Vraz spent an hour cutting into the pomegranates and delicately plucking seeds from their soft membrane-like interior. The entire time Regis hovered over his shoulder, chiding the goblin for his careless handling of the seeds. He considered every drop of juice spilled as a waste of product. A good restaurant wasted as little as possible - though, inevitably wasting nothing in a restaurant was an impossible standard.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t set a good goal for his employee. Vraz had a future in the food industry - and as his mentor… Regis paused and collected himself. Mentor? Did I just consider myself a goblin’s mentor?

His senses roamed over the goblin’s puffy fingers. The swelling on some of the stings already beginning to shrink. Shortly after Vraz’s return, Strum took pity on his coworker and recovered a poultice from Mallik for the bee stings. While Regis disproved of letting the goblin take the easy way out, he couldn’t deny that Vraz worked better with less pain to distract him.

They needed to impress these new customers. Goblins were hard to work with and barely cooperated with his ingredient sourcing, Regis imagined dwarves could provide a much better assortment of ingredients to cook. With a contract, his menu could grow unimaginably larger.

Not to mention he found himself curious about just how much essence a dwarf could pay. Perhaps they could supply enough for him to expand his domain. Finally taking hold over his storeroom - Though the following goal remained questionable. There were three priorities to him; The first was the desire for an oven. This would increase his cooking capabilities to an absurd degree. Second, he wanted an herb garden. If he could work out a trade contract with the dwarves then perhaps the herb garden could be put off.

The last and most ambitious goal was to expand his restaurant to include a dining area. He would need more staff to handle that part of the restaurant- Strum didn’t know it yet, but he would become Regis’ front-of-house manager.

But if he managed to create the dining area his list of problems would only grow; requiring hosts, waiters, and busboys; The headache of all of the little details was well worth the price to peer into his customer’s minds and learn how to best adapt his menu and dishes. Not to mention his ego demanded as much fuel as it could get its grubby gem hands on. Seeing people enjoying his food served as more fuel to that particular fire.

I’m getting ahead of myself. Regis shook himself out of speculation and returned his attention to Vraz. As the goblin worked a sweet and tart almost wine-like aroma began to settle throughout the cave. Regis couldn’t exactly smell - but the information gathered by his domain certainly gave him something akin—if not better-—to the goblin or human equivalent of that sense.

It reminded him to begin looking into wine production - so many recipes hinged on vinegar, wine, or otherwise different composites and reductions of grape. This very recipe could be easily improved with the addition of balsamic vinegar - but alas, it was out of reach still.

Soon a small bowl was filled with the gem-like seeds of the pomegranate. Glittering over the fire-lit cave. Vraz wiped his forehead leaving a smear as his fingers were still stained with the red-violet juice from a few popped seeds.

“Well, your coordination still requires improvement. Overall your efforts are satisfactory. Now you must crush and strain these seeds. Be careful not to crush them too fine or else you’ll ruin the juice the recipe requires,” Vraz gave him an exasperated look but went to work.

They didn’t necessarily have an efficient tool for this task; so Regis allowed the goblin to improvise. Not to mention he was curious about how his employee would solve this particular problem. One consistency in a kitchen was and always would be the presence of problems. Either food shortages, equipment malfunctions, or even just simple mistakes, almost every kitchen encountered problems. Well-functioning kitchens did their best to minimize these occurrences.

In the case of Regis’ restaurant, while it did have a dungeon core guiding its development, its main issue lay in supply and equipment issues. Either not having a tool for every job, or being unable to procure specific ingredients.

Vraz did something unexpected; using the same linen cloth he’d rung out potatoes in for the dire wolf dish, the goblin formed it into a ‘bag’. Carefully Vraz scooped handfuls of the pomegranate seed inside of the cloth. When filled he held the pouch over a second pot and began to twist the cloth tighter and tighter - occasionally grasping the bundle of seeds and squeezing with his free hand.

Of course, the linen cloth would now be permanently stained pink - and Regis would need to procure another one - but the method had some substance to it. Slowly the pot began to fill with juice.

Once Vraz could no longer squeeze any juice out of the cloth he would empty the discarded seeds into a separate pot and refill the cloth with the plump ruby-red gems and repeat the same action.

Such a method resulted in an excessive loss of product. But the likelihood of the undesirable parts of the seed getting into the juice ended up being nearly eliminated. A balance Regis found to be acceptable. In the dungeon’s mind quality exceeded quantity. “Excellent job,” he vibrated and spun around the collected pomegranate juice. Vraz reached for another handful of plump seeds. “Leave the rest of those for garnish; It is time to move on,”

With careful supervision, the goblin poured off some of the pomegranate juice into a saucepan. Following the directions of Regis, he also spooned in a handful of honey and collected a bit of lemon juice to squeeze into the mixture. Determining the mixture to be the correct composition, Regis flared the fire-rune on the stove and began to bring the mixture to a simmer.

In response, the air of the kitchen became heavy with the tangy nuanced odor of pomegranate - only this time that same winey scent became undercut by a sweet mellow melody of honey laced with notes of lemon.

If Strum or any other goblin were to walk by they no doubt would be overcome with hunger. As it was Regis permitted Vrazv to snack on a handful of the leftover pomegranate seeds as they allowed molasses to reduce. Being a dungeon core was both a blessing and a curse - while he could craft these delicacies Regis would never be able to eat anything made in his kitchen. In a way, he could ‘taste’ it akin to how he ‘smelled’ anything in his domain - but it lacked the same visceral sensation of having a full stomach after eating such a fine dish.

