1347/Setting the Prom Menu!

Setting the Prom Menu!
Date of Scene:	25 March 2024
Location:	Club Building
Synopsis:	The Cooking Committee meets up to sample food for the prom menu.
Cast of Characters:	Bow, Makoto Kino, Ren Morimoto, Chiyo Sakai, Rashmi Terios

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Bow has posed:
There's been a few tables brought together in the Club room to set up a make-shift banquet area. Set up to allow for samples to be set out easily for those in attendance to try, Bow is currently working on setting out plates and silverware and all the little touches that will be needed for a sampling.

For someone that is an alien to this world, he seems to have a lot of knowledge on this. Of course, there's no telling how many Princess Parties or Coronations or who knows what that existed on Etheria - it definetly is not the first one, judging from the ease he seems to be handling things.

Once that's set up, he checks his phone, expecting a package from Hitomi hopefully, because he's just enamored with the idea of street food being offered at the prom because those vendors are just some of the neatest things he's seen.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto stifles a yawn with the back of her hand in the midst of setting out her contributions. It's... a lot, which may account for how bleary she currently looks. There are no flour smudges in evidence on her person, at least, which means she probably didn't come straight from the kitchen.

"I know I did too much," she says apologetically to whoever's present to listen. "But that's what a tasting is for, so that we can narrow it down to something doable."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Raiding his father's stash of miscellaneous kitchen gadgets had led Ren to strike gold. Not only were there multiple cookie presses, there were a wide variety of picks and foil cups and other things for serving small things on! So it's with a full backpack and several carrying trays that Ren arrives at the club rooms. More than once he's had to beg the kindness of passers-by to open doors for him, but he's finally made it, and carrying a full load was totally worth it... even if it maybe means he made too much for what was just sampling night.

    "Hello!" he calls out cheerfully as he enters, backpack rattling with all of his purloined goodies. "I think I made too much too," Ren adds, after Makoto apologizes. He'd even found a side-loading insulated bag, so the trays are kept roasty toasty in transport.

    Seeing the tables set up, he cheers and immediately bustles over to start unloading. "I don't have anything to keep them warm now that they're here," Ren admits as he pulls the trays out, still covered with their lids at the moment. "But I figure that's okay for tonight. And the school must have catering equipment, right? I'm assuming we won't have to... like... rent that stuff. I didn't even think of that."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Even if we do have to rent items, we should keep in mind that Coco is offering to cover the bill. We should narrow down tonight what costs will be and give a list," Chiyo suggests as Ren approaches. She's already set her own up. From experience with the shop and dealing with such high traffic holidays as Valentine's Day, she knew from experience it usually helped to pick two, maybe three, items and just make *a lot* of them. So she wasn't TOO tired.

Makoto earns a soft pat on her shoulder seeing how tired her friend is though. "We'll narrow it down and get some help for it all," she offers consolingly.

Her own is set up already and very simple: Single strawberries and madarin sections on short skewers glistening with glass-like sugar, little chocolate bonbons with a gold glittering sheen swept over the top, and tiny bite-sized daifuku shaped like rose blossoms. Those were made with a mold press rather than the delicate by hand ones, but they still looked pretty good.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When she got the text from Chiyo, Rashmi briefly had a tailspin moment. Knowing the other volunteers for the Refreshment Committee, she'd assumed someone would need to volunteer to sous-chef, because making food at scale was *such* a departure from normal home oven work! Chop some vegetables, maybe show some time-saving restaurant tricks, but... bring a sample? Of what?

Thus her brain ran in circles like a noodly-armed goblin for a moment, before it occurred to her how there are some foods *everyone* likes, at home almost in Tokyo or from abroad. Foods that she is already, if by proximity, familiar with.

Foods that she knows how to cook by osmosis, even.

And so Rashmi showed up with a couple dozen-donut sized boxes and a big grin, bobbing her head in greeting at the others before setting down her burden to reveal...

Balls of fried dough, and skewers?

Nope. Curry-pan pops, filled with a remarkably light ground-chicken-and-vegetable blend, in a gingery curry sauce.

