fandomhigh | Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques, period two

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Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques, period two

Hannibal smiled at them. "Welcome, both of you, to Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques. This is a small class, then, but that simply gives us more time to focus on individual strengths and weaknesses. So, since today is for introductions, let us do that. I already know who you are, but I should like to know if there are dietary restrictions or preferences you have. Any allergies, religious objections, or so forth. Also, please let me know what experience you have in cooking and what you hope to take away from this class."

He nodded to the table at the front of the class. "And while we're getting to know each other, please feel free to help yourself to coffee or tea and to some French onion soup and coquilles St Jacques.

Hope neither of you cared about your cholesterol.

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"Hi, I'm Arden. I can't eat poultry of any kind. I'll get sick if I even try. And, uh. I kinda have a trauma response to the smell of marshmallows. So if they could be skipped in this class, I'd be grateful. Um, otherwise, I love barbeque and pork and sweet tea."

Look, you couldn't go wrong with Southern cooking, okay?

"As for cooking, I'm decent? Like, I can follow a recipe and I did most of the cooking for the last decade or so."

"Hm. I can easily avoid marshmallows," Hannibal said, crossing them off his mental list of things to have with cocoa. "Poultry will be a more difficult challenge, but I do adore a challenge. And following a recipe is a very good first step," he said approvingly.

"Sorry," she said. "I mean, you can make stuff with poultry! I can just not eat it and that'll be okay."

Hannibal waved his hand to dismiss that. "Nonsense. It's a better experience if we can all eat the same thing. And as I said, I enjoy a challenge. I assume that it also applies to things using poultry, such as chicken broth? What about eggs?"

"Eggs are fine," she said. "Chicken broth..." She had to consider. "Well, I couldn't eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup, but...maybe if I didn't know you were using chicken broth?" She looked down, a little embarrassed. "But, uh, if I realized it, I would probably start throwing up a lot."

Thank the goddess her affinity for birds only kicked in once her powers did. Telling her foster families she couldn't eat chicken or turkey? A literal nightmare.

"Ah, so it is a psychological rather than a physical restriction," Hannibal noted. He held up a hand. "I'm not minimizing it, only clarifying. Both are entirely real. Rest assured I will not present you with anything you would not knowingly eat."

Which already meant he was treating you better than the high-class people in Baltimore.

"It's, um." Okay, you could do this, Arden. You could. "Magical." Good job, baby girl! "People like me - elementals - can't eat the animals that are closest to them."

Hannibal smiled encouragingly, since she seemed so reluctant to say it. "Thank you for clarifying. That's a type of restriction I haven't encountered before; I'll keep it in mind for the future."

She nodded and gave him a quick, uncertain smile. "I'm grateful, sir, thank you."

"You are very welcome, Arden." Hannibal nodded. "Now, I'm assuming your other restriction is more specific - if you enjoy barbeque, it can't be all burnt sugar that is a problem. It's only specifically marshmallows?"

"Yessir," Arden said. "Um. Again, not a physical issue? But more that I will, um, have a panic attack if I smell them."

Goddess, she sounds insane.

No, she sounded like someone traumatized. Hannibal was very curious how you got a trauma response to marshmallows, but he suspected she wasn't just going to tell him.

"You mentioned it was a trauma response; that is generally how they work," he acknowledged. "The human brain is a wonderful and terrible thing." Also tasty when cooked correctly. "No toasting marshmallows in this class, I promise."

She twitched ever-so-slightly on the word human, but laughed, perhaps a little awkwardly. "Yeah," she said. "Sure is. But I appreciate them not appearing. Like, if you served me chicken, I'd just be grossed out and wouldn't eat it, but if there were marshmallows, I'd just start freaking out."

As had happened in Lady Ghanima's class. Sorry Lady Ghanima.

That answered that, then; Hannibal had wondered.

"Well, as it is my job to instruct you, and not to 'freak you out', I'll do my best to avoid it," Hannibal promised. "Although if we do come too close to that, I hope that you - either of you - will tell me so."

"I will," Arden said with a nod. "Thank you, Dr. Lecter."

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Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques, period two

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