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| Kitchen | ||
| Let’s Make Beef Stew #1
~Silver ver.~ | ||
Silver  |
Beef stew… A stewed dish of all things, huh? I hope I don’t mess this up. | |
| Ghost Chef | “Of all things”? Is there something you’re worried about? | |
Silver |
Truth is, I have this bad habit of dozing off out of nowhere.
And making stew is no exception… I’ve fallen asleep midway through and botched it several times before. | |
| Ghost Chef | I heard you mention that was your reason for applying to this class. I see it’s really true… | |
Riddle  |
It could be extremely dangerous to fall asleep while cooking. Have you ever had a fire break out? | |
Silver |
It’s common to use magic for cooking in Briar Valley. We also use magic power to make fires.
Your power gets cut off when you fall asleep, which also puts out the fire. So the risk of one breaking out is pretty much nonexistent for me. | |
| Ghost Chef | Hahaha! You found yourself with a natural fire-preventing function there. | |
Silver |
Back when I still couldn’t use magic, my father was in charge of the fire spell.
Whenever I nodded off, I’d make him have to—I mean, he would manage the fire and finish cooking for me. But since I was so young, I didn’t realize he was protecting me. So I thought I’d be fine doing it by myself… When my father was out one day, I built a fire from some wood and tried cooking alone. It’d been very cold since morning; I wanted to make him some pot-au-feu. I was able to keep everything under control while I chopped ingredients, threw them in the pot, and flavored it… But I think I got too comfortable then. I fell asleep while the pot was still over the fire. | |
Riddle |
Ah, that’s not safe! This wasn’t fire made by magic, right?
What happened after that? | |
Silver |
Somehow I woke up before a fire could break out. But the liquid had all cooked away by that point…
I rushed to add more water into the pot, but then the burnt food dissolved and turned the entire soup black. The dish was a failure. The house smelled burnt. I had no idea what to do, and then my father came home. | |
Riddle |
…Did he reprimand you? | |
Silver |
No. He smiled and said, “All that’s important is that you aren’t hurt.”
“You can use this failure to grow and do better next time.” Then he started eating my charred, black pot-au-feu without even hesitating. He told me, “My, how flavorful this is!” but… there really was no way he could eat it. | |
Riddle |
He sounds like a very kind father. | |
Silver |
Yeah, he’s someone I’m really proud of. | |
Riddle |
Did you learn to cook from him? | |
Silver |
He’s remarkable with his sword and his magic… but cooking is a different story. Everything from the ingredients to the steps is always played by ear.
And the flavor is so ‘unique.’ His techniques weren’t really helpful. So I taught myself to cook. Although, I used to think anything works as long as I could eat it. I’d fry chopped meat and vegetables with salt and pepper, and sometimes make risotto with the leftovers. | |
Riddle |
Having self-taught cooking skills is admirable on its own. I’ve never put together a meal by myself. | |
| Ghost Chef | Hey, you two! Less talking, more working! | |
Silver |
Oh, sorry… I was going to chop the vegetables first.
Let’s peel the carrots. | |
| (Peeling…) | ||
| Ghost Chef | Ooh~ Look at that skill! | |
Silver |
I’m used to working with kitchen knives.
Next I’ll do the onions. | |
| (Peeling…) | ||
Riddle |
Silver, would you mind showing me how to peel those? I need to use onions as well. | |
| Ghost Chef & Silver | ……? | |
Riddle |
Wh-Why are you all giving me that strange look?! Was it that weird of a question…? | |
Silver |
You can peel the skin off with your hands. | |
Riddle |
It’s not the method I was asking about… I, um, can’t figure out how much of the onion is the skin. | |
Silver |
Oh, that’s what you meant? The skin is the thin, brown outer layer. The white part is what’s edible. | |
| Ghost Chef | If there are any brown spots in there, you can cut those off later. | |
Riddle |
Only remove the brown areas… Making unnatural holes in the onion bothers me a little. | |
| Ghost Chef | Mm, you’re quite the perfectionist, Riddle! | |
Silver |
Don’t worry. Worst comes to worst, you can still eat any skin that’s left by sticking it to the roof of your mouth. | |
| Ghost Chef | And Silver is not, despite his looks! | |
| Timeskip | ||
Silver |
Alright, I’m done cutting all the meat and vegetables. Now I’ll melt butter in the preheated pot…
And start browning the meat. | |
| (Sizzle…) | ||
Silver |
Time to toss in the vegetables… Normally, I would sprinkle in some salt and pepper and finish right here. | |
| Ghost Chef | That’d be perfect if you were using steak meat. But shanks and tendons will taste much better if you stew them~ | |
Silver |
So you use different cuts of meat depending on what you’re making? I never really thought about that until now.
…Chef, the onions are all transparent. Does this mean they’re cooked enough? | |
| Ghost Chef | Oh, looks good! You can pour the water in and start stewing. | |
Silver |
Finally at the dreaded stewing part… I’m worried about falling asleep. | |
| Ghost Chef | Hehe… I’ve got just the thing that will solve this dilemma of yours. | |
Silver |
You do?! | |
Silver/Personal Story/SR Apprentice Chef
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This story has been fan-translated by twstarchives. This translation was based off the scripts from the Japanese version of the game. |
| Master Chef・Silver |
|---|
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| Kitchen | ||
| Ghost Chef | Allow me to present to you… tada! An electric pressure cooker! | |
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Silver |
An electric pressure cooker…!
