Five-Star Grill

[Varindar Asyt]

After this last mission fighting against pirates in space, it feels good to be among the guests once again. The hotelier knew a potential student to teach pyrokinesis/cryokinesis for cooking purposes from that engagement, [member="Tharr Hei"], but whether or not he would actually take her up on her offer, she didn't quite know. But she did have arrangements for the case he did accept to learn pyro/cryo from her in the Crown Nebula's kitchen on Trandosha. Just that, each and every time, she would have the cost of her meal deducted from her salary. Which meant that she couldn't do it that often but when she did, she had to be mindful of the price of what she's ordering and what her student would. Even with the kitchen staff being made aware that, on occasion, she would host padawans in the kitchen. Plus it seemed fashionable for independent hotel operators to at least cook for themselves these days. When she was, like most other days, working from the front desk, she would be patiently waiting for any sign that the srudent would, in fact, come to the hotel for his pyro/cryo lesson scheduled to take place inside the hotel's kitchen.

"Welcome to the Crown Nebula Hotel. I trust you came here for your pyro/cryo lessons"

 

[Tharr Hei]

After ending his mission on outer space, Padawan Hei whent to trandosha for a special force lesson.
The Jedi that would teach him this new power was an hotelier, something quiet unusual for a jedi knight but everyone has his dreams and the SJO was quiet open minded and thats what made it diferent from other jedi orders.

After Tharr arived at the Hotel, he looked for [member="Varindar Asyt"], the knight he came for. He was told that she was in the kitchen and he met her there.
"Of curse, its always good to learn new things, and besides, controling fire and ice will come in handy in my ranger mission."

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Before the lesson begins, would you please take a look at the menu? In the end, you will be eating what you will be cooking during the lesson"

Varindar's current balance was 2/10 on the loyalty card, so, while she was, in fact, taking the padawan out to eat in the lesson, she would feel that the Zabrak student of the day, [member="Tharr Hei"], was perhaps a little humbled to see Varindar operate a hotel. It was, in fact, a hotel that she swore to be run as an island of honesty and integrity in a sea of scum and villainy. But from the choice the student of the day would make, would, in fact, depend the needs for ingredients, that she will personally fetch, and their preparation time. And also the cooking utensils they would need: one doesn't cook strip loins the same way, nor with the same utensils, as one would pasta or gravy. For now, she was better-known in the Order's culinary scene as a rôtisseuse than for anything else, so she crossed her fingers that Tharr would be ordering something other than grilled meat. However, if past experience with Zabraks was any indication, even if it wasn't the case, the recipe ordered by Tharr would, in most likelihood, include some measure of meat, no matter under which form it was served.

 

[Tharr Hei]

After looking in the menu, Tharr found a dish of grilled meat, one of his favorite.
The hotel and the kitchen where fine and the smell was delicious. Now the Zabrak understood why the Kinight choose this live. But it was nothing for him, since his love for action was too big. Neverteless he was excited to start the lesson for he loved to learn new things, especialy if they where conected to the Force or saber dueling.

"I will take the grilled meat if thats alright. So what is the first thing to do?"

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

Grilled meat had different cuts: karkan ribenes typically referred to spare ribs, while grilled meat the way [member="Tharr Hei"] meant it was for, well, strip loins. She thus fetched two strip loins, one for Tharr, the other for Varindar. Tharr couldn't exactly be blamed for disliking hospitality as an industry and, in effect, most Jedi, would rather fight enemies any way they can (usually at point-blank if one was a boot on the ground). This time around, since she isn't preparing the gravy, she would instead be boiling the rice, of which she knew she would fill the rice cooker to capacity, the full bag of 10 kg of white rice, yielding about 50 cups of uncooked rice or 150 cups of uncooked rice, good enough to last through one rush hour period. Then fill up the rice cooker with water, and then, while Tharr would be busy attempting pyrokinesis on the strip loin, Varindar would thus use it on the water molecules contained inside the rice cooker. Thus tonight's white rice served at the hotel's five-star restaurant would be borne out of Force-powered steaming. The customers didn't seem to complain about her cooking any more than they normally would at a five-star restaurant, so there's that.

"With pyrokinesis, the aim is to make the molecules dance and the molecules' dancing tempo is called the temperature. Sometimes, you will find that the temperature won't rise (or, with cryokinesis, fall) any further for a while, before it starts rising (respectively lowering) again. When that happens, typically, the target will be in a different phase in the end, and the energy spent at that temperature plateau is called the latent energy. Now, try to make the molecules within the strip loin dance, not too fast; you still want the strip loin to be edible. Applying pyrokinesis directly on a food is tantamount to oven-baking it, or baking it on a skillet, in most cases"

 

[Tharr Hei]

Beeing overwelmed with the new stuff he's learned, Tharr tried to focus on the pyrokinesis to make the rloins and forget the fact that if he did something wrong the food would probably taste bad and he would have to eat it.
He imagined the molecules of the meat dance, and just as [member="Varindar Asyt"] told him the temperature took a while to rise.

"Ok done. Now how long does it take for the loin the be ready?"

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"For a beginner in pyrokinesis, it's about as long as it takes to do it on a camping stove, maybe a little longer if you want a higher doneness than rare"

That was the reason why Varindar didn't bother to ask [member="Tharr Hei"] about the doneness: Tharr was cooking it for himself. Also, camping stoves didn't have the power even household stoves had, never mind a restaurant stove. But since Varindar was pretty used by now to using pyrokinesis in a kitchen, and also that the rice cooker's lid was securely closed, she is confident that the rice in the cooker would keep cooking even after the initial boiling of the water contained inside the cooker. Then she would be concentrating on doing pyrokinesis on her strip loin instead, while the restaurant has, in fact, adopted her red wine and mushroom gravy recipe for use on a multitude of grilled meat courses. The last one she taught pyro/cryo in this very kitchen, Drystan, has gone on to cook pho in the Temple; however, she has yet to eat Drystan's pho. Just that she had to be patient: once both courses are finished, they will sit down and eat those items, on Varindar's dime. However, if there is one thing she knew about meat, it's that she liked meat well done, when it came to strip loins or spare ribs.

