instead, she sets to work baking up a treat she grew up with, and that she often made for Marianne. Peanut butter cookies. Simple enough, but maybe it'd work out in her favour for just that reason. Who doesn't like cookies?
Calisiel scratches her neck at the talk of 'no magic'. So, baking. While the crow can cook, baking is a different story. Might as well make the attempt; she is already here. Calisiel sets about gathering ingredients. Not sure if she has time, but, decides to make bread. Typically four hours or more. Suppressing her urge to make a joke, and failing... "Does baknig a potato count?" She laughs, assumes it is a 'no' and looks for yeast, flower, and that other stuff needed for bread...
With a hasty tap tap tap, a dapper Skunk who certainly seems well-suited to assaying the quality of fine foods makes his wide, rolling approach.
"Ah! My apologies, dear Samira--I was simply working up my appetite!" he calls out with a chuckle...and given his windedness, the sheen on his fur and the cloying scent of his perfume, it certainly seems like it. Balancing himself on a strange-looking cane, he lowers himself onto a bench at the judges' table with a mighty creak. He attempts to pull a serious face as he gives an aloof nod to the gathered contestants as if trying not to reveal anything...but a giddy smile can't help but creep in. He gets fed for free and calls it work--it's like he was born for this!
Samira wanders down in amongst the crowd, doing her best to keep her tail out of the way of the food. One reason she had to be there was to make sure nothing happened to the thermometers, although that's not to say that she wasn't also enjoying her time as she asked questions, peeked over benches and answered questions from the competitors. "A potato? Well... in truth I've never really concidered that!" she churrs, scratching at her ear. Naturally, that's when Brutus arrives! His appearance earns a quizical gaze and his new cane an even more questioning one but the matter is left as the skunkette wanders up to the judge's table with him. "It's fine! I've already told them what to do, so if you want to wander around and see what they're up to, go ahead." With that, she's back off into the croud.
Said crowd has fallen rather silent now, as there's little to cheer about while the competition is ongoing. Their quiet conversations still punctuate the otherwise soothing background noise of cooking and the soft roar of the wood fires.
The other beings seem intent on making a fair variety of dishes, as some have already fetched a few pieces of meat and one seems to have started work on what's surely a vegetable-stuffed pie! As one last note to those hard at work, Samira calls out, "And remember, you'll have to make enough for the three judges! Or more, if you wish!".
Elijah lumbers from table to table, savoring the smells of sweet, delicious cooking. And he was going to get to try all of it! He had died. He had died and this is where good bears went. The burly mechanist wipes the threatening drool from his lips and heads back to the judges table, before he can't contain himself any longer.
Three judges? Well that was all fine and good. That was one of the perks of making cookies! You could make plenty without issue. And that's just what Lucasiel was doing. She was going to make enough for the judges, herself, and her daughter. It doesn't take too terribly long, either, before she's shuffling off the tray of prepared cookie dough into an oven to begin heating.
Calisiel shrugs, a single loaf of bread should be enough for multiple judges. The judges are quite large, however... She gathers what is needed, utensils, a bowl, some other things... then tries to find something to cook with besides magic. Which, would be a range of some kind. While some kind of stove would probably work better... She doesn't know that. So, dough and such gets pepared, yeasted, and thrown onto a range. Not going to turn out well...
The traces of a pout pull at the edges of his mouth--they're not bringing them up? He has to wander to the tables? But he hadn't eaten lunch today just to save space!
With a grunt, he leans himself forward into a standing position and proceeds to investigate the various bakers. First up, Lucasiel, who he greets with a wry smile, remembering their introduction...
"Hm...planning on taking the chef job from Lina, are we?" he asks with a grin. "You and her seem adept at it...I wonder why Flora is the odd Longtail out." A smug grin crawls across his face. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be the only way she's odd," he murmurs.
Samira wanders up to Elijah and, doing her best to avoid disturbing anyone with the conversation, whispers to him. "Hey, what do you think of it so far?" she churrs, standing on tip-toes to make it easier for him to hear. Staying next to him while observing the baking, she can't help but spot someone using... wait, is that a range? To go up to her and say something would be interfering, so Samira is forced to simply wait by Elijah's side and wait.
