Mark woke with every part of his body sore. His fingers hurt, his arms ached, and he felt as though he had performed manual labor for weeks. He struggled to remember where he was until he rolled over and found Clara glaring at him.
Clara said, “Dale told me to get you up; we are behind, and you need to pull your weight. We have been up for hours.”
Mark pulled himself out of bed and looked around. Oh yeah, the kitchen disaster. His first thought was whether he could get away without anyone noticing. Then he felt Clara kick him again.
Clara said, “I said move it; we have dishes to wash; we are already behind schedule.”
Mark reluctantly followed Clara to the sink. The pile of dishes was so high he had to tilt his head back to see the top. And the worst thing was there was more than one pile; in fact, he could see at least three of them. Mark filled up the sink and started washing. He at least felt confident that he knew how to wash dishes.
About 20 minutes into it, Clara, who was rinsing and drying, passed him back two plates he had completely missed that still had globs of food on them. The disappointment on her face made Mark cringe. He was beginning to realize that he was not cut out to be kitchen help; he was so missing the lines of people asking him what to do and how to solve everyone’s problems. As he was daydreaming about life outside the kitchen, he heard Clara clear her throat.
Mark said, “Alright, I get it. Back to work. I am still not awake, and I am so tired. And the cuts on my hands are stinging in this soapy water.”
Clara stopped him a couple more times and had to give him the lecture on proper washing techniques. If Mark had to guess, she had gotten the same thing some time in the past from Dale, as it sounded just like something he would say.
Next, they chopped carrots. Mark had learned a lot the day before, though Clara still stopped to lecture him about size, how he held the knife, and why he kept cutting himself.
Mark was watching Dale out of the corner of his eye, which might be why he kept cutting himself. Dale was amazing; he knew what he was doing, and he had fully taken charge of the kitchen. There had to be at least 20 people in the kitchen, maybe even more, and Dale was calling out orders like a drill sergeant. Mark had never realized what it took to run a real kitchen; his only experience was watching his wife cook or burning his own razor meat like he did the first day here.
He also saw Risa working with the ovens, with a team helping get bread out, putting new batches in, testing the dough, and making sure all was right. Milo was working with the meat team; they had ovens full and more trays of meat out. He was teaching one of the other workers about how to check for proper temperature and another about how to sear the meat so that it was just right.
Then he heard something. When he turned around, Clara was stomping her feet, trying to get his attention. “You know you learn more by working than watching. We were delivered herbs that need sorting while you were daydreaming over there. And after that I was told we have 30 bags of flour to bring in, and you know I can’t pick them up, so it’s all you on that one. I will direct.”
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Mark laughed and turned back around and followed Clara’s lead. That was how all of the morning and half the afternoon went. He hauled the flour, and then they needed more water. They even spent some time grinding spices. They had a treat when Risa asked them to help knead some dough that needed to be done quickly, and all her people were busy.
The way things were coming together was great; they were ahead of schedule and would be finished in no time. Or at least that is what he kept hearing from others.
That’s when it happened: the kitchen went quiet; a man had just entered and was talking hurriedly with Dale. The man left in a rush and slammed the door; everyone was looking at Dale.
Dale said, “Word has come in that another noble family was approaching and there would be 100+ more guests at the party. We are short on food and supplies. We need everyone to do their part. Don’t lose focus; it will be a long night. New supplies of food will be delivered within the hour.”
Mark could see the stress in Dale’s body, but his voice did not show it. He had everyone back to work in short order.
To Mark’s great horror, they delivered 15 more bags of potatoes to his table and told him there was more outside to bring in. He and Clara went to work. More than two hours later, Mark’s rhythm of peeling potatoes was shattered by a system message.
[Skill Acquired]Kitchen Prep Level 1
Allows:Improve ingredient preparation efficiency.Reduce waste while preparing food.Improve consistency during repetitive preparation tasks.◈ ◈ ◈
Mark stopped and turned to Clara. “I just got a skill called Kitchen Prep.”
Clara replied, “Yeah, you’re not hopeless. By the way, I have raised 4 levels already in my cooking skills. You really need to keep up.”
Mark laughed, and they went back to work. Dale continued to lead, and everyone followed. They changed up some of the dishes and had substitutions on others. Dale was able to find a new spice vendor and a new supply of meat, and a pastry vendor was contracted with.
Dale took the time to visit each person in the kitchen and encourage them and tell them what they were doing right and where they could improve. Even though they would leave this place soon, Dale still took the time to be a teacher and mentor to all. He even spent half an hour showing Mark the correct ways to cut onions. Mark’s eyes were watering so badly at the end he could hardly see Dale, but he could not miss the “I told you so” look on Clara’s face.
Dale had only praise for Clara; he told her he was so proud of her and that she had grown a lot since that first day in camp, and he was pleased that she was working in his kitchen. Clara was all smiles when he left. Mark knew then more than ever how lucky he was to find Dale and how lucky he was to have him be their Chef.
He was just standing there when a man walked past Clara, and she stopped him. “Where are you going with that?”
The man replied, “Taking it to the staging area. It’s part of the meal for tomorrow.”
Clara said, “No, you’re not.” Then Dale was called to come over. Before Dale was there, he could smell the problem.
Dale said, “What’s going on here?”
Clara said, “This man said he is taking this to the assembly area, and it smells wrong.”
Dale said, “Good catch, Clara. I think you saved the day; this burnt meal would have really upset the royal family. I’m glad you were on your toes.”
Dale then hustled the man back, explaining to him the need to use his senses and that he should have tasted it to ensure it was done correctly.
Long after the sun had set, Dale came over and thanked Clara and Mark and sent them to bed.
Dale said, “Remember the big day is tomorrow; we need to be up early and set up and present the food.”