I see. Using this would save me a lot of stewing time. Plus an electric appliance means it has a timer feature too. If I were to fall asleep, everything would finish up without burning the food. | |
| Ghost Chef | Well… Yes, you’re right. You covered everything before I could start explaining. | |
Silver |
This is my first time using an electrical appliance for cooking. | |
Riddle |
What? Your first time?! I don’t cook on a daily basis, but even I have at least used a microwave. | |
Silver |
Of course I know they exist…
But I’ve just gone to the cafeteria ever since I came to this school, so I never had a chance to use one. In Briar Valley, most homes don’t even have electrical outlets, much less microwaves. | |
Riddle |
Life there really is based on the premise that everyone can use magic… It’s hard for me to imagine.
If I lived there, no doubt would my magic improve much greater than it is now. | |
Silver |
I’m sure someone with magic power and abilities like yours could get by problem-free in my hometown. | |
| Ghost Chef | Now, Silver. Put your ingredients in the pressure cooker.
Choose the “Beef stew” option from the menu displayed on the control panel. Then hit the switch to start cooking! | |
| (Beep!) | ||
Silver |
It says… 20 minutes left. | |
| Ghost Chef | Now you can rest. Take it easy while you wait for it to cook. | |
Silver |
I don’t need to be checking on the pot? Shouldn’t I stir it every once in a while? | |
| Ghost Chef | Not at all, it’ll do all the work for you. Messing with it might actually ruin it.
Let’s leave the pressure cooker and start making the demi-glace sauce! | |
| Timeskip | ||
Silver |
I finished making the sauce sooner than I thought. Should I go wash the pot and knives I used?
…Wash… the….. pot……… | |
| Ghost Chef | Ah! Hey, Silver! | |
Silver |
Ah…! That was close; I almost fell asleep. This always happens the second I let my guard down.
Was there something you needed? | |
| Ghost Chef | You took my chance earlier, so let me tell you how you can use an electric pressure cooker. | |
Silver |
Oh, absolutely. | |
| Ghost Chef | There are a lot of cooking options listed on the cooker, but you don’t necessarily have to make a dish according to the recipe.
You can alter it however you’d like by substituting the ingredients and flavorings. Take what’s currently stewing in your pot for example. If you were to add in tomato juice instead of demi-glace sauce, you’d come out with a tomato stew. | |
Silver |
…Tomato juice is my father’s favorite.
Using tomato juice instead of the sauce… Maybe Father would like it. | |
| ~~♪ | ||
Silver |
What’s that sound…? Oh, it’s done cooking. | |
| Ghost Chef | Go ahead and take off the lid of the cooker. Be careful not to burn yourself. | |
Silver |
Okay. | |
| (Clink!) | ||
Silver |
Look at that…
The meat and vegetables are cooked all the way through. I can’t believe they could get so soft in just 20 minutes. | |
| Ghost Chef | Alright now, you can get this finished up. | |
Silver |
For the flavoring, I’ll use the demi-glace sauce I made, and a little ketchup. Maybe this much?
Yeah, it’s good! Now I’ll plate it and garnish it with boiled broccoli. …Okay, it’s finished. | |
| Ghost Chef | You pulled this off quite well! Let’s bring your dish to the judges. | |
Silver |
No matter how tough of an opponent I have to face, I’m going to be the one taking home this win…! | |
| Ghost Chef | Hold on, you aren’t running off to a fight. | |
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| Cafeteria - Judging Venue | ||
???  |
So you’ll be serving me your food, Silver? | |
Silver |
Jamil… I always hear from Kalim about how good of a cook you are.
One of the most talented people at this school… Agh, is there a chance he could defeat me? | |
Jamil |
What are you making a fight out of this for? Nevermind, I’ll just sample it now. | |
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| (*Eats*) | ||
Jamil |
It tastes… yeah, nothing special. | |
Silver |
Nothing special, huh…? | |
Jamil |
But…
I have to compliment you on how well everything was stewed. The meat is so tender, it melts in your mouth. It must’ve taken you a long time. And I’m sure you probably almost fell asleep midway through. | |
Silver |
Yeah, I was worried about that too. I actually did get really drowsy while I was stewing.
It only turned out well because the chef let me use an electric pressure cooker. With the stewing time shortened, I managed to get through without falling asleep. | |
Jamil |
I’m surprised. I thought Master Chef was a program focused on honing one’s cooking skills…
But they seem to stay better safe than sorry for students who aren’t fully equipped or have trouble with certain skills. I’ll remember that. | |
Silver |
Yeah, this taught me a good way to make up for my shortcomings.
If I were to fall asleep, the food won’t burn as long as I set a timer. And it plays a tune once the time’s up. I could wake up to that… possibly. | |
Jamil |
Why are you thinking of using a pressure cooker as an alarm clock…? | |
Silver |
I know I can’t always be relying on tools, but… I need them right now. | |
| Timeskip | ||
Jamil |
I’m finished.
I can’t say how far your skills will take you, but it didn’t taste that bad. | |
Silver |
So I didn’t get a perfect victory, but I also avoided a humiliating defeat… I’ll keep working hard. | |
| Ghost Chef | Nice work! You managed to finish up everything without conking out. | |
Silver |
Oh, now that you mention it…
I want to make the tomato stew and cabbage rolls you taught me for my father… Maybe because I was thinking about that this whole time, I forgot about feeling sleepy. | |
| Ghost Chef | Thinking about the delight on others’ faces as they eat our food is what gives us the drive to do our best each day too. | |
Silver |
Really? I guess your mentality is the most important thing when you’re cooking. | |
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