LongTech Hosts Yet Another Bake Off - RPLOG
Participants
Date
30/3/480
Log
It is early in the afternoon, and the LongTech guards are slowly but surely allowing various beings into the small hallway where mages have set up a series of cooking-stations, complete with something of a magically heated surface, and a water-basin near every countertop. Various foodstuffs have been stalled out among the back wall, largely consisting of flours, honeys, and other easy-to-keep foodstuffs. Finally, there's Flora, gesturing for everyone to move to their chosen station, and await instructions.
"Your sure I can't just wheel my cart in here?" Tam, owner and operator of the Tanuki Express asks the guard trying to usher him to a work station, "Only I got all kinds of great little tools for making cookin' easier, y'know!" Fenris would not miss out on this for the world! He is not really sure why Flora would sponsor an event like this, but it seemed like far too much fun to pass up. In the guise of Tam Mikuzukinoyoi, he is more than prepared to try his hand at a little cooking contest.
The tubby tanuki looks over his workstation and smiles around at other participants.
Cirrus arrives, if only for the opportunity to "sample" some other contestants' leftovers. She had a plan of what she would be making, yes, but there were little to no guarantees as to the quality of it. As she approaches her station, she pipes up to one of the nearby mages. "Just a quick question. Can we have any actual fire? Actual fire is nice, for cooking."
"Welcome, yes," Flora offers, as she moves past the gathered beings for a moment, smiling lightly. "Everyone has a cooking station, complete with magical countertop, and oven," she offers, gesturing at the heated countertop, and the handle to open it and access the oven within. "No fire, the stoves are made of enchanted wood. They can handle the heat, but not fire, no," Flora offers, shaking her head lightly.
"If anyone needs any meat, fish, or fowl, let one of the attendants know, yes. It is kept separate to avoid spoiling, yes. The same for tools not stalled out yet," she offers, as she gestures at the various tools. Knives, meat-forks, wooden spoons and pots and pans are present at every countertop, at the very least.
"Now, the rules, yes. No outside ingredients, only use the provided ones. There should be plenty. Any dishes you can make with them are allowed, and making multiple dishes is permitted. If you make multiple dishes, they should be a part of the same menu, and will be judged as such. Collaboration is permitted, but will factor into judging. And no help from any Spirits, she offers one tusked bear, smiling warmly. "The challenge is to make good food, not to see who has the best supernatural connections, yes."
"You have three hours."
Tam smiles and nods along as Flora explains the rules. "Sounds like a plan!" he says happily, then produces a little pad of paper and a stub of a charcoal pencil. He scribbles out a list of ingredients, some vegetables, a little meat and a number of herbs and snags the nearest attendent. "I'm gonna need these things, pal!" he says amiably, "You mind getting them for me while I get started here?"
An Artic Fox finds himself filtering into the hall along with the crowd gathering for the contest. He isn't a cook, at least not one that would dare go to a contest. 'meat on a stick' is just not all that amazing. However, these things tend to have lots of food, lots of good food... And Russell wanted some of it.
He flicks his tail about as he finds a spot just a bit out of the way where he could still watch the action. Though with being short, his head has to poke out from behind shoulders.
Cirrus goes and grabs a bowl, then peers about, and grabs a few cloves of garlic and nabs one of those bottles of "soy sauce" that you find in the Jadelands. She uncorks the top, takes a whiff, whistles, shakes her head, and recorks it to take it back to her station. She whispers some ingredients to one of the attendants, waiting for some ingredients to come back while she starts crushing up some of the garlic. Can't cook without garlic.
A small smile from Flora as everyone sets to work, and the attendants start moving different foods around, carrying everything on plates of some sort to make sure to touch it as little as possible. Meanwhile, Flora moves to the back of the hall, smiling lightly as she gestures for Russell to take a station. "Anything will do, friend Russell. But Flora does expect participation, if friend Russell wants to partake of the food afterwards," she offers with a small smile on her lips, as the impromptu-kitchen sets to work, and she moves past the different tables, making small inquiries as to what the various beings are planning to make.
Tam carefully sets up his workspace, laying out several cutting boards, some sharp knives, a small mortar and pestle and a large frying pan along with a large mixing bowl. The tubby tanuki rolls his neck and shoulders, stretches dramatically, sets his wide, flat, bamboo hat atop his head, then starts to work!