It's not long before the smell of cooking meat starts to tingle at everyone's senses, along with the heavenly scent of dough starting to bake. Delicious!
Elijah can barely keep himself from drooling. "Everything seems awfully good, Miss Samira," the burly bear says, "I feel like I should just go stay at the judges table so I don't go tasting things early!" The grizzly grins and lumbers back to his seat, leaning back and folding his hands over his belly. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, enjoying the wonderful smells!
Lucasiel settles her hands on her hips, waiting for the cookies to bake while the scent of the sweet, peanut butter treat fills the air with the rest of the baking food. When Brutus makes his way over, she turns around to smile at the other noble, offering a bow of her head. "Hardly! Flora will not even let me in the manor, yet, let alone anywhere near her food. As for why... Well, I am not sure. I'm no professional cook, anyway, but when you spend a few years as a settled mother, you tend to learn how to cook pretty quickly," she says with a little grin. "No, no. If I get allowed into LongTech, I'll probably just be another pair of hands on security."
Calisiel smiles, watching the dough sit on the range, doing whatever dough does when just... Laid atop a hot surface. Probably not much. After a few moments; the crow looks back at the competition, still smiling and convinced this might work. Unlikely.
Brutus offers a friendly nod to Lucasiel. "Ah...well, I know children can be...rather frank, so if you can make them happy, I'm sure I will be well-satisfied with your cooking!" he declares, before moving on to the next table. The smells, so sweet and savoury...oh, if only he could hire them all for the Manor!..
He pauses in his reverie for a moment, his little pink nose detecting the distinctive stink of combusting comestibles. Maybe not them. They should best stick to their current vocation.
One people start to get into the waiting phase of the cook-off, a few chairs are brought out from the spectator's area to give everyone a chance to relax, while Samira continues her little trek around. Upon the judge's return, they find that a few pitchers of water and mugs have been brought out for them, along with a good supply of napkins.
While most of the competition wait (and one being hurries around in a panic to recover a smouldering pastry-wrap from the oven), one or two of them turn to the thermometers they've been given, beginning the process of reading through the instructions and using them to check their dishes, often finding Samira's watchful eye over their shoulder!
Elijah isn't sure what these heat measuring things are all about. Must be a baking thing. He frowns as the smell of something burning wafts his way, but puts it down to one bad apple and is not about to let it ruin the bunch for him. The grizzly relaxes and sips at his water while he waits. This was going to be great!
Lucasiel chuckles softly and graciously accepts the chair, settling back in it to await the cookies. "Yes, I think you'll like it! It's a Longtail recipe you know! Sort of. Peanut butter cookies are nothing new, but I make them with a recipe that I got from my mother. And she got from hers! And so forth. I do my best to make something that'll please the tastes of everyone that tries one," she says with a warm smile.
Calisiel pokes at the dough, which doesn't seem to be doing much. "Hmm..." The crow pokes it several more times; noting the temperature. Then, remembers the thermometer. Doesn't need to know accurately, so, just holds onto it for now. The crow glances over at the burnt, er, whatever that is before returning to prodding at her dough, then sits in a chair, yawning again.
After providing plenty of unsolicited advice and judging looks, Brutus arrives behind Calisel and her ... thing. For the first time this far, he appears to be at both a loss for words and appetite.
"Er...uhm...what are you baking?" he asks politely, watching as she stuffs a blob of dough into the oven unceremoniously. "I do hope your LongTech-brand thermometer is most useful in making your best recipes easier to cook," he adds, in a tone that totally doesn't betray that Flora made him memorize it by rote.
Soon it starts to get closer and closer to the hour mark. When there's but a quarter of the time left, Samira heads back up to the judge table to call out, "Okay everyone, just fifteen minutes left!"
A few people are already finishing up, putting smaller and thus quicker to bake pastries on trays while others tap their feet or hands impatiently at the lack of time. As Samira takes one last round trip of the tables, she makes a quiet note that the thermometer probably isn't that suited to the smaller and harder baked goods, which earns a slight frown.