Lacking such satisfaction was perplexing to him; given he wasn’t fully aware of just how he knew what it would feel like if he could eat. Regardless the mixture took very little supervision - every few minutes Vraz would stir the saucepan before letting it continue to simmer.

The end product was a wine-colored syrup - his pomegranate molasses, which would serve as the base for the marinade. But first, it needed to cool to room temperature. The fire-rune dimmed as Regis cut off mana to it.

Compared to the last real meal Vraz had to cook, the time constraints on this particular dish were a lot more flexible. A fact the Regis would take full advantage of.

There were several ways to prepare and serve protein. Different cuts of meat lent themselves to different preparation for ideal dishes. Using a dry rub, marinating, or even brining - each method brought about a variety of results.

The particular method Regis had chosen for this dish was marination. By using the pomegranate marinade it would soak into the hare and add flavor while softening the texture. However, marinades only reached the surface of the cut of the meat which was why the hare would cook in the marinade - and towards the end, the same marinade would become a glaze.

One had to be careful in using marinades - on thicker cuts of meat it usually proved ineffective and excessive marination might ruin the texture of the outside of the cut.

Using a marinade required special care in handling to not risk any foodborne sickness. One method of avoiding this could be accomplished by making a surplus of the marinade for basting. In this particular dish, the marinade would cook with the hare, thus killing any harmful components leftover from the marination. The viscous honey and pomegranate molasses components of the marinade would effectively transform it into a sauce for the dish after cooking.

When the molasses cooled to room temperature Vraz obediently salted the hare thighs and washed his hands. Once again under the careful guidance of Regis, the goblin poured together some of the pomegranate molasses and juice. Mixing in a dash of cave butter, another spoonful of honey, more lemon, and lastly some minced garlic.

As the mixture came together Regis directed the goblin to toss in the hare thighs; coating them carefully in the bowl and covering it. Using the wash bucket Vraz cleaned the countertop and began to wash their used equipment.

Regis may not have had a fully functioning kitchen, but he’d be damned if they couldn’t keep up on dishes. In the dungeon’s mind, if a kitchen failed to keep clean then it might as well just throw in the towel and close down. A tidy kitchen was an efficient kitchen. An efficient kitchen was one that made a profit. To not strive for such simple principles equated to the kitchen’s head chef being a complete and utter failure.

Vraz sighed as they were once again left with nothing to do but wait as meat marinated. “So, who exactly are we making this dish for?” The goblin inquired, rubbing at the diminished bumps on his arms.

“Dwarves. This is an extraordinary opportunity,” Regis hummed, deciding to indulge his employee in small talk.

The seafoam green goblin sighed quietly. “I should have figured this was related to what Strum found. What’s your goal here? If you’re trying to get the Shadow-Axe clan killed off I coulda suggested several things that would do the job better,” Vraz paced around the kitchen, a little flare of excitement bubbling out from him.

“Killed off? Don’t be asinine. Why would I waste time and effort on something so useless as ‘killing off’ those goblins? Besides, a couple of them are employed by me, though indirectly. I wouldn’t even bother to go so far as to plot harm on Gikx - though, I have a fair few ideas on how to orchestrate my revenge on that particular thorn. No, these dwarves are an opportunity as both a potential new customer base and the source of possible supply contracts. Not to mention the possibility of wider marketing. We’ve been limited in who we can reach with our products, and this may become the cornerstone of growth that I’ve required.”

“And you think they’ll get along with a goblin tribe working for a dungeon that claims to be a restaurant?” The seafoam green goblin deflated, shaking his head as he looked at Regis.

“Of course. My cuisine is superb. It will far outclass whatever rustic little diner they currently possess.”

“You really are insane.”

“Ambitious,” corrected the dungeon core. Like Strum, it seemed that this employee didn’t understand the two terms. Insanity and ambition were two separate things, getting them confused was the height of silliness.

Regardless, his employee’s disapproval aside, Vraz readily fell back into work. After the majority of an hour, the hare was done marinating and Vraz had placed a pan on the fire-rune. Fueling the rune with mana resulted in the butter melting and the pan giving a nice sizzle. Vraz placed the hare on the pan and let it sear - slowly turning them over and browning each side.

In an ideal situation, Regis would have an oven to roast this particular dish. However, he would have to make do with searing and braising the hare. Once it was seared his employee filled the pan with the rest of the marinade and covered it.

Sweet scents of honey danced with dashes of tart pomegranate - lacing the gamey and nearly chicken-like drafts of seared rabbit fighting for its spot in the kitchen. The melting pot of flavors left his employee licking his lips as Vraz watched the dish cook. Regis allowed his senses to roam over them determining the perfect time to proceed. He directed his employee to begin the next step.

The heat once again turned up the rune, flaring the dancing flames even higher. The syrup-like marinade reduced further as Vraz frantically spooned it over the exposed bits of the hare; reducing the marinade into a sauce before finally, it finished cooking.

With a sudden burst of action the fire-rune cut off its heat, Vraz grabbed a larger plate and arranged the hare thighs, carefully drizzling the pomegranate sauce on top of them; arrange the little jewel-like pomegranate seeds over the sauce. Decorating the hare, much like a crown decorated with gems. Using a cloth Vraz rapidly cleaned any spills on the plates - resulting in a very clean and pristine presentation. The white rabbit meat glazed in a light purple-pink sauce spotted with the pomegranate seeds.

Nearly perfect. It was missing a few ingredients, but given the circumstances, Regis found himself pleased. “Go get Strum.”