It would be hard to say the exact recipie he is using, since he hardly seems to measure anything, tossing ingredients into his bowl with speed and practiced precision. Soon he has a generous coating of flour on his thick forearms and he is mixing a thick, pasty dough. The tanuki starts to wander a little, looking at other cooks' work as he mixes.
Cirrus works a lot slower than, say, Tam, and her recipes are much more simple. She pours some of the sauce into a bowl, adds the garlic to it, dices up some beef in nice, large chunks, and sticks it inside. A marinade! She sticks a lid on the bowl and sets it aside for the time being. She then goes and speaks to one of the nearby attendants, seemingly intent on acquiring... swords? She appears to want to acquire rapiers for whatever she's doing.
Russell had not counted on this;he'd gone on the notion that there'd be a surplus he could snag a few bites of. However, without anyone in mortal danger, the fox's desire to stay out of the spotlight overrides anything else, and he backpedals a bit, "I'm flattered but I'll pass. It'd be a waste of food, since I know little aside from cooking things on a spit until they're charred." He slinks a bit further back and silently regrets acting like a scavenger.
A small smile, a shake of the head. "As Friend Russell wishes. If Friend Russell changes his mind, there is still plenty of time left, yes," she offers, before one of the attendants gestures her over to Cirrus's table, and explains what her cousin is requesting.
"Are rapiers necessary? Why not just a prong?" the she-cat asks, looking more than a bit confused at the request, while she keeps an eye on the rest of the room.
Tam wanders around, making small talk with other cooks and some of the attendandants who seem familiar with him. He DOES run a food cart, after all. The tanuki seems most interested in the tusked bear and his work. "What's on the menu?" he asks with a smile, still stirring and kneading his dough vigorously.
"Why -not-?" Cirrus replies, with a smile on her face. She ends up shrugging, however, expanding upon the answer. "They're not strictly necessary. A little heat won't damage the steel, though, and it'll look rather neat. Actually, there's one thing: A rapier is slightly flattened, so the stuff won't slide around or rotate."
Russell's nose samples the air on instinct, but doesn't yet smell anything that makes him curious. The conversation about using a Rapier of all things to cook with makes the fox blink a few times. A Dueling sword being useful in a kitchen? It's so bizzare to his sensibilities that he wanders over to investigate.
"You're cooking... What now?" Russell asks, blinking his eyes a few times, "That has to be one of the more... intresting things I've heard of."
A raise of the brow, a soft muble. "Hrm. Flora will have to think on it for a bit, yes. When does Cousin Cirrus need them?" she offers, raising her brow lightly.
The bear gestures at his plate, smiling brightly. "Peanut-sauce from the Jadelands, creator potato-sticks, and a little invention of my own," he offers, gesturing for one of the attendants, and asking if it's possible to refridgerate or freeze things.
"Jadelands?" Tam asks, "No kidding! That's where my Dad is from! And my dish. . . Guess I shoulda tried from something more local, huh?" The tanuki continues to mix. Apparently the dough he is making needs some good, sturdy kneading. "You ever been out there? Or just got a killer cook book?" To listen to the tanuki speak, one would imagine him growing up in the Sweetwater farmlands, not the far off, exotic Jadelands.
"I'm making kebabs! Basically, skewered meats and veggies. I'd like to get started properly cooking at a little past the two hour mark, so they're still hot and juicy." Cirrus says, prodding around at the fresh ingredient pile for some peppers, onions, and the like. She'll start cutting and salting them soon-ish.
The fox ohs! "Kabab's, suddenly it's making a bit more sense then. since one doesn't want the food spinning around until you need to do that yourself..." Russell then says, "Don't they have kebab sticks, though? I've never used one, but I could swear that it's something I've seen used."
His tail flicks about, and he comments, "I usually use a long straight branch on a spit, but that's because I cook in the woods."
"Yes. What is wrong with kebab-prongs?" Flora offers, smiling warmly, as she gestures to one of the servants, smiling once more.
