With the monster meat already cleaned up, all Eliron had to do was begin cooking.
His first attempts at working with the fire were wonky.
He got burned a few times, and even accidentally put it off once, but on the third attempt…
He finally managed to set up the fire.
Eliron let out a breath, a satisfied smile on his face as he watched the pot.
Although to him, it was an accomplishment, the audience he had built up thought differently.
They all watched him warringly, whispering amongst themselves with cautious gazes.
Artie and Yennefer had taken the front seat in this, and we're watching their every move.
"Th…is is a lot to handle…" Delilah whispered, as she watched them.
Eliron smirked. "Ignore them, we'll have them begging for seconds by the end of the day. Alright, where should we begin…"
While the elves were indeed great cooks, some of them here had been eating the same recipes for over 150 years.
No matter how delicious it was, they were bound to have gotten over it a long time ago.
That was why Eliron was unbothered, all he had to do was make the food passable.
Besides…
He flicked the knife in his hands, the blade rolling around his fingers before settling in his grip.
…Eliron was something of a pro.
Since he had grown up poor and deep in student loans, he had not enjoyed the privilege of touring restaurants.
Instead, he had grown up learning to use the littlest amount of ingredients to make the most tasty dishes.
"There is food at home." Was basically his mantra.
What he had here was more than enough.
"Delilah, bring me that bird."
Both Delilah and Eliron hurled the monster bird over to the river, where they began cutting it. With the help of the continuous flowing river, the job was far easier.
Eliron cut the meat into sizable chunks and set them in the pot, slicing small lines on the meat to allow the nutrients to sink in.
But the more he worked, the more Delilah seemed confused as to what he was doing.
Each time he would slice the meat to place it in the pot, Eliron would scoop up all the fat from it, and place it by the side in a separate bowl.
Artie and Yennefer also noticed this since they had both followed him down the stream.
The red haired elf watched him with narrow eyes. 'Why is he separating the fat?' She wondered.
It was not unusual for elves doing strength training to stay off fat, but the way he was organising it made it clear that he was not going to toss it out.
'Is he really going to cook that?'
Artie's faith in having a decent dinner was already low, but now, it had crumbled into nothing.
The major problem Eliron had when cooking was that he loved to experiment.
Instead of following traditional recipes, he would mix up strange concoctions, shift around the measurements, and end up cooking rubbish.
The way things were going, it seemed he hadn't let go of his old methods.
'I would have stopped him, but…'
Artie glanced at Yennefer. Their resident healer had a bright smile on her face as she watched him.
She actually seemed excited about whatever demon broth he was about to cook.
'I guess I'll see where this goes…'
When Eliron noticed that Delilah seemed to be confused, he asked, "You can ask any questions you have, you know?"
"I can?"
Eliron nodded.
A look of determination flashed in her eyes, then she pointed at the bowl. "Why are you separating the fat?
"Oh, that?" Eliron smiled. "It's because of the dish I want to prepare…"
He paused and glanced at her, as he placed the last chunk of meat in the pot.
"I'm cooking fried chicken, and so I have to make Tallow."
"Fr..ied… Ta..llow? Ehhh??" Delilah stumbled over the unfamiliar words, her confusion only deepening.
"Well…" Eliron tapped his chin. "It's not exactly fried chicken." Then he sighed. "Don't worry, you'll see."
Delilah nodded.
One of the easiest things to prepare based on the ingredients they had was fried meat of any kind.
It was such a simple recipe, yet, the wood elves had never thought of cooking it even once.
Instead, they focused on other cooking techniques, and they were good on their own… but fried meat? That was something you needed to taste at least once in your life.
The only problem was that they had no oil…
So instead of abandoning the idea, Eliron decided to make his own oil himself, or rather an old form of oil… tallow.
Tallow was basically the oil gotten from meat fat. It was just as tasty as regular oil, and did the job perfectly well.
All he had to do was heat the fat, and the oil would seep out with ease.
After the meat had been carefully sliced, Eliron grabbed the spices Delilah had picked up, and washed them in the river, before he began slicing them into tiny pieces.
The thyme was cut first, the quantity just enough to give it a nice aroma. He added the pepper grass to give the meat a little kick— then a dash of garlic to crown it all.
'Maybe I should add those unknown ingredients…?' Eliron thought, slowly sliding back into old bad habits.
Then he shook his head vehemently.
'No, no, focus, Eliron, follow the recipe!'
Then he paused and stroked his jaw. 'But what if I add just a little?'
"Well damn…" he breathed out.
Now he knew why he had cooked garbage in the past.
That part of him was still peeking out through the corners, and edging him to try different odd combinations.
By the corner, Artie grew pale as she watched him.
'Why is he shaking his head like that? He's doing it again isn't he??'
She nearly screamed internally.
Weren't those the random plants Delilah had picked up earlier in the day?
It was those very plants that she had warned her to not eat, and yet, Eliron was dumping them into the pot in copious amounts.
She felt a shiver run down her spine when she thought of the possible consequences.
Last time she had eaten his food, at least she had a bed to lay on. If she were to get food poisoning out here in the forest, how would she manage?
To her horror, after Eliron had dumped the strange spices into the pot, he happily whisked it up, and began marching towards the camp, Delilah waking closely behind him with the pot of animal fat.
The two devils on their way to cook up disaster.
"God help us…"
•••
Although the camp had been wary of Eliron's cooking at the start, it did not take long for them to start rethinking their decision.
Immediately the meat was brought to a boil, an invigorating aroma began to seep out of the pot, surrounding the entire camp.
Murmurs began to spread about what the young lord was cooking up, and although they were still unsure, their faith in the dish was slowly rising.
After the meat was cooked, Elrion walked up to another pot that had been boiling beside it, and opened the lid.
Delilah stared inside, her eyes widening slightly. "What… is that?"
The animal fat had transformed, shrunken to less than one-quarter its original size.
And now, there was a new occupant in the pot— a golden substance that looked oddly similar to honey, but was more fluid, and had a slippery texture.
Elrion smirked as he observed it. "This is tallow, or in other words, liquid gold!"
Tshhhhhhzz!
The monster meat sizzled in the oil, creating a light popping sound that filled the camp, the oil bubbling with vigour.
Right before their eyes, the pale monster meat took on a shade of golden brown, the meat shimmering as though it had been dipped in gold.
Delilah laughed cutely as she watched him bring out the first batch of meat, her curious eyes filled with awe.
Eliron handed her the wooden spoon. "Come on, try it out yourself."
Without hesitation, she grabbed the spoon and placed some meat in the oil, a loud popping sound coming from it.
Night had fallen in on the camp, the bright orange flames of the camp fire, and the cooking fire the only light sources in the otherwise dark night.
As a result of this, the two chefs became the center of attention in the camp.
The elves at this point were fully invested in his cooking, and had all gathered around to watch him work.
— What is the young lord cooking?
— The scent alone is making me hungry!
— I can't wait any longer, isn't it ready??
Eliron smiled smugly as he stirred the meat, then glanced at Artie who gave him a blank, unimpressed stare.
While others were already getting swayed by just the aroma of the food alone, Artie remained unmoved.
'Alright….'
Eliron removed the last of the fried monster meat, and placed it neatly on a plate.
'Let's see how you'll react after you actually taste it.' He mused.
This night, Eliron was determined to clear his reputation in the village, and introduce the elves to a taste they couldn't possibly resist!