Fifteen minutes? Perfect! Elijah pulls out his pipe and tamps in a healthy serving of pipeweed. He lights up with the ease of long practice and enjoys a quick smoke to prepare his appetite. Creators! This was the best day of his life!
Lucasiel is among those that have finished early! She carefully withdraws the tray of cookies, letting the fresh scent of the soft, warm treats seep into the air. Fifteen minutes? That would be appropriate cooling time, at least! True enough, she didn't really have use of the thermometer, but she had other ways to ensure that her pastries were baked to perfect parameters.
Calisiel is amused by the unsolicited advice from Brutus, soft laughter as she flips the dough for the last fifteen minutes. "I'm baking... Uh, dough. Apparently. Should be fine." Really, she could hand it in now; doesn't look like it will be getting any better. "Oh, and the thermometer? Don't know if I need it for this. Maybe, for something more professional, though."
Brutus watches in slight dismay as Calisel seems perfectly happy with her...thing. No aromatic herbs to impart a gentle touch of flavor to it? No savoury stuffing to turn it into a nice, filling meal? No sweet sugar and candied fruit filling to make it a delectable dessert? ... No plate of melted butter to at least make it slide down easier? Geez. The burnt pastry was seeming more appetizing by the minute. Or maybe the militia had some spare hard tack he could have to get the taste of raw dough out of his mouth.
Ah, well...most of the contestants' dishes smell absolutely wonderful, and he grins to see another connoisseur of cuisine at the judges' table with him, what with Elijah looking ready to spring off the bench when time was up. "A fellow judge, I take it? Well met!" He extends a big, meaty hand to the Grizzly. "I am Brutus, a son of house Blackback, academic, LongTech employee, and something of a gourmet, if I do say so myself," he says, a warm smile curving his chubby cheeks upward.
Finally, it's time to collect the dishes! Staff move into the square to extinguish ovens and collect finished dishes, ensuring that all the thermometers are collected.
One at a time, the dishes are brought up to the judge's table to be sampled. The first is a collection of muffins, the addition of a sprinkle of sugar adding a sweet touch to the snacks. Next up, a plate of ever so slightly singed meat-stuffed pastries, with the worst ones removed and some of the burnt pastry scraped off. The filling remains intact though, flavored with the most delicate application of herbs.
Calisiel's... thing is next, the dough having bluntly refused to rise much due to the lack of heat anywhere but the base, although it has formed into a sort of flatbread, albeit a plain one. Next up is the one and only pie in the competition, the crumbly crust giving way to an interior of well-diced and cooked vegetables.
Once these have been passed down the table, the last two dishes are presented. Lucasiel's tray of peanut butter cookies, still warm from the oven and perfectly cooked even without the aid of the thermometer. Lastly, a small loaf of bread is sliced and presented, warm and spongy and served with cheese atop it.
The judges are encouraged to eat up, Samira doing likewise as the crowd waits.
Elijah grins around his pipe and takes the offered hand enthusiastically. "Elijah Hammerbarr," he rumbles, "Can't claim to be any kind of gormet, your Lordship, but I know good food when I taste it!" The burly bear takes his pipe from between his teeth and knocks out the ashes onto the ground before pocketing his prized possession. "I admit," he growls happily, "I am about as excited as I can be about judging this contest."
Elijah sets to on the delicious food. He tries a healthy serving of everything, enjoying himself immensely. Lingering a bit on the flaky vegetable pie and the soft peanut butter cookies. "These!" he says, spray crumbs a bit, "Oh Creators, these are SO good!"
Lucasiel happily and cheerily offers her cookies up for judging! She folds her arms over her chest as she waits to see what kind of verdict is given for her little cookies! Elijah's reaction certainly brings a smile to her face, though, and she turns a look off towards her daughter in the spectator area and offers a thumbs up.
Calisiel taps her beak; satisfied that something came from what she was trying to do. Not too surprised that the other contestants had fancier looking food. Probably better food, too. She shrugs, keeps some distance from the judges while they... judge. She speaks softly to herself: "I should have baked a potato..."