"Never been there, m'lad. But I talk with other cooks, y'know. Best way to improve your craft," the tusked bear offers with a smile, before gesturing at Tam's craft. "And you're making? Fair's fair, after all," he offers, as he starts preparing a ragout of sorts.
"Steamed meat and sweet bean buns," Tam says, "More Jadeland stuff. Like I said, that's where Dad was from, so its what I know. I'll serve 'em up with a vegetable curry. I like it nice and hot, but I'll probably tone it back for the judges." The tanuki winks and grins at the bear. "Save me some of that, though. I look forward to trying it!"
Fortunately, Tam's station is nearby, and he can keep talking as he returns to his work table, setting his dough aside to start expertly slicing and dicing meat and vegetables, laying them in shallow bowls and throwing sauces and spices about in careful, precise amounts.
"Kebab prongs don't have the same... thing! Y'know, the whole intangible quality bit. Besides. I think you only have normal prongs, the roundy-ones." Cirrus says, huffing slightly. She starts roughly cutting the veggies, however, clearly intending to skewer them. Maybe she should find some rice. Dunno.
Russell's head points to the ceiling, and he flicks his ears a bit in contemplation, trying to remember the term he's heard. "It's all about... presentation, eh?" He asks Cirrus, looking over at the veggies she's cutting before looking over at the cook he'd met before. "Well, hopefully you get a better reception for your dish here then you did the last time we met, eh"
"Certainly hope so, lad. My pact with messer Olloch seems to not sit well with a lot of people, I'm afraid," he offers, sighing a tad. "All I wanted was to hone my craft to perfection. Nothing more, nothing less," he offers with a small shake of the head, as he continues preparing ingredients for the ragout, before moving on to cutting up potatoes into sticks. "And I wasn't aware Lord Good couldn't handle peanuts, either. I'll be serving the sauce separately from now on."
"Kebab prongs are angled, yes. Cousin Cirrus is thinking of another kind of prong, Flora thinks," she offers, smiling at the sight of the rare few beings who've decided to use the available LongTech thermometers for various purposes, before turning back to Cirrus, and scratching her head. "Flora doesn't get it. Food should taste good and be nutritious, yes."
"Oh! Creators!" Tam exclaims, though his preparations are not interrupted by his conversation, "I heard about that! That was you?" Of course, Fenris knows exactly who the bear is. For multiple reasons, but most people find it disconcerting to learn that you know about their affairs before you have been properly introduced. "You've had all kinds of crazy after you this week, haven't you!" he says, scooping slivers of meat into a thick, sweet sauce, "Shoot, proud of you for sticking to your cookin' pot though!" The tanuki works quietly for a moment, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he meticulously minces garlic and grinds it down into a paste. "So. . . " he hazards, "What's it like? The uh. . . the Olloch thing?" he waves vaguely at his own jaw.
"Some beings like food that looks as intresting as it tastes. It's not a fancy I strike personally, per-se, but it's something. Two meals that are otherwise the same, the one done up to look fancier will certainly /look/ tastier." Russ says, and adds, "I think it's pretty common in the royal courts and the like for that reason. All of the food they eat is great. So the only way to improve it is to make it wow the guests."
He notices the strage devices that everyone is using, but he has never heard of or seen these thermometers, so he assumes it's a kitchen tool he's got no experience with, which is quite a few of them.
"Prongs will work, though, yes." Cirrus nods, opening the bowl that contains the meat to massage at it a bit, before moving to wash her hands off and start layering the beef and veggies on the skewer. "Flora probably doesn't care as much about how it looks, but."
"Nope. Flora doesn't get it. Food should be tasty. Smell should be good, probably. Smell adds to the food. Looks don't change the taste, no," she concludes after a short pause, a tailflick. "Flora is quite fond of those. Thermometer. Measure how hot something is, yes. These ones are suitable for the kitchen, but with some changes, they can also be used in forges. Those cost more to make, though," the she-cat offers with a smile on her lips, a flick of her tail.
Tam is offered a wistful smile, before shaking his head. "S'my craft, lad. And mister Olloch ain't done me wrong. It's tough to describe, though. Speaks to me sometimes, he does. When I'm at a loss when it comes to spices or food-combinations. But he ain't done me wrong. Hasn't suggested anything like what the crazies do in his name," he offers with a tusked smile.
