Onions thin enough to barely see through rested comfortably in an oak bowl. Their normally pungent aromatic notes tainted by the scent of the freshly chopped garlic mixed with the onions. The secret to releasing the garlic’s truly enchanting flavors lay in the act of crushing it- letting it sit, and then cutting it finely.

Principles of cooking floated about in the dungeon’s mind as the dungeon surveyed its cook’s knife work. While still lacking, Vraz’s cuts were improving. That sign of progress yet another small mark added to the scrappy goblin’s value. Aside from Strum, none of the goblins here truly held value. Until now. Vraz didn’t seem to lack when it came to learning culinary techniques, simply needing a bit of direction and guidance. Potential.

Unlike that Wort, who just hit the top of the list for needed changes. It wouldn’t do to have such an insubordinate goblin.

Just the thought of that damn hobgoblin made his temper flare- it didn’t help Wort spoke in the same dumb broken speech as Gikx. “Awful quiet,” Vraz called out to an admittedly tense kitchen. The goblin tossed a cup of salt into a pot of cold goat milk. Nearby and practicing good mise en place sat a couple of lemons and a cutting board. With a flicker of the dungeon’s attention, the flame rune under the pot sprang to life, licking the iron bottom of the pot.

“How is it I fail time and time again to evade incompetent staff? I thought that with the addition of you, my luck turned- At last, time to thrive, my kitchen could elevate to new horizons. Now I must keep my focus on my staff once more- It is a curse to be so aware that the foolishness within my ranks will disrupt and destroy my precarious efforts-” Regis cut loose, deciding to vent the frustration he felt. Having to rein in the fire below the milk. Losing control and scorching the milk would ruin the food.

Vraz let out a small chortle, stirring the pot while standing on an old busted wooden crate. “Here you are- mighty Regis. Thinking that you can ‘evade incompetence,’” the scrawny goblin shook his head. “Know better. There’s no such thing as a tribe without idiots. You just gotta make do with what you have. Be happy with the people you have.”

“And what is it you think I’m doing- do you think I honestly would desire above all else to be making cheese through the usage of citric acid alone- If only we had vinegar-” Regis cut himself off- having noticed the flame once more creeping up the side of the pot. Temper. Especially bad for this step, the milk needed to be heated slowly at a controlled rate.

Vraz leaned back from the burst of flame, shooting him an accusing glare. Before braving the receding fire to give the pot another stir. Giving Regis peace and quiet to maintain himself. It was hard enough to focus on keeping his temper down as his senses constantly reminded him of the dented pot.

Better to simply focus on the task at hand. It behooved a professional like himself to be focused. “Lemons,” said the dungeon just as the goat milk began to boil. Little bubbles of milk frothing. The fire rune snapped off- dismissed on command at the dungeon’s will. It delighted Regis to have such complete and utter control over temperature and heat. Chefs would bend their favorite knives in half for such a gift.

Yet it came with the curse of never being able to touch his food. It drove him insane at times, especially when dealing with fools who failed the simplest of jobs. Vraz followed the order easily, cutting two lemons and juicing them directly into the pot of milk- taking care to avoid dropping any seeds into it.

Like a hawk, the crystal trained his senses on the particles within the goat milk. Watching the citric acid interact and curdle the milk. Only takes a couple of minutes of stirring from Vraz for the milk to clump up. Cheesemaking could be a fairly simple process, even if this way of doing it was less than ideal. Like almost all recipes he’d pursued since becoming sentient within this damned cave, sacrifices had to be made to achieve a result close to what he truly wished to see.

“Now strain it- there should be some thin cloth among the food storage,” Vraz gave an understanding nod, rushing off and returning with the fabric. Not quite cheesecloth, but close enough. Vraz took out another pot and stretched the cloth- tying it around the outside with some twine to keep it in place. Carefully the goblin poured the mixture of whey and goat-cheese curdles into the cloth “Salt, and then stir,” Regis floated near the rim as the goblin did as directed, tossing in a bit of salt. Not even needing any correction from the dungeon.

He’s coming along. At this rate maybe it won’t take a couple of years- perhaps just one. The crystal ran his senses over the goblin currently gathering the bits of cheesecloth, now weighed down by the slurry lining the pot, wringing it and forcing the whey out.

They would keep the whey- selling it as an optional drink to accompany the dish. While Whey was not something Regis would normally serve to customers, Goblins enjoyed bitter flavors. The sour and creamy profile of Whey is somewhat similar to yogurt in taste. To these uncultured cave dwellers, it would be like liquid gold.

Hopefully, that would translate to real gold. Regis intended to split the pricing between valuables and essence, both were needed in abundance. He wanted to expand, but he needed money for trade with the dwarves. They sat on a scale, and it would be impossible to determine the correct balance.

Wealth begets wealth. So it had always been the case. Better ingredients from the dwarves would lead to more money and essence, allowing him to expand and seek even more. So long as nothing got in his way.

The scrawny goblin let out a grunt- the creamy mixture of lemon juice and the leftovers of the milk forcibly pushed out of what would be the cheese. He needed to get every bit of liquid out of it as possible, a strenuous task for such a scrawny goblin. Even though Vraz struggled, he persisted. When it came to cooking, effort and persistence were what separated dabblers from true chefs.

Vraz laboriously wrung out the cloth, getting each drop of whey out he could. But they came an unending torrent. This would be a soft cheese, no way around it, but it was an acceptable arrangement. Regis directed the goblin to stash away the whey into a cool part of the cave- and let the cloth sit suspended over another empty pot. Over time, perhaps just a bit more of the whey would dribble out. The effort came to a close as the pots arrived where they were needed. Vraz took a long gulp of water and cleaned the sweat off his brow with a bit of red cloth.