First comes the muffins, which Brutus meets with a level gaze. Sweets were often used as a crutch in these sorts of things--anything can be palatable if you put enough sugar on it--but still, he was to approach this with an open mind and mouth. And so he does, raising one to his mouth taking a large--but delicate--bite. He purses his mouth in thought for a moment. Nice and spongy texture...just enough lard to make it warm and flaky, without turning it into grease.
Next comes the meat pasties. Nice and hearty, a good savory flavor to them...but even the 'good' ones are still too burnt to be perfect. Such a shame--the rest of the pastry is deliciously flaky, and the filling is hearty! They tried, at least...
...which appears to be more than he can say for Calisel's...domed flatbread. He takes a hearty swig of water to wet his mouth for it, and ever so cautiously takes a bite...and chews...and swallows...and blinks. It tastes like a whole lot of...nothing. Well...if they offered a 'tastes better than it looks' award, she might win...
Oh, but that pie! The crust, still nice and doughy but not raw, and the vegetables, stewed to perfection--everything is so delightfully succulent! The carrots lend their sweetness, the onions cut in with a sharp tang, aand it's a veritable dance of spices within the broth. This...this should be the future chef at the Manor.
He changes up the order, taking a nibble of the cheese bread. Now THIS is how bread should be--fluffy, pulls apart with ease, just a bit of grease to make it shine, and the cheese is a nice touch. A simple, rustic side perhaps, but fine baking nonetheless.
And last is Lucasiel's cookies...and what the pie was for savory, these are for sweet. Fresh-baked, cooked just long enough to avoid mushy doughiness, but not so much to burn them, full of taste without being greasy...and what's this? A touch of salt, to enhance the creamy peanut butter? Sheer genius!
After a few minutes, the big Skunk seems to come back to reality, breaking his virtual silence (well, except for the satisfied 'murr' he made for the good dishes).
"Well...it will be tough, but I believe I have narrowed it down to two."
"'tis the vegetable pie and those cookies I cannot decide between," he murmurs aloud. "They are both perfection, in their own way...how would one choose?"
Samira eagerly tastes each of the dishes in turn and, while it's a tricky ordeal for her to decide between the four well-crafted dishes, she sadly has to set both Calisiel's bread and the sadly burnt pastries aside. The bread though... the more savoury concoction is a refreshing change from the other baked goods, an outstanding example of what home-made baking can be. The cookies take that one step further and she spends plenty of time nibbling almost thoughtfully upon one, savouring the sweet flavor and warmth of the freshly-baked treat.
Once everyone is finished and the dishes have been returned to their makers, Samira leans over towards each of the judges to work out which dishes they enjoyed the most before standing, the crowd hushing slightly as she announces the winner. "By the judge's vote, it seems that Lucasiel's wonderful peanut butter cookies have been chosen as the best dish, congratulations!" she churrs excitedly. "Still, I'd like to thank everyone who competed for their contributions to this event and..." a quick swallow here, "I hope you'll find LongTech's thermometers useful in future." With her obligation out of the way, she converses with Brutus for a few moments before walking down past the judge's table to present Lucasiel with a blue ribbon. "Here you go! It may not be much, but hopefully it'll remind you of this day."
Lucasiel happily accepts the ribbon and dips into a bow. "Thank you! I will most certainly remember this day!" She says, and the wide smile on her face certainly seems to suggest that she won't be forgetting it anytime soon. With the work out of the way, and hearing that her mother had one, Marianne comes running over looking equally happy. "This was a fun day! I must say, I wasn't expecting to win," she says, wrapping an arm around her daughter as she looks at the ribbon. "But I'll be sure to take good care of this! How lovely!"
Brutus nods a pleasant, polite farewell to most of the competitors as they leave, though he pauses to eagerly shake the hand of Lucasiel. "You know, if you ever grow tired of guard duty at LongTech, I am sure we could use someone of your skills at the Blackback Estates..." he says with a smile, gathering up the leftovers to take back to...LongTech headquarters. And certainly not back to his dining room. That'd be rude to keep this fine banquet of savory delectables, the likes of which must rival even the best cooking of the Creators all to himself.
