Pulse of the Imperium

As usual, a food court is organised on one side of the hill, in the open space, delineated by various stalls and stands offering both ready-made and cooked-on-demand snacks and refreshments. Many are eager to taste the fair fare as it's a rare opportunity to eat something else than their homestead meal while socialising with friends and family. The atmosphere is congenial.

Still, the variety of foodstuffs is limited as the region has no great tradition of culinary innovation and uses mostly local produce and game. The mouth-watering main prize this time, the boar Lydia has hunted down for the occasion, rawness-in-waiting, is looked at with a stretch of imagination that at best involves having it roasted, glazed with wine, served with rice and baked apples. Local dogs wander about, whining and salivating, looking for their own opportunities.

If someone wants to show off their cooking skills and claim the right to cook the boar, they certainly can try!

Appropriate skills to roll (once): Education, Coordination and Survival. If one has two or three, they can add their ranks and treat it as one skill for the sake of the event, and roll it with the trait for the dominant skill. Statements can apply if they fit. The best result gets to cook the boar.

However, there's more at stake. The way to one's heart is through their stomach, they say. The participants may choose if they want to keep it 'Traditional' or commit to 'Something New.' The tally of successes behind each choice is going to determine whether the local population is going to stick to their ways or may actually become more open to offworld people and influences, for better or worse. The choice needs to be denoted in the roll. The difficulty for 'Traditional' is Average, for 'Something New' it's Hard, and upgraded once. However, Triumph for Traditional means 1 success more, Despair 1 success less, while for Something New it's 3 successes more for Triumph and 3 successes less for Despair. Advantages and Threats can be used to create interesting situations around related to the cooking process, like a meat heist of a good boys' gang, the smell reminding someone of their late mum's cooking, etc.

Let there be cook-off, and let there be feasting and fun!

[Observation RP and event rolls are all in this thread together.]

The hunter in question, Lydia, had remained close by. She wasn't involving herself in the cooking or preparing, having hunted and provided the largest boar for meat she could on request. So instead she stood to the side, a small plate of some form of cooked meat rolled up on it, and munched. A large mug of water sat on a barrel next to her as well.

She looked approachable for once! Not that she was looking at anyone, but the aura that she often gave off wasn't there as she ate. Except to any dog that got close, they received a glare.


(ooc - not doing event, purely here for rp reasons)

She received a few odd stares when she began to set up her field kitchen. Cuyler understood. How could anything she made with a few burners and pans compare to a homecooked meal in a fully supplied kitchen? Perhaps she could have asked one of the locals to let her use theirs, but that seemed presumptuous and rude. She was an off-worlder and she was unfamiliar with their traditions. What she was preparing might be unfamiliar to them.

They were actually fairly simple. She had acquired some of the local meat and vegetables and wrapped them in flakey pastries. The recipe had come from a mining family she had met in previous travels. It wasn't vastly different from what the locals would make. Just enough to offer something new.



- - -
Day 0 | Food Fair: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Education+Coordination/Intellect , Kitchen, Something New: 1eA+3eP+2eB+3eD 5 successes, 3 advantage, 1 Triumph


8 successes. Advantages to make a lot.

Razar approaches one of the food vendors that was a childhood friend of his, Maria Ananada, who he used to play with among the vineyards. Her mother was a chef in the Lanville estate so Razar and Maria. Along with his brother and a few other kids on the estate, they used to run amok and the two Lanville kids would always take the heat when the group got in trouble. Razar sidles up to her and says, "Gonna let me use your grill and participate?"

After some catching up, the two start cooking side by side and it becomes extremely clear who learned to cook and who learned to fly thopters. When she tastes his entry she chuckles at him and teases his lack of seasoning. Hers version of the dish is much better.

Lydia Storm wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 17, 2024 8:34 pm

(ooc - not doing event, purely here for rp reasons)

Seeing someone standing around watching the crowds, he calls to Lydia and says, "Wanna tell us which of these is actually better?" He knows it's not his, beyond question. It's really just having fun socializing. Just looking at them will make it obvious which will taste better.

Day 0 | Food Fair: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Education/Intellect, Traditional: 1eA+1eP+2eD 1 success, 1 threat

The girl heard something, and glanced in the direction to see what the commotion was. It seemed the person being called for...was her. There was a small narrowing of eyes as she finished the last piece of meat on her plate, chewing it slowly and swallowing before pushing off and taking her mug of water with her.

"Which is better?"

She stood over the food, a small frown, before picking up a piece of the meat first from the girls and after briefly sniffing it putting it into her mouth and chewing it slowly. She then repeated the same exercise with the man who called for hers food. There was a deeper frown after that one.

"Was that a serious question? One of these is throwing meat on a fire for a little too long with nothing else and one of these is cooking."

Laila had no family on Caladan, and no friends to speak of, but she did have an appetite, so she turned up at the prospect of food.