"Sounds handy," Tam says, smiling, "Mister Olloch is a good cook too, then?" The tanuki has set aside his meat and veggies for a moment while he rolls out the pale dough he has made and starts to slice it into neat squares. "Maybe I ought to meet this fella, huh?"
"Your metal should get much hotter than your food. If either is like the other, you're probably doing something wrong. Probably." Cirrus notes, pouring some rice into a pot and metering out water, before placing it on the heated surface. "Can I get a time check, please?"
"Thermometer..." Russell commits this to memory. He doesn't have a forge, but he wants one, one day. One of those might be useful. "I'll have to remember that, Lady Flora... You make all sorts of things. I'll come back after going to hunt more furs to find out you invented some sort of macine that do a better job at hunting then I." Flora's comment about not understanding how to making a food dish intresting on the eyes as well as the tounge makes him chuckle a little, but he says nothing about it.
"I imagine Flora's come up with an infresting solution to gauging how hot things are."
"Flora knows. So you need a different type of thermometer for a forge than you need for a oven, yes," the she-cat offers with a smil, a flick of her tail as she looks to the clock. "Two and a half hours remaining, yes," she calls out to everyone, while various beings scurry to put things in the oven.
The bear offers a small chuckle, a slight shake of the head. "Y'can always try, lad. I could call 'im over, but he's a busy man, and I don't like disturbing 'im. And I don't think the Lady would appreciate it," he offers, as he gestures one of the attendants to his ragout, asking them to put it in cold storage for a while.
Tam barks out a warm, pleasant laugh. "No doubt! No doubt!" he says, "Besides, I'm in the middle of my own cookery, ain't I?" The tanuki leaves his dough to do what dough does, and goes to the mathemagically powered hot plate and starts to do utterly inscrutable things with the sliced meat and marinade he has made, as well as preparing two other pots, all three heating at the same time, all three filled with a remarkable assortment of ingredients and spices.
"Two and a half? Still? Huh." Cirrus glances around at everyone shoving things in ovens, instead filling a water in a glass and starting to sip at it. She has time to kill, apparently! Especially if the meet has more time to marinade. "Fun."
Russell watches the collected cooks for another few minutes, but soon realizes that without actually cooking anything or offering much in the way of useful advice he's superfulous to say the least.
"Well, lady Flora, it's been swell, but since I'm no cood and I really don't want to stand here for no reason, I'll be out of your fur. I wish everyone luck with teh contest!" The Arctic Fox gives a grin and a wave as he heads out.
"Two and a half. Cousin Cirrus could make an accompanying dish, of course," Flora offers, before moving over to Tam and Ernest with a smile on her lips. Everything is going well here, yes?" she offers, as she watches Ernest fill a large pot with some sort of vegetable-oil.
"Hello, Lady Flora," Tam says amiably, "My new friend here was just telling me about his peanut sauce! I'm excited to try it later!" The tubby tanuki is leaning against the counter as he watches his three sauces simmer gently in their pots. "This is a fun little contest you got goin," he says, "But I gotta wonder, why run something like this? No offense, but cooking doesn't seem like your cup of tea, if you get my meaning."
"Flora doesn't mind cooking, no. But Flora is figuring it would be a bit of good publicity now, for the thermometer, and a bit of good publicity later. After all, having a contest-winner serve meals at the fair is beneficial to the fair, and the one serving food, yes."
"Now THAT sounds like a prize!" Tam says with a grin, "You're saying that whoever makes the best food here gets to sell at this big fair thing you been doing all the building for? I like the sound of that!" The tanuki removes two of the simmering pots from the heat and starts to ladle savory smelling meat and sweet paste onto the slowly puffing squares of dough he has made. Not together, of course, but a healthy grouping of each. The last pot stays simmering, slowly thickening into a golden sauce. "If I had known that there would be a prize that good," Tam says, "I would have thrown in with my new pal here!" He grins at the tusked bear.
"In principle, any being who wants to sell food is allowed, but the winner doesn't pay a fee for their spot, and has a spot for the entire duration of the fair, yes," Flora offers, smiling warmly as she flicks her tail, looking towards the bear and the things he's doing with the oil-filled pan.