But still, honesty requires explanation. "...So we'll probably need an air-fryer for these, just to keep the grease down. I asked, and we can borrow Papi's for the day, but, honestly I was *expecting* to help everyone else prepare, so... Even if these don't get picked, I'll be *super* happy to just help with prep-work and assembly."

Bow has posed:
As the others arrive and start to set up, Bow shoots Rashmi a quick grin. "I know I'm probably going to be your sous-chef that morning." he offers up. "I promise to get as much done as possible before I have to leave to get ready!" Which means it will be a long day for the Etherian.

Chiyo's dishes are looked over, and his eyes sparkle with delight at the little daifuku. "Those look so good!" he comments as he waits to see what Ren and Makoto have to offer.

However, a text on his phone alerts him, "Be right back!" Stepping outside for a moment, when he returns, he's carrying a couple of insulated bags. "Kobe Hitomi could not be here, but she sent over some dishes from her family's food stalls." he offers to the group.

And with that, he's setting out takoyaki, yakitori... and fried squid on a stick. "Alright. So, we can narrow this down a little so that not everyone is feeling overwhelmed!" he offers to the group. "I should have asked someone not on the committee to show up to try the offerings."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako grins over at Ren. "I'm glad I wasn't the only one," she says. "The cookie press worked great, by the way. Please say thank you to your dad for me."

She wasn't exaggerating when she said she did too much. The trays she's finishing up setting out boast fully three different types of cookies - buttery little spritz cookies in flower and leaf shapes, the work of Ren's father's cookie press, some dusted in colored sugars and others with bright dots of jam in their centers; round amaretti with their crinkled surfaces; and thin, frilly carmelized lace cookies. The spritz cookies in particular boast a variety of flavors, carefully separated out in paper muffin cups so everyone can be sure to try one of each.

Another try offers miniature pavlovas - cupcake-sized rosette swirls of pink and white, some topped with fresh strawberries and chopped pistachio and others with rose petals - and the tiny square cakes known as petits fours, covered in smooth icing in pastel colors and garnished with flowers or twists of candied orange peel.

To Rashmi, Makoto nods ruefully. "There's going to be a lot of that," she says; "I'm thinking we might even want to see about recruiting a club or two for extra hands to deal with the simpler chores." Her eyes settle on the curry-pan pops and Chiyo's offerings, and even fatigue can't hold back the shine of admiration. "Oh, wow, those look so good."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    "That's a good idea," Ren tells Chiyo, about costs. He'd made a list of potential ones but they'd all been pretty specific to the food itself and not so much things like... to actually serve the food on. Which is also very important.

    He lays his trays out side-by-side, then begins removing their silicone lids to reveal bite-sized treats. One tray holds little chicken lollipops that are salted and grilled, another is filled with miso-glazed eggplant, a third with mini potato croquettes, and finally... what look like tiny onigiri, brushed with soy sauce and then grilled. They're honestly kind of adorable, and Ren looks extra proud as he pops that final tray open.

    As he steps back, he puts his hands on his hips. "I tried to give some vegetarian options too, with the eggplant and croquettes. I mean, the ones in the pink foil have shrimp filling, but the others are just cheese."

    Then his eyes go wide, first at Rashmi's offering of curry-pan pops, which smell heavenly, and then there's the golden fried crispiness of Hitomi's delivery that Bow brings in. He's very much a savory kind of guy, clearly, but then he clasps his hands together as he looks at both Chiyo and Makoto's sweets offerings. There are practically tears in his eyes.

    And then his stomach growls. Loudly.

    "Everything looks amazing!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
For as much as she liked sweets, Chiyo was also fond of savory things. When you were around sugar all day you really could appreciate no-sweet things, too. The almost familiar curry smell coming from the curry pan does earn a deeper breath as she indulges in the scents wafting in, along with the trays from Hitomi's family.

"It really does all look amazing," she agrees with a chuckle.

