Bakers, start your baking!

[indigo_league]

Who: Everybody!
Where: Riegfried and Soy's mansion
When: January 15th; day time for the cooking part, evening for the mingle part.
Summary: Come one, come all to the newest contest hosted by Riegfried and Soy. Today's theme: cooking!








[Daytime - The kitchens]

Throughout the day, the kitchens will be open to all contestants, though any casual onlookers --human, pokemon, or otherwise-- will be shooed out to prevent any cheating.

Each contestant will be directed to a gleaming counter, where they will be able to find everything from your basic whisk and spatula to gleaming kitchen machinery fancy enough to make any cook feel faint with envy. Each counter comes complete with a small fridge (should you need to chill any of your ingredients), an oven, a stove, a microwave -- really, anything you can imagine and it is there. Riegfried and Soy clearly didn't want anyone to run into the issue of not having the right equipment for the job.

At the back of the room are the fridges: tall, imposing fridges made of gleaming metal stocked full of every sort of ingredient you could possibly think of. And next to the fridges, contestants can find rows and rows of shelves, each nearly bowing under the weight of the products placed on them -- from fresh fruit, to spices, to rice and noodles. If you need it, you can find it.

Riegfried and Soy will be flitting around the room like a pair of extravagant Butterfrees, happy to engage contestants in small interviews. Everything for the camera, baby! Because those are also there; they are clearly trying to stay out of everybody's way, but small, Rotom-powered cameras flit around the room for close-ups, while cameramen and women with heavy-duty equipment get the distance shots. Hopefully, you haven't got an issue with stage fright.



[Evening - The show]

And when all is said and done, and the last dishes have been cooked, it's time for the actual show. There is some time between the actual cooking and this part of the evening, during which contestants have a chance to change their clothing and freshen up, but before too long, the mansion's doors open to the guests, who are herded by the cheerful hosts to an enormous hall.

The hall itself is set up with all manner of comforts. There are some small tables and chairs for anyone who wants to sit down for a while. Long tables line the sides of the room, absolutely laden with all manner of refreshments. There is even a special table set aside where the dishes the contestants made (at least the ones that made it to this part of the evening) are displayed and ready for tasting.

The schedule for the night is rather straightforward.

After some meet-and-greet and time for every last guest to arrive, the day's events (cut and edited by a very exhausted camera crew) will be projected onto a huge screen for all to enjoy. The votes will be tallied afterward and awards and prizes will be handed out. The rest of the evening will give the winners a chance to celebrate, the losers a chance to commiserate, and everybody else to clear the buffet of everything edible.

Comments

[nastyboy]

It does.

[Doomed to realize his winking mistake later, probably when he's trying to go to sleep, Dimitri turns his attention to his food.]

That would be fried bread. You make it like this.

[And he explains the steps as he makes another bit of it, keeping to simple sentences best he can. Simple means easier to use in other contexts beyond just fried bread, after all. Things like "Add salt" and "You put it in the pan".]

[As he's frying it in the oil, however, he considers something.]

Can you only echo voices, or can you other noises as well?

[copykiri]

[She loves repeating the different sentences but grins widely when he asks that. The first sound is wooden wind-chimes, and the second a simple melody from a wind-up clockwork music box. She's very proud of herself.]

[nastyboy]

[Pride like that deserves a small applause.]

You are really talented, you know. Do you use them when you don't know what sentence or word to use?

[copykiri]

[Kiri bows. She might have picked that up from Jaskier too, or at least someone equally flamboyant. She kind of shakes her head at the question and then chirps and croaks, sounding like a raven chick. She just makes her own sounds when she doesn't know what other sounds to make!]

[nastyboy]

Oh, I see.

Do you have to do that often? [He can't imagine she does if she's gotten to know Jaskier, but it never hurts to ask.]

[copykiri]

[She brings out her 'gear and types.]

i can write fast now if i don't know the sounds!

[nastyboy]

Oh, so your home did not have those either! Then we are the same in that aspect.

[Dimitri pulls some more flour over to himself.]

I will make something sweet. We can eat it together to celebrate getting such handy tools.

[copykiri]

[Oh Kiri likes the sound of that.]