She damned sure wasn't a cook, though, and wasn't about to begin to pretend she was- so she settled on scarfing a few choice meat pastries.

Her opinion wasn't articulated verbally, but the fact that she took more than one pastry said it all.

Lydia Storm wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 18, 2024 8:18 am

The girl heard something, and glanced in the direction to see what the commotion was. It seemed the person being called for...was her. There was a small narrowing of eyes as she finished the last piece of meat on her plate, chewing it slowly and swallowing before pushing off and taking her mug of water with her.

"Which is better?"

She stood over the food, a small frown, before picking up a piece of the meat first from the girls and after briefly sniffing it putting it into her mouth and chewing it slowly. She then repeated the same exercise with the man who called for hers food. There was a deeper frown after that one.

"Was that a serious question? One of these is throwing meat on a fire for a little too long with nothing else and one of these is cooking."

"Oh man," he says with a chuckle. "Guess I need more practice!"

Razar steps around the side of the stall so that Maria can keep cooking without him getting in the way. "Maria's mom always made the best skewers. Glad to see the tradition is being carried on."

He focuses on Lydia with a friendly expression, "Enjoying the festivities and food?"

Razar Lanville wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 18, 2024 1:09 pm

"Oh man," he says with a chuckle. "Guess I need more practice!"

Razar steps around the side of the stall so that Maria can keep cooking without him getting in the way. "Maria's mom always made the best skewers. Glad to see the tradition is being carried on."

He focuses on Lydia with a friendly expression, "Enjoying the festivities and food?"

Lydia followed the man with her eyes as he walked around, waiting for him to stop before she turned back and picked up some more of the food on display for her plate. Mainly just meat it seemed.

"Too loud and busy, too many people. I prefer solitude but was asked to remain after delivering the boar meat that seems to be some kind of prize?" There was a shrug "I should feel special or something I guess, I did track that large boar for a few days before killing it and it seems to be worth the effort."

She peered back at him.

"I get a feeling this is more your kind of place though."

Laila Bridger wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 18, 2024 12:35 pm

Laila had no family on Caladan, and no friends to speak of, but she did have an appetite, so she turned up at the prospect of food.

She damned sure wasn't a cook, though, and wasn't about to begin to pretend she was- so she settled on scarfing a few choice meat pastries.

Her opinion wasn't articulated verbally, but the fact that she took more than one pastry said it all.

Nearby Efren stood with a collection of troopmates enjoying the food and festivities. Conversation among them sprung up about whether Private Rodir or Private Domingo could down more meat pastries. The group swarmed around a table and gathered a bunch of them to engage in their eating contest while Efren remained back smiling at a distance.

Seeing the woman by herself nearby Efren nodded his head in greeting.

"Bunch of savages sometimes." He said with a warm smile.

"Is this your first time at the festival?"

Cuyler continued to cook, pulling more pasties out of her small oven and setting them out to cool. She waved for people to come take the ones that had already cooled.

"There is plenty. Please, come eat."

The move away from traditional cooking might be inevitable. But Hadrian has his preferences. As such he'd already set the table with Moussaka, and was currently grilling up some Souvlaki.



Cooking Moussaka

Net Successes: 3; Net Advantages: 0

Eileen was fishionable late

Indeed she had taken her time to go out and get a fresh catch by herself for the competition, walking in with a basket of caladanian cipuras who were well prized for the delicious natural taste of their flesh.

After some banter with the other fisherfolks in the competition, the cipuras where beheaded and gutted with canny efficiency with her large knife. Once ready, the rick would be to use some local herbs and seaweeds to compliment the fish.

She was pretty please with herself


Cook-off, traditionnal, Explorer's knife: 2eP+1eA+2eD+1eB 2 successes, 1 advantage, 1 Triumph

[Current tally: Traditional 7, Something New 8]

While Mutelli pastries were still very sought after, some sentimental folks swayed back to the good old stuff.

"That is excellently prepared." Cuyler smiled after a sampling of the fish. "Perfectly seasoned and tender. Delicious."

''Thanks'' she eyed the fancy-like woman warily ''The cipuras are a bitch to catch but well worth the effort''

She supposed she ought to say something nice about the pastries too

''Nice format for your stuff. Easy to bag and carry around for a trip''

She nodded. "That's why pasties are favored by miners on Ipyr. They are made from simple fare, pack easily, keep well and make for a hearty lunch."

Eileen raised an eyebrow

''Simple fare huh? Shame you did'nt try ingredients unique to our world''

She seemed confused. "Everything in these are from this world. Bought in the market here."

''Yeah...'' she sighed ''...but many of these things can be found elsewhere. I mean, a cow is a cow here and everywhere else. There are stuff you can only find here and aren't exported.''

"Ah, you're right." she nodded. "For instance, I would love to try a few things with the cipuras. Unfortunately, I haven't been here long enough to explore the many tastes of your world. I would appreciate every recommendation you could offer."