A glance is cast around the group, and she suggests, "Should we start with the items that need to be kept hot first so they don't have time to cool? Also, I guess we should figure out how to vote on what might work best." Makoto's offerings are regarded with a grin. "And maybe where to cut some corners so you don't overdo it."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh that's a good point," Rashmi says when Ren mentions vegetarian options. "It'd be easy to fix things so half of these pops are vegetarian, chickpeas are pretty standard in the kitchen. But you're right, Ren-san, everything looks *wonderful.*"

As Chiyo addresses how to judge, Rashmi tilts her head. "Actually also; we should guesstimate how long it took to make one of each of these batches, because time's *gonna* be a factor when we're making probably thousands of them. Some of these look *awesome,* but, depending on how long it takes and how fresh they need to be, we might burn ourselves out makin' em."

Bow has posed:
As Makoto lays out her offerings of baked goods, Bow's eyes go wide, "Oh my gosh." he whispers, more of those sparkles as his hands rise to cup his cheeks. "These all look... ARE THOSE TINY CAKES?!" he squeals out suddenly! It takes a couple of seconds for him to recover. "Ahem, I mean, those were served at the last Princess Prom I went to." Good, excellent cover. Nevermind his suddenly darker cheeks. Fine, Bow has a sweet tooth.

And then there is Ren's offerings, and the Etherian is just taking it all in. "Yeah, vegetables are a great option!" he agrees with that, before he is just taking it all in - more food he has yet to try, and is eager to explore and discover for the first time. Even the squid on a stick is getting consideration, the young man more than happy to expand his horizons.

Chiyo's suggestion is given a nod. "I'm sure that there will be those that want to start with dessert first..." he teases, "...but yes, maybe the hot food first is a great idea. And yeah, we can trim down what we have, after all, I'm sure most couples will probably plan to have dinner before prom..." a glance to Rashmi. "How's reservations looking at the Korma that night?" he asks her curiously.

There's a nod to her as she brings up one of his own concerns. "Again, we need to keep it streamlined - we aren't looking to feed them a full meal, just something to snack on so they don't feel like they need to leave. Also... does anyone have ideas for what drinks to serve?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto looks very rueful, even a bit chagrined, as she inclines her head in acknowledgement of the others' points. "That's a good idea, Chiyo-chan. And yeah, I definitely can't do all of this for the actual prom."

She looks over the results of her baking with a critical, if tired, eye. "I figure the spritz cookies are a lock no matter what," she says; "they're pretty, and with the cookie press they couldn't be any simpler, so it's just a matter of deciding on flavors. The rest, though... we'll have to decide on that today."

Bow's enthusiasm for the tiny cakes makes her smile warmly. "I felt like there should be some kind of cake," she says, a hint of a laugh bubbling in her voice. "I thought about madeleines, but we'd need a bunch of madeleine pans to make enough at a time, and then what would we do with all of those afterwards?"

She moves closer to where the savory snacks are laid out, getting a better look at Rasmi, Ren, and Hitomi's work.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Ren nods his head along with what everyone is saying, clearly agreeing, except when he goes "Oh no!" and flaps his arms, saying, "Wait, wait!" before anyone goes to try anything.

    He slips off his backback and digs through it, finally producing a shaker bottle of something... shiny? And then Ren is darting forward, dusting the mini onigiri with the shaker's contents.

    Once he's done, he stands up and grins ruefully at everyone. "Sorry, I forgot the furikake." The shaker jar is twisted around to show the label, which reads "100% edible gold!" "Now it's fancy!"

    As he steps back, he turns to consider the food he brought. "They're all ultimately pretty simple. Most of it's prep work, but I'd say forming the croquettes and mini onigiri takes some time, while the eggplant is definitely the easiest to do."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Pretty stacked, usually, when there's a major school function," Rashmi says to Bow. "Ordinarily Papi'd be calling you in, but, well..." She gestures to all the offerings, and chuckles.

"And don't worry, Makoto-chan, you'll *have* help making this stuff, I think the idea about recruiting another club's a really good one. But even still, the filling for mine can be made a week ahead of time and stored cold, if needed. It's just mixing up the dough, filling, forming, and frying."

Then Ren gets out a shaker of edible gold, and something about that startles a *loud* laugh out of the redhead, before she claps her hands over her mouth, flushing deeply in embarrassment.

