A Full Course

Marjorie felt she would have to pick up the pace. She stepped around to the dining table where an abundance of herbs and spices were prepared, as well as some fundamentals like milk and butter. She grabbed a knob of butter, a pitcher of cream, and a decent sprig of parsley. She hurried back to her station.

She gave the parsley a loose, but fine chop. She checked back on the steaming roots, and found them to be reasonably soft. She carefully retrieved the steam trap , poured off most of the water, and returned the pot to the flame. She tossed the entire knob in and topped it off with a glut of cream and a generous pinch of two of salt. While the butter melted and cream heated, she took the steamed potatoes and carefully pressed them through a sieve into the pot. Once all of the potatoes were in the pot, she took a spoon and mixed it well.

She realized she was further along in the process than she thought. She looked around at her cohort. The twins were wrapping up their sausages with their pastry dough, brushing them with eggs, and sprinkling them with salt. They hadn’t gotten to baking yet.

Saffy was pulling her tart bases out of the oven and dumping dried beans from them, it seemed she had done a blind bake while preparing the custard. She also seemed to be whipping the whites into a merengue.

Gamot had amassed a pile of tortillas. They had the signature dark spots you’d expect, but they looked a bit thicker than Marjorie thought they’d be. His steak cuts where resting off to the side as he chopped some cabbage, peppers, onions, radishes, the works.

Pan, meanwhile, was stuffing and crimping her gyoza as a pan of oil climbed to the proper temperature. She also seemed to be preparing a dark brown pan sauce for dipping. It simmered to the side with a slice of orange floating on the surface.

Marjorie felt the potato was combined well enough, so she mixed in the leeks and scallions. As she did this, the twins were watching their hors d'oeuvres bake, Pan was frying the gyoza, Saffy was getting her tarts and merengue into the oven, and Gamot was plating up.

Letting the mash simmer a while longer, Marjorie saw how Gamot was arranging his dish, the six tacos were arranged like a large flower, and lime wedges were settled In the center. She considered the best way to present her dish.

She gave it a quick taste. The texture was soft, the warmth was comforting and nostalgic, and the flavor was rich, savory, earthy, and herbal: in short, just the right amount of cozy. She poured the mash into a wooden bowl and stirred it into a spiral. Along the grooves of the spiral, she tucked a few more strands of steamed leek and scallions, then garnished along the negative space with parsley. The varying shades of green were a pleasant sight.

Shortly after, Saffy and the twins were retrieving their dishes from the oven and arranging them on platters. The twins simply places the hors d’oeuvres in parallel lines. Saffy arranged her tarts in rings with dollops of baked merengue between. Pan did the same with her gyoza. She had a small bowl of her dark sauce in the center of the platter. Gamot was the first to place his dish on the Dining table. He gave the table an enthusiastic slap. “Done!” He exclaimed.

Marjorie was next, she settled her champ next to his tacos. After her came the twins and their pigs-in-a-blanket platter. They added a little bowl of mustard to the side. Saffy came soon after, and Pan was the last. Chef took her place at the empty position of the table. “And it looks like that’s everyone. Excellent work. It’s good to see you practicing all the cooking disciplines.”

Marjorie kicked herself quietly; she knew she should have baked something. She noticed Saffy was also looking frustrated. Marjorie realized that Saffy hadn’t done any fine knife work, or work with pots and pans. Looking around, she realized everyone had something they hadn’t done. The twins never touched their flames, Pan didn’t bake anything, either. Gamot was the only one that exercised everything he could.

He made tortillas from scratch, fried the steak, sliced his accoutrements, and arranged them into a pleasant presentation. He even blanched his cabbage, the vibrant magenta hue it gave the tacos made that obvious. On top of that, he was the first to finish. If there were a starring role after all, it wouldn’t surprise Marjorie if it went to Gamot.

Chef strolled around the table, sampling everything.

She started with the Gyoza. She took one, dipped into the sauce, and took a bite. “Mm. Crisp on one side, chewy on the other, the filling is fully cooked. It’s not raw, it’s not tough, it’s just right. The sauce is salty, sweet, tangy, everything comes together beautifully. Well done, Pan.”

She moved along to Saffy. She took up one of the merengues. “I see you found a use for your egg whites. Excellent use of your resources.” She pressed it between her finger and thumb, eliciting a small crackle. “Firm on the outside, soft on the inside.” She split it in two. “Cooked through. Excellent piping. I hope that this didn’t impact the quality of your main item.” 

She took up one of the tarts. She inspected it. “Golden brown, puffy crust.” She scraped a nail along the bottom and gave it a little shake. “Crisp crust, the custard is fully set, proper browning on the top.” She bit into the tart. “Savory, sweet, rich, just as it should be. Good use of your time, Saffy.” Saffy beamed.

Chef approached the twins. “Fairly simple dish on first glance. Sausage was premade, I recognize the handiwork on those. Having said that… I’m fairly sure these are the sausages that you requested a week back. Excellent forethought.” She picked up one of the little things. “Crisp, flaky, properly caramelized. I appreciate the egg wash and the salt garnish.” She popped it into her mouth and chewed for a minute. “Savory, salty, rich, hearty, smoky. Deceptively clever. Well done.”

She turned to Gamot. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” She took up one of his tacos. “Hm… these tortillas are a bit thick, but they’re not quite like pitas. They still have the texture you’d expect of a tortilla. She gripped one and held her hand under it. “Cuts aren’t quite uniform… your grip slipped a few times and the angles are a bit uneven. If you’re still having problems with that, try gripping further up the blade.” She took a bite. “…hm… steaks a bit overcooked for my taste, but I’m more partial to medium rare. The steak is well done. You cooked it well enough, too. Good work.”

Finally, Chef came to Marjorie’s side. “Is this your dish?” Marjorie nodded. “It’s a pretty simple dish.” Marjorie nodded once more. “Very well. The presentation is pleasant enough, very humble.” She pulled a spoon from her pocket and scooped up a bite with a little of everything. She partook. “Mm…. Humble it may be, but it’s just the dish for a welcome home. Your leeks are properly washed and cooked through. Wonderful work, Marjorie.” Marjorie responded with a curtsy. 

Chef walked back around the table to the empty position. “From my perspective, you’ve all done fantastic work… but there’s one last judge you’ll need to impress.” She set the Mahira bag down in the middle. “Each of you, take a pinch of the spice. Only a pinch. Sprinkle it on your dish, and we’ll see what the Gourmon have to say about it.

Each member of the cohort reached into the the bag in turn, then Marjorie. The first to adorn was Saffy, she swirled the spice across her platter, dusting everything. 

The strange voice echoed. “Pastelirma!”

Pan and Gamot were next. “Shogyozun! Capitaco!”

The twins sprinkled. “Weenee Wee!”

Marjorie took a steadying breath, then swept her hand over the Champ in a circle. 

“Champhain!”

There was a veritable light show on the table. This was the moment of truth.