"Oh. Interesting." Cirrus says, prodding at her thing of rice and debating seasoning it up with some herbs. Green rice is easy to make, after all, and the acid with the freshness should work well against the meat. "Never miss a business opportunity, do you, Flora?"
Tam grins at the idea. "Wouldn't that be a pretty prize! Free real-estate for a big fancy affair like that!" he says, starting to fold filling into dough squares and wrapping them into neat buns. He looks around at the various items of cookware around him and frowns. "Uh oh," he frowns, "This isn't gonna work. I need a proper steam tray and I don't see nothing like that here." He turns a smile on Flora. "Got my cart pulled up just outside. Don't suppose one of your helpers here would go and get the big, round trays outta the top for me?"
"If the House is to succeed, the company is to succeed. The company's success is the House's success. And the fair is... A big project. Any small successes there count, yes," the she-cat offers, before gesturing one of the beings over. "Steam tray, yes? Flora is pretty sure those are available, though someone may've forgotten to stall them out, yes. Flora made sure not to exclude any particular style of cooking," she offers, before the being runs heads off to retrieve a stack of trays.
Meanwile, the she-cat makes another round, investigating beings making cookies, others making various cakes and more savoury meals, before looping back around once more.
Cirrus was reluctant to actually start cooking anything before the time came. It was a waiting game, for the time being, as most of this stuff would be better served piping hot. She fetches a cabbage, then, starting to peel off the outer layers and tug off some leaves, cuttingquotingthe leafy green into manageable ribbons. "Tsk."
Tam scrutinizes the steaming trays that the attendant brings him. "Eh," he snorts, "Would have liked mine better, but these'll do the job." The tubby tanuki starts to load and stack the trays, then seals them up over a large pot of water that he sets on the hot plate to boil. Then he turns his attention to the savory sauce he has made, carefully stirring it as it simmers.
"How's that peanut sauce coming?" he asks the bear across the way, trying to get a glimpse of what he is making to go along with it.
"It's all about skill, not about who has the better or more familiar equipment, the she-cat offers with a small smile on her lips. "This way, everyone has a level playing-field, as they say, yes," the Lady rumbles, flicking her tails behind her.
It doesn't appear there's much to see beyond the peanut sauce and the preparing of a large serving of creator potato-sticks. His ragout must still be in the cooled area.
"Knowing your equipments is all part of the skill, innit?" Tam says, taking his potent sauce off the heat and covering it. The tubby tanuki carefully covers the rest of his chopped vegetables and leaves his dumplings to steam, wandering happily around the cooking contest, snuffling at all the tasty treats being made.
"Of course. A good chef knows their equipment. But a great chef can work with any equipment, yes?" Flora counters with a smile on her lips, a flick of her ears.
As the clock ticks on, the various beings around the kitchen take their cakes and cookies from the ovens, their quiches and pies, while others turn down the heat for their soups and stews. Soon enough, Flora calls off the two-hour mark, and then the midway point, and already, the one-hour mark creeps closer and closer...
And Ernest finally, finally, asks for his ragout back...
Tam is finished cooking and simply enjoying leaning over everyone else's projects and sampling where people will let him. The tubby tanuki gravitates over to Ernest's station as he starts working on his Ragout again. With all this time left over, he ponders maybe adding a bit to his preparations. . .
During all that time, Ernest has been mixing up different sauces, tossing salads, and preparing everything. He's prepared a platter of flour, one with egg, and one with breading, before he starts scooping out small balls of half-solid ragout, rolling them through each of the ingredients in order, before tossing the breaded into a pan of hot oil, and leaving them to fry for a while.
Tam stands back at a barely respectable distance, watching Ernest work. "You are going to have to give me lessons!" the tubby tanuki says, "This looks about as complicated as anything I've ever seen!" The tanuki decides to take advantage of his bit of extra time to start a bit of rice, carefully spiced with an impressive array of spices. Plenty of time for that.
"A good chef never reveals all his secrets, friend," the tuxked bear offers with a smile, using a long, slotted spoon to fish the balls of fried ragout from the oil moments after, and repeating the process over and over. In a similar way, he starts preparing the creator potato-sticks, removing them in much the same way, before seasoning them on the serving-platter.
