fandomhigh | Modern Kitchen Basics; Monday, First Period [01/06].

Prior to class starting, Ignis had absolutely ensured that the fire alarms in the kitchen classroom were, in fact, fully functioning and operational.

That said, he waited at the front of the classroom until the alarm set on his phone went off to inform him of the start of the period, which he dutifully turned off and put his phone away and focused his attention on the students he assumed were gathered and waiting.

"Well, then," he said, and anyone not there on time would just have to catch up when their tardy selves finally made it, "good morning, and welcome to Modern Kitchen Basics. This is, of course, a beginner's introductory course to understanding and getting to know the elements of the modern kitchen to either start you on your cooking journey or to refine it. Hopefully, with each week, your comfort and knowledge around a kitchen will grow and you'll be able to confidently navigate your way around, if not a whole meal, than at least the kitchen in general.

"And as is customary for a new semester, especially the first class on the very first day, and for an overview class where knowing where the students are coming from is particularly helpful in guiding the lessons to their most effective approach, today we will be focusing on introductions, both of ourselves and with the very cornerstone of the modern kitchen, the oven and stove. But let's not get ahead of ourselves with the latter yet. Let's take some time to get to know each other first, and then we'll get to know our most prevalent piece of equipment. We're a relatively small class, so I imagine we'll also have time to execute a simple and basic function of said equipment to get you started before the class is over, as well. So, barring any initial questions, allow me to begin."

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"For those of you perhaps not as well acquainted yet," Ignis said, leading the way on the introductions, "my name is Ignis Scientia, and I will be your instructor for this course. I have a great deal of passion for cooking and have taught a few cooking classes for this establishment in the past before, and I'm very pleased to be teaching the topic yet again, especially if it turns out being helpful and, better yet, successful. Now, I wasn't always so passionate about cooking; I had rather started it somewhat reluctantly, in fact, when I became employed as an advisor to the Crown Prince of Insomnia in my youth, but I very quickly discovered a love for it that has only grown exponentially since. And I enjoy sharing the art of food with others even more than the creation of it itself, as I hope you will soon come to witness.

"And, before we move onto the next person, for those of you unaware, please keep in mind that I am, in fact, blind. This does add some additional challenges to the instruction of a topic like this, but they are challenges I strive to overcome and I am not too terribly concerned with. It does mean that a certain vigilance and attention to detail on your part as students is greatly appreciated, and should you need my attention, simply raising your hand will not suffice. Do not hesitate to call out when you have a question or need assistance, and, I promise, if I fail to notice something without an audio component, I am not ignoring you; I simply cannot see it."

With that, he gave the class as a whole a nod.

"I think that sums it up, although, by all means, if there are questions, don't hesitate to ask them. And if not, then we'll just move onto to the next person who would like to go, and once we've made the rounds, we'll continue on to our cooking ranges."

Kamala started to raise her hand but froze mid-motion as Ignis’s words sank in. Feeling like an idiot, she quickly lowered her hand.

“Hi! I’m Kamala,” she said, quickly. “My cooking experience is pretty limited to making macaroni and cheese or helping my mom with dinner. Though that usually ends with her getting frustrated and kicking me out of the kitchen.”

No need to feel embarrassed, Kamala! It wasn't as if Ignis would have even seen it!

But what he did do was give her a small smile and a nod. "So a bit of experience," he mused, "with an eye toward improving, which is a very admirable goal. Perhaps what we should strive for is tampering down, if not fully eradicating, that frustration and aiming toward not getting kicked out. Which just leads me to wonder: can you think of any particular appliance, tool, or other kitchen hardware that your mother uses quite often, that would be beneficial for you know more about?"

"Well, I don't think it's so much the appliances as much as me paying attention to the recipe and anticipating what happens next. Also, not making such a big mess when I cook. That usually sends her over the edge," Kamala admitted. "But I could really learn about how to use a mixer. Ammi always complains that I'm using too low of a speed or too high," Kamala admitted.

"Hey. I'm Steph," said the owner of that name with a little nod. "And I want to stress that I do know how kitchen equipment works."

Like, at the very least, she'd never set a kitchen on fire and yes, that was a low bar, but she definitely knew people who had.

"I just don't use it very much, but I would kind of like to get a little more advanced than heating a frozen pizza to perfection."

Edited 2025-01-06 14:35 (UTC)

"Well, to be fair," Ignis noted with a faintly amused expression, "a perfect frozen pizza is quite the impressive accomplishment, all the same. But that's excellent, Steph. Perhaps then one of our focuses can be on expanding the knowledge of how to use the equipment you're already quite familiar with, perhaps in ways unexpected or not as well known. A challenge for both of us. And a good excuse for a lesson specifically on frozen pizzas, because I would be quite interested to put such a claim to the test."

"To be fair, that may have been sheer luck," Steph conceded, because sometimes you did just roll two natural 20s on your skill check even rolling with disadvantage. "But there's an idea. Like a whole 'I didn't know I could use that to do this' section for appliances?" Life hacks for the kitchen, just... not in an influencer kind of way."

"I am Miss Lydia Bennet," Lydia said, "and I have a bit of very basic cookery knowledge from my own time--the year 1811, when the most modern a kitchen got was a wood-fired stove...a few simple receipts, is all." Now, if you wanted her to make a potion, that was another story. "I have been in this time for about a year now, though, and I have had to learn to muddle through in the common room kitchen, a bit. Tea. I can make tea."

Help her.

"Tea," Ignis informed her with an improving nod, "is a very important thing to know how to make, so I do believe you're off on the right foot, Miss Bennet."

Coffee, obviously, would be an immediate improvement, but there was no need to get into that yet.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to enhance that muddling, if not fully to an expertise, then at least to a confident aptitude. Has there been anything related to the modern kitchen you've encountered thus far that you felt to be particular confusing or elusive?"

"There are so many different things," Lydia complained. "Some of them are quite straightforward--the refrigerator keeps things cold, for example--but all the little machines, the mixers and the blenders and the...oh, what is that thing called?" She couldn't remember, and shrugged it off. "I can't keep track of it all!" In her day, you had a cook with a very well-developed right arm, was what you had.

"I'm Captain Flint," Flint said after a slightly awkward pause that no one else filled. "I'm from New Providence Island and, probably more to the point, 1715, and I can boil water."

And that was about it.

Modern Kitchen Basics; Monday, First Period [01/06].

Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.

Re: Introductions - MKB, 01/06.