“What’s next, chef?” the scrawny goblin would ask, shaking his head and still cooling off from the effort.

“Tomatoes. These are a little malformed, halve them then you will be resting them on a pan and we shall do our best to gradually roast them. Throw a pot over it to trap the heat- If only we had an oven- These normally trivial things are easy to accomplish yet here we are…” Regis shook in the air with frustration. Today would be a turning point. From here onward, he was confident every step would be forward. With this new sous chef, this kitchen was primed to grow.

It would grow. Into a place where kings whispered to one another about its food. A topic of discussion common to the courts of nobles. Where beings of power would congregate to sample delicacies. Anything less than that was little other than failure.

Vraz worked as directed, ever an obedient set of hands to Regis’ mind. Though clumsy at times, and ignorant of proper cutting techniques, he got the job done. Returning pure focus to the tomatoes the goblin tossed them in the pan and drizzled the butter over them, Regis used his tie to the fire runes to bend them around the outsides of the pan- focusing less on heating from directly below and more on heating the air around it.

By no means was it perfect- air could escape, heat still came more from the bottom than an even flow from around it. Without a proper oven, it served well enough. One day he aimed to impress kings with his cooking, today he simply had to impress the palates of goblins who normally survived on mushrooms and salted meat, or… Ugh… Gruel.

The tomatoes roasted slowly, requiring Vraz to monitor them, about halfway through the process of this Wort burst into the kitchen, reeking of fish and with another wicker basket in his hands- containing the star of the dish. Vraz rushed him out grabbing the basket and pushing him out as soon as he walked in

River-Sunfish. A variety of bright orange fish that came close enough to the ocean fish he’d rather be cooking this dish with. It was a tad smaller, their flavor left a tangy feel to the tongue. With them now in his domain, a quick analysis from his senses let him feel their connection to fire-mana. Like himself, these things had a natural inclination towards it. Curious. He tucked that property away, for now, unsure of how he could incorporate that into his cooking. Mana and essence were both components that formed a mysterious fog in his mental library. Unlike all of the techniques bestowed upon him naturally, concepts dealing with those aspects of a dish were hidden away.

For now, they would be untouched. Vraz began to clean the fish- using the filet knife and cutting the skin off- picking out the pin bones with those slender fingers of his. Occasionally having to pause and wash his hands to address the tomatoes, lest the bottoms burn. Luckily, with his precise control, Regis could direct him exactly when needed. The timing was important to a kitchen

Ideally, these fish would have been cleaned and stored away before now, perhaps the night before, but there wasn’t a cooler to keep them in. A colder part of the cave did not make for proper storage, and he wouldn’t have trusted these to be there for longer than a couple of hours. River-Sunfish tended to go bad quickly.

The first couple of fish ended up ruined- removing the skin and plucking the pin bones left ruining the fillets beyond what the dungeon saw fit to serve, even to goblins.

However the next few proved more acceptable- then after those were of okay quality. It would take the goblin hundreds of attempts to meet standards of ‘good’ for Regis, but that wasn’t the aim here, plenty of time later to create masterpieces. Eldren the Great didn’t sculpt a living titan in a day, after all. Vraz the Goblin would have to crawl and scrape his way to a true cook. Natural talent aside, some things simply had to be learned.

During this cleaning, Regis big the goblin to move and prod the roasting tomatoes as demanded, until they were set aside to cool. At the end of the bit of prep, onions and garlic were chopped, tomatoes were roasted, and the fish completely cleaned.

Without further ceremony- and his kitchen already drifting and mingling with separate scents. It was time to marry them all together in one dish. Butter in the pan melting- Vraz setting everything where it needed to be. Everything within easy reach in the dungeon’s cramped little kitchen. Following Regis’ directions, the goblin threw the tomatoes, garlic, onions. And some seasoning in one pan, set aside to begin to stew together when they finished cooking.

A sizzle of flesh and a bittersweet tang of the sunfish erupted into the kitchen as Vraz finally began to cook setting the fillets in pans, searing them. Making sure the fish was cooked fine on the outside and then, at the same time, searing all of the vegetables together in a separate pan.

Were he to have an oven- this would all cook together, as it was, the fish and vegetables would be cooked separately, only to combine on a plate. It was tragic the flavors would lack the time to truly mingle and know one another.

The fish cooked- tended to by a goblin under the stern gaze of a chef. Onion, tomato, and garlic, all staples to many recipes coalesced together in a heavenly accompaniment to the star of the dish. A little bit of lemon juice on the river-sunfish as it finished, then Vraz began to plate.

Positioning out the fish in a bed of the stewed vegetables- a little on top, and then the goat cheese as further addition and to tie it all together. All separate dancers on the stage that was this dish. As Vraz finished wiping the mess left on a couple of plates, the two of them were left staring at the first batch of food, one that no doubt would sell out quite easily.

“Go fetch Strum- it is time to divvy out our course and attain the resources needed for expansion,” The crystal interrupted Vraz- who was currently taking a breather after having finished the lengthy process of prep, cooking, and then finally plating the fish.

It was time to begin the second component to a functioning kitchen, selling products to customers. One aspect that for the longest time proved far more difficult to get to than the dungeon could have predicted.

“He’s busy today. Business, he said. Though.. Jilde is with him… Hmm..” Vraz chuckled to himself shaking his head. “Sorry, Chef. All we got to work with is Wort.”

“Unacceptable.”