Tam laughs at Ernest's words. "Like a magician, right?" he says, giving his rice a little stir and putting his curry sauce back on heat and tossing his assorted, chopped vegetables into an oiled pan and starts to toss them. "How long do we have left?" he asks, eyeing his steaming buns.
"Like a magician. Like an entertainer, too," Ernest offers with a smile, as he continues making fried ragout-balls, fried potato-sticks, and topping off his sauces.
"From what I've been told, though, this is similar to some of those Creator-dishes. They seem to be very fond of their oil-cooking. Figured I'd experiment some," he offers with a smile.
Flora, meanwhile, reminds everyone that there are thirty minutes remaining...
Tam tosses his veggies in their oil. "Entertainer, for sure!" he agrees, "Pity we don't have a real fire to cook over! Nothing impresses a crowd more than a nice pillar of flame while you cook, you know?" He finishes sauteeing his veggies and adds them to his golden sauce, gives it a bit of a stir and goes to finishing his rice before getting ready to dish up. Not long now!
"Flora would think the academy wouldn't be happy if the cook-off resulted in a big fire, no. And like Flora said at the start, the ovens aren't fire-proof, just heat-proof, yes," she offers, as she enjoys the various scents filling the air, occasionally making the rounds, before returning to the front. "Ten minutes remaining. Finish whatever it is you are doing, yes. The ending-time is strict," she offers, smiling to the crowd.
Tam laughs at Flora. "Just for a little drama," he says, "Always a crowd pleaser." The tubby tanuki carefully dishes spiced rice onto a plate and molds it into a neat dome before pouring his many-spiced sauce artistically over half the dome, laying a pretty mint leaf on top. Then he goes to his stack of steaming trays and cracks it open to reveal beautiful, fluffy dumplings. He steps back to fan away the steam, and selects a pair of dumplings, one savory meat, and the other sweet bean paste, and lays them alongside the curry and rice. Then he sets the beautifully laid dish out for the judge or judges and starts to sort the rest of his work into neat rows, ready for sampling. Creators, cooking was much nicer than the work he normally had to do.
And soon enough, the time is up, and some beings wind up cursing under their breath, trying to stretch that final minute just long enough to finish their job. MOst of them have readily finished, though, and Flora gestures everyone to present their food to the panel of three beings, one-by one, while she, herself, meanders past the various setups and takes a final inspection.
The first being to move to the front is a small, and rather young stoat, who'se made a plain, if enjoyable dish, having spent all of her time preparing strawberry-jam and waffles.
And one by one, the different beings get to present their prepared dishes, from candied fruits and veggies to cakes, pies and cookies, to full-on meals... It certainly takes a while for everoyne to get a fair shot.
Tam occupies himself by cleaning up his station and neatly stacking the cleaned dishes on the side. As well as passing around steam buns around to his fellow cooks, if they are interested, right up until he is called up to present his dish, which has cooled to perfect eating temperature as he lays the carefully arranged plate in front of the judges. "Hope you don't mind a little bit of spice," he says with a smile, "This stuff is all full of spices!"
Soon enough, the judges are partaking of Tam's food, smiling warmly, though one judge doesn't seem too capable of handling the heat, and needs a little time to recover.
Soon enough, Ernest is up, and he offers his plates of fried potato-sticks, fried ragout, and the various bowls of sauces for inspection, with a warning that if anyone's allergic to peanuts, it's probably better to avoid the brown sauce...
Tam seems quite pleased with his work. Pleased enough that he dishes up a bowl of rice and curry for himself. After sampling one of his own dumplings, of course. The big tanuki does not seem too concerned about the results of the contest, though he waits with quiet anticipation along with the others. He IS interested in the judges' reactions to Ernest's dish as well.
A smile from Flora, as the judges partake in the small balls of fried ragout, pricking them with a toothpick, with each of them dragging it through a different sauce. One of them prefers the mustard, another takes the ketchup, and the third tries their hand at the peanut-sauce, before each biting into the fried food.
They're certainly bite-sized, although they appear to be piping hot on the inside, something at least one judge has a bit of trouble with.
"Savoury, with a bit of crunch, and a soft center. Certainly an interesting combination. Not bad," one judge offers, as the others nod in agreement.
