Chapter 47: Cooking with Chef Raze part 2
With everything on the way, Raze could move on. He waited for half an hour and then moved to the next steps. The potatoes were all boiled by this time.
"Elaine, take out the potatoes and put them into a bowl. Use a spoon or whatever to mash them together until they make a paste.
You’ve cooked for long now, so you should know the amount of salt, pepper, and garlic needed. It has to be subtle, the taste shouldn’t be overpowering at all. It should be more potato than spices," Raze explained.
"Your explanations are terrible, but I understand," she replied and got to work. He looked at Ella. "Alright, Ella, I need a pan on the flames and a thin layer of oil on it. Cut in some garlic and onions.
You’re a flame mage, so you understand the concept of fire. You have to ensure that the flame isn’t strong enough to make the oil boil immediately, but rather boil slowly until it’s bubbling," he said.
"So, low heat," she stated. "You could have just said that and I would have understood," she added and then got to work as well.
While those two were doing what he asked, he too put a pot on the flame and started boiling the pasta. It was a simple recipe, and he wasn’t doing anything else.
By this time, the aroma coming from the kitchen had started filling the entire house. Everyone around could already smell it, and their curiosity had started to climb.
Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, Raze took out the meat slices that had been soaked in wine and placed them on a tray, allowing some of the excess juices to seep out.
Then, when it was time, he placed the meat into the pan. Ella watched in confusion and fear that this might go bad. The meat landed on the oil, and a soft searing sound came out.
He placed half of the total meat on the pan and then looked at Ella. "Watch it, five minutes on each side and then flip. That should be enough time. Your aim is a good golden brown on each side. I’ll come and do the rest," he said and then headed back to the pasta.
Everything was coming together, and the frying of the chicken was the last thing to do.
Sniff sniff.
Raze heard sniffing sounds from the door. He turned around and saw Fey standing there, his eyes shining, glimmering.
"What are you doing here?" Raze asked.
"Not my fault, the entire building smells like food. The aroma woke me up," Fey said. Then he walked in eagerly. "Is it done yet? Can I eat?" he asked, almost drooling.
"No, it’s not. And if you stay here, it’ll take even longer, so get out," Raze said while waving a spoon in his face.
"Tsk, you’ve spent so long already. What’s taking it so long?" Fey asked.
"Good things take time. I’m not making you some weak-ass food — I’m making something that’ll blow your mind. Now if you want to eat this, you’ll go back and wait for me to be done," Raze said, giving a stern warning.
Fey frowned. "Urghhhhhhhh! Fine, can I at least have som—"
"No, now go," Raze barked.
Fey finally left after minutes of back and forth. But the truth was, he wasn’t the only one there. Raze’s mother and sister had come down as well. They were outside the kitchen, spying like they had something to hide. Some of the maids also stood around, wanting to at least see what was happening.
"You know you have a crowd outside there, right?" Ella asked.
"Yeah, I guess that’s how good I am," Raze said with a cocky smile.
An hour passed, and finally, he was done. The chicken was fried, and everything was fully cooked. The aroma took over the entire house, and it was causing mouths to water.
Finally, Raze could serve the food. He placed everything, with the help of Elaine, on the dining table and then finally invited the guests who were meant to eto, his mother Sarah, his sister Dawn, and the one and only Fenryr Fey. He would have asked his brothers, but the ground between them wasn’t particularly leveled.
The three walked in, led by their noses. He could see the shine in their eyes. They all took their seats.
"Before you is my masterpiece," Raze said and began circling the table slowly. "Each of these is something you haven’t tasted before, but keep an open mind and appreciate the tastes," he said, a confident smile on his face.
He asked Elaine and Ella to have their seats as well. They had worked on everything, and they needed to be part of it.
Once everyone was seated, he stood there and watched. "Alright, dig in," he said.
Fey moved first, but before he could, Raze slapped his hands. "You’ll finish everything if I leave you, so no, I’ll serve you," Raze said.
Fey frowned and clicked his tongue. He looked away and folded his hands. Raze served him the spaghetti with a tomato and pepper-based sauce he had whipped up. Then he got a plate of steak, chicken, and the mashed potatoes.
He allowed everyone else to take their food, and then they all dug in.
Each, like taking a first taste of whatever came to mind first, the moment the food touched their tongues, it was an explosion of tastes unlike anything they had experienced before.
Their faces said it all. They paused with pleased smiles on their faces, like they were in a trance. Fey was the first to snap out and then instantly started digging in furiously. He gobbled it down at an amazing speed.
Everyone else started eating as well, each taste giving them a new pleasure. Raze smiled, seeing that his mission was complete.
From the look on Fey’s face, he knew gjay he had won him over as he planned to.