I will make something sweet! I will make something sweet!

[She's going to get closer and see if she can help too.]

[nastyboy]

[It's still kind of odd to hear what his own voice sounds like, out of the mouth of a small girl, but, hey. Dimitri smiles as she steps closer, and he drags the bowl close again.]

We can make it together. It's very simple. Just copy me, all right?

[copykiri]

Just copy me, all right.

[Kiri is grinning, full of mischief when she says that, but is definitely getting ready to help.]

We can make it together.

[nastyboy]

[For that, Dimitri flicks a bit of flour onto her nose with a smile.]

Yes, yes, we know you're clever. [He pulls out a bowl for her as well, and sets it in front of her.] Now let's see if your hands are as good as your voice.

[Although it's really a rather simple recipe, even with the additions that help make it a sweeter kind of cracker, and so is mixing everything together. Dimitri is perfectly happy to let Kiri take care of it on her own, trusting she knows what she's doing until proven otherwise.]

[copykiri]

[Kiri giggles and aims a bit of flour back at Dimitri. She probably doesn't get it high enough.]

Yes, yes, we know you're clever!

[With directions to follow along with, Kiri is pretty good! She might try to sneak in a bit more of the sweet ingredients though...]

[nastyboy]

[Hey, his outfit can survive a little bit of flour, and he grins. He's never made anything in a kitchen with a child, but he thinks he could rather like it, with someone as fun as Kiri.]

[He'll even turn a blind eye to her sneaking in more treats, chuckling a little as he makes sure to get some bowls of fruit for the eventual finished result.]

[There's just one more thing... and that would be the pan as he heats it up.]

Be careful. Oil is nothing to play around with. We have to time this carefully, so that it doesn't become burnt.

[Some people care about that, apparently, and, admittedly, Dimitri would imagine that doesn't lend itself well to sweet things.]

[copykiri]

Be careful.

[Kiri mimics that while nodding, carefully keeping her hands and sleeves away from the pan.]

So that it doesn't become burnt.

[nastyboy]

Smart girl.

[Careful, but certain, Dimitri lays down his dough into the pan first.]

Do you like the whipped cream they have here?

[copykiri]

[Kiri is watching the process with great intent but looks up at the question. She nods!]

[nastyboy]

Get one of the cans, then - or the ones you can get from the little bowls. [Dimitri doesn't know how to handmake whipped cream and, well, this is just for them, so, like... Heck it.] And whatever berries are your favorite.

[copykiri]

[She totally tries the different varieties of whipped cream available, and comes back with one of the cans that sprays. Mostly because she can promptly use it to give herself a spray mustache and lick it off with a giggle.

And her favorite berries are apparently strawberries!]

[nastyboy]

[Hey, that is absolutely a valid reason to choose what kind of whipped cream to use, and Dimitri chuckles.]

Try to save some for the bread, not your face.

[Bread he is now carefully retrieving from the hot pan, setting it on a plate.]

You should let it cool. Food too hot will melt the whipped cream before you can enjoy it properly. Do you know how many strawberries you want to put on it?

[copykiri]

[Kiri sticks out her tongue playfully! But then she gets asked about the strawberries!

Unless she's stopped she's going to pile a whole bunch of them on until the bread can't even be seen.]

[nastyboy]

[....You know, he wasn't sure what he was expecting.]

[Dimitri watches, fascinated at the growing pile of strawberries, before he hides his laugh in his palm and looks around for a fork.]

Normally, I eat my bread with my hands... but I think we might have to eat yours in other ways.

[copykiri]

[Kiri takes the fork and uses it to brutally stab a strawberry and bread. She's going to be a horrible mess, but her grin says she doesn't care.]

Thank you! Thank you!

[And she pushes the plate towards Demitri so he can have some too.]

end scene?

[nastyboy]

[Listen, sometimes being a horrible mess is the best way to enjoy food. Dimitri can't say for certain himself anymore, but he feels that was true when he was younger, and had no one that he had to impress.]

[So he smiles at her, taking a small fork himself to spear a strawberry and bread himself, with a good helping of whipped cream.]

[He's glad to see he was right that coming here would end well.]