fandomhigh | Cuisines of Earth, Tuesday

"Good afternoon," Hannibal greeted them all when they arrived at Portalocity. "We're heading to Morocco today. It's in Africa, the continent south of the one we last went to, at the northern end."

He led them through the portal and into a bustling street surrounded by stalls. "Marrakech, Morocco," he explained. "Morocco has been a hub of trade for centuries, and its spices and cuisine reflect that. Mediterranean and Arabic cuisines are the strongest influences, and olive oil, fruits, grains, and a number of meats, including lamb, are common."

He led them further down the street. "Today we will be eating at Dar Cherifa, a restaurant meant as a calm oasis in the midst of the souks - the markets. It features a fairly traditional and varied menu. I will order a number of things for us, and you're welcome to order your own as well."

He nodded at the waiter as they were led to their table. "The predominant languages here are Arabic and Berber, but most people will also speak French, and some will know Spanish or English. Please don't hesitate to ask should you have any questions."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Try not to get lost in the market, please.

If anyone was likely to wind up lost in the market, it would probably be Libby, who was trying so hard not to gawk as she soaked everything in with complete fascination and interest that she'd nearly forgotten what they were there for to begin with.

At some point, Hannibal decided to go and corral the half of the class that had wandered off. He found Libby and gently tried guiding her back toward the restaurant.

Oh, Nell would be buying whatever spices and slips of plants she could get her hands on!

"Try not to forget where the restaurant is," Hannibal murmured when he found her.

Nell smiled up at him cheerfully. "I won't, but look at all of this! I'll be able to grow most of this and then if you ever want some of these fresh spices to cook with you'll know where to go!"

Nell definitely had Hannibal's number!

He smiled. "That would be lovely. I do grow a lot of my own herbs, but I can't grow everything. Do you cook yourself, or do you just enjoy their smell?"

"I do cook, but mostly simple hearty foods," Nell admitted. "But I have tried to make some of the dishes we tried last time. Some of them came out rather well."

"That's wonderful," Hannibal said. "I have cookbooks, if you're interested, although I also encourage experimentation." If she was done, he'd lead the way back to the restaurant.

"Oh..." Nell breathed. "Yes, I'd love to look at them. I tend to make my own adjustments to recipes anyway, but to see a variety of other things, yes, thank you!"

She smiled up at him and shifted her bags of plants and spices for easier walking. "This sounds like a very interesting restaurant."

"I'll bring some next week," Hannibal promised. "And I hope you enjoy the restaurant as much as the market."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," she assured him, "because now I can sort of mentally connect the spices with how they taste in these dishes."

Oh, this reminded Kurt of the markets they had seen during the school trip! He was definitely going to do at least a little wandering around to check things out, and maybe buy something too!

"Don't go too far, please." You were the third student Hannibal had had to corral so far, Kurt.

"Oh of course" Kurt said looking up with a somewhat sheepish grin. "I... kinda lost track while looking at all the tasty treats and foods." He was a teen and a mutant- so Kurt definitely tended to think with his stomach a lot of the time. "My apologies," he said with a slight head bow.

"You aren't the only one," Hannibal said. "Why don't you come to the restaurant first. Once you know it well enough to teleport back, you can wander as you like."

"Aye, will do! Thank you, Professor Lecter," Kurt said as he made to follow after him. "It really is amazing, isn't it?" he asked as he looked around again, still wide eyed. "There's just so much to see!"

Was anyone surprised that Guillermo managed to get lost in the market? He was looking around at what he could find and then managed to find some stall owners who spoke Spanish, got distracted and so he was spending quite a bit of time conversing with them for quite a while and getting suggestions for different recipes he should try and make.

Eventually, Hannibal tracked him down. He couldn't fault wanting the recipes, though, so he waited until they were done.

That was when Guillermo spotted Hannibal and looked a little sheepish, he got the last of the recipes, “gracias,” he said to the owners with a wave and headed back over.

“Um …sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “got a bit distracted there,”

Hannibal chuckled. "So I see." He began leading the way back to the restaurant. "Can you make those on your own, or would you like some assistance?"

“I think some of the dishes I’ll need a bit of help with,” Guillermo admitted, “I don’t know how I’ll go making them in the common room,” some of the recipes did seem to be a bit more challenging than he was used to.

"If you'd like, I'm always happy to help a young chef," Hannibal said. "And I have a very good kitchen."

“I would like that, my mama had to work a lot when I was young so I had to learn how to do a lot of things myself,” Guillermo admitted ~~thanks new canon for more Guillermo backstory~~. “but I would like to learn more challenging and different recipes though,”

Especially since he now had several that he could try.

"Of course." Hannibal smiled. "You have my email; get in contact whenever you like, and we can set up a time for you to visit. I have cats; you aren't allergic, are you?"

Re: Listen to the lecture, look around

guillermothegreat - 2022-07-15 03:30 (UTC) - Expand