"...Sorry, sorry," she manages, once she can trust her voice. "Just... There was an actual Princess who came to show off a gem last year, a lot of us went... And I Had Opinions about gold leaf. Gold-dusted onigiri, though? Honestly that sounds perfect for this."

Bow has posed:
"Yeah..." Bow rubs the back of his head. "I mean, I'd still try to help if I could!" he admits to Rashmi. Because of course he would. With Ren breaking out the gold leaf to dust things, he looks curious and glances over as Rashmi describes it. Okay, yes, that does kind of fit.

"Alright, every grab a plate, and lets have some food!" He takes up one of the plates to start to load it up with various items. "I want everyone to pick the two favorite things that they like most and we can decide from there what we're doing?" he offers up in suggestion.

He's still mulling over what to offer in the way of drinks. And the various tastes of the student body and what would be good for everyone at large. "I mean, where I'm from..." he admits to Rashmi, "...there's a lot of Princesses." And he also nods in agreement. "I'll make sure we get plenty of help for everyone!"

He's learned not to mention freeing them up to prepare for dates. Nope, made that mistake only *once*.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto needs no further encouragement to pick up a plate and begin adding things to it. As she does, she looks amusedly over to Rashmi: "I went to that one, myself. I'm kind of sorry I missed your Opinions about gold leaf."

She slides into thoughtful musing as she lines up one of Ren's chicken lollies next to one of Hitomi's yakitori skewers and reaches to add a mini croquette. "...It'd be good if we could have fresh fruit, too," she says, thinking aloud. "Strawberries and mandarins are in season, and there's always apples. More prep work, but the kind of thing anyone we can trust with a knife can do... Mm, right, you asked about drinks, too. Punch is the usual thing, isn't it? The school's got to have a punch bowl or two somewhere."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    "There's also seaweed and sesame seed in it!" Ren points out, helpfully, after Rashmi explains her laughter. He's grinning as he says it, clearly not put off, and he lines up to start getting a plate full of goodies after Bow and Makoto begin to, happy to join the queue.

    He gets one of everything, including his own food (he brought plenty, after all) and then steps away to find a seat. But then he stands back up, saying, "We should probably verify that we can eat everything with one hand, or without a flat surface, because we want things to be easily consumed, right?"

    To test this, he tries a yakitori skewer... as if such a thing was difficult to eat. No, he just likes yakitori, so he pulls off a bite of chicken and green onion. "I think the key," he says, after he's done chewing, "Is just to make everything bite sized. So one piece of chicken and onion per skewer, and maybe I could make the croquettes a little smaller..."

    He mulls over the topic of drinks for a moment, before suggesting, "Maybe we should serve everything in fancy cups? Like, champagne flutes! Just so we can pretend we're at a big fancy ball."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Sparkling grape juice, too?" Rashmi hazards, nodding to Ren. "Plastic champagne flutes are cheap, and you'll get to see about six dozen of the sillier students play-acting all fancy sipping champagne, which is always fun!"

In answer to Makoto's hazarding of strawberries and mandarins, Rashmi makes sure to add both of Chiyo's sugar-glazed offerings to her plate, and point them out to the brunette.

Then, she has an idea that gives her pause, and sigh. "...Is it too late to nominate a chocolate fountain? Because it feels too late, but like... chocolate fountain."

Glancing at Makoto, Rashmi grins. "Oh I didn't speak about them until I was back home, I was too busy being in awe of being at an actual fancy princess' ball. ...And keeping an eye on Adora-chan and Catra-san. ...And then dating Chrono. ...And then we left early to have a sundae in town." Pausing, Rashmi blinks, face practically glowing, turning her glasses into lamps. "...That night was Really A Lot, honestly."

Shaking her head, she busies herself with tasting the offerings, after careful thought placing the yakitori skewers, takoyaki, mini cakes, pavlovas, daifuku, glazed fruit, sparkling onigiri, and glazed eggplant in her 'yes' pile.

Her own offering, she'll leave the inclusion of to others.