Tam has been waiting patiently for Ernest to present, and he is standing and waiting for the tusked bear to return to his station so he can sample his delicious-smelling food. "I can't wait to taste this peanut sauce you've concocted!" he says, "I don't think I have had any since I took a trip to see Dad's old stomping grounds."
A smile, a gesture from the bear, to the fried goods and the various sauces. "Careful. The ragout-balls are hot," he offers, as he pricks one of them onto a toothpick, and stuff it into his mouth in a single bite, clearly enjoying his own food quite a bit as well. "I'll have to try out some of yours, too, of course," he offers with a smile, while the judges continue judging.
It certainly seems Tam and the bear are attracting the most attention from the various other cooks around, although that might be, in part, due to the fact that some of the smaller cakes seem to disappear in a heartbeat.
Tam happily samples the fried ragout balls, trying the different sauces and reveling in the taste. He passes a prepared plate of curry and dumplings to Ernest. "Thought you might like to try some," he says, "Only right to share, right?"
A smile from the bear, as he partakes in the food himself. Slowly but surely, everyone gets to show their food to the judges, and finally, they seem to slip off backstage to decide a winner. Flora seems to be gone, too, leaving everyone to crowd around Tam and Ernest's stations, happily partaking of the food.
"Had I known we'd be this popular, I would've made more than just a single plate. How 'bout you?" he offers to Tam.
Tam's mouth is full, so he just waves a hand toward the dimishing stack of dumplings at his work station. "I always make enough to feed an army," he says happily, "That's what I do for my little cart, you know. Always glad to see people enjoying their food." He winks at Ernest and stage-whispers, "Especially when it's someone else who pays for the ingredients, right?"
"Far as I know, the lady put up a little entry-fee, though there's no way it covers all costs, 'specially not for most of the meats," he offers, smiling as the judges, and Flora, appear once again a couple of minutes later.
"Seems you made too few anyway, though, friend. They're all gone," the bear offers.
"Flora would like to thank all of you for coming, yes. OF course, Flora's already done that, but Flora'd like to do it again anyway. Now, the judges have decided on the winner, yes. It wasn't easy, certainly, no. But first, third place and second place, yes."
"Miss flufftail, if you'd please step forward, she offers to the stoat, before looking to Tam. Mister... Mikuzukinoyoi, you too," she offers, clearly struggling with the name."
"Just Tam, if you please, Highlady," the tanuki says, bouncing forward at the summons, "The family name is a bit of a mouthful. And I know it." He waves to Ernest and grins. "Course it's all gone!" he says, "That is how you know it's good! Right?"
"Means you didn't make enough, either, buddy," the bear offers with a smile, before he lets Flora occupy Tam's time instead. "For some of the best dumplings this side of the Shralestan sea, the judges have opted to give mister Tam the third place."
"For a dish that is both plain and delicious, Miss flufftail get second place."
"And of course, an honorable mention for miss Cirrus Longtail, whose presentation was considered... Quite enjoyable by the panel."
"Of course, that all leaves the first place, yes."
"That's what I always say!" Tam says with a happy smile, "Best dumplings and noodles this side the Aqua Magna. That's the Tanuki Express for you!" Even if he did not win the grand prize, no reason to let a chance for advertising pass by. "And I'll have you know that there is always more where that came from!" he says, "Never met a dumpling I didn't like nor a person I did not want to feed up!" He pats his firm, round belly and shoots a grin across the crowd of cooks.
"Mister honeyclaw."
"For a savoury treat, inexpensive in its ingredients, and great in taste, Flora would like to offer you the first-place position, yes. And of course, the prize that comes with it. An offer to have a place for serving and selling food for the entire duration of the Fair, to be held in a couple of months. Should mister Honeyclaw wish to take LongTech up on that offer, of course."
"Miss flufftail and mister Tam are, of course, free to serve food as well, and they will be given priority when it comes to scheduling."
Tam joins in the applause for Ernest, and his grin grows a bit wider when he hears that he has a pre-emptive go-ahead to sell food at this upcoming event! "Well done, Mister Honeyclaw!" he congratulates his new friend, "Can't wait to try your food again!"