"But, as you progress in pyrokinesis, it will become faster and you will be able to cook more with your Force-energy reserves. Count yourself lucky that I teach you pyro/cryo in a kitchen: most of the others inside the Order won't. Just a sidenote: although I don't personally know Electric Judgment, nor do I know Force-lightning, I know few people, if any, will actually use EJ or Force-lightning to recharge a battery or as a source of electric current"

 

[Tharr Hei]

Tharr used a knife and a fork to eat a bit of the loin. It wasn't the best one he had but he could eat it.

"It's good to know but for now I'm happy to learn pyro and cryo. So I think my loin is ready. How is the rice going?"

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Keep the rest of the loin for when you're going to eat at the table. As for all the side dishes, they are being put on these plates, and that includes the rice"

It didn't surprise her one bit that [member="Tharr Hei"] will, in fact, be eating a rare strip loin. That's often as far as beginners in pyrokinesis could get when doing it on strip loins. But once Varindar's loin is well-done, her own plate will have rice, steamed vegetables and also two potato wedges, and finally the red wine and mushroom gravy, and so will Tharr's plate. Now that the first part of the lesson is made, the second part will begin in earnest with Varindar fetching two ice cream cups and filling each of those cups with powdered ice cream, oblivious to what everyone else is having. Of course, she expected that customers eating Atrisian meals were, in fact, getting large servings of rice along with their meals unless one ate noodle-based dishes. Speaking of which, ants climbing a tree was one of the main draws to this restaurant, and she would love to prepare it at some point, just that grilled food was easier to handle than for beginners in pyro/cryo than sautéed food. And the rice cooker was steadily emptying. For now, anyway, she pursued her lecture with the ice cream cup in front of the Zabrak:

"Cryokinesis is the reverse of pyrokinesis, in that the objective is to calm down molecules, and the same precautions apply to both. Try to cause the molecules of the powdered ice cream to freeze"

 

[Tharr Hei]

Tharr saw how [member="Varindar Asyt"] prepared the plates, he inertly wished to eat them right away, but he managed to keep himself from loosing the fight against the hunger that was growing deep inside. Using pyrokineses made him quiet hungry but he was still good enough to perform cryokineses. He did as he was told and imagined the molecules of the ice slowing down.
After awhile he still didn't make.

" I dond't know why it isn't working. I mean, it should be easier to slow them down then accelerate them, but it's not working. Maybe I'm doing something wrong."

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Maybe the powder was already at the temperature plateau: as I said, sometimes it does happen when using cryokinesis, in that you may have the impression that it's not working, but the latent energy of freezing is the amount of energy you need to take out from the ice cream before it actually freezes while at the temperature plateau"

Oftentimes, powdered ice cream was stored in a refrigerator that kept its contents near the freezing temperature, or slightly above it: it would typically last longer in a refrigerator than in a room-temperature pantry. Even with the ice cream's popularity she couldn't exactly bank on it to ensure that the powdred ice cream will actually be good to use. In the past, the students practiced with room-temperature powdered ice cream; here Varindar was making the ice cream in her own cup freeze, and she was more than confident that the ice cream in that cup would, in fact, be frozen and, from there, be put on a tray with [member="Tharr Hei"]'s plate under a cloche and her own strip loin under a cloche as well. Same would go with the ice cream. But once Tharr would be done freezing the ice cream, then they could get seated, at a table for two. Just that Varindar would soon get to eat, and she hoped that there would be no need for additional use of cryokinesis before they get to eat the ice cream. In about five minutes at most they would get seated and get to eat from the lesson's fruits.

 

[Tharr Hei]

After a bit Tharr tasted the ice cream and it was ready, so he did like [member="Varindar Asyt"] and put his food under a cloche as well. They got their food to their table and stared to eat.

"This is nice. And the food is good to. I have to come here more often"

Said the Zabrak with a smile on his face.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"It's not every day you get to eat at a five-star restaurant, much less one inside a five-star hotel run by a Jedi"

Of course, the waiter got each of the two cloches out separately, with Varindar's being pulled out first, and [member="Tharr Hei"] must have realized by now that the difference between a four-star and a five-star restaurant was mostly service. And, on the galactic stage, her restaurant was a bargain compared to other five-star restaurants but, given the guests that populate Trandosha's culinary scene, the most common guest complaint was not so much the service or the food, but the price. She was a rising star in Trandosha's culinary scene, but even in the luxury hospitality world, a person typically ran either the hotel or the restaurant, not both: it would overburden just about anybody to attempt both. But somehow, even if she is just a rôtisseuse covering the extra hours with respect to the restaurant's kitchen brigade, she seemed to be accruing some fame as a cook; it may as well be a by-product of her fame as a hotelier, however. Then she dug into the food that they just cooked in the kitchen a few minutes ago, using pyro/cryo, and Varindar was happy for him, and to also give him a loyalty card when the bill comes due, with a balance of 1/10.

"Because you expressed the desire to come here more often, I will give you a loyalty card"

 

[Tharr Hei]

"Well thats true."
Tharr was happy that he learned new stuff. Both teachings will come in handy in his battles. And after the battles ended he would have a place to rest and recover since [member="Varindar Asyt"] gave him a loyality card.
"Thanks, i cant wait for the next time i stop by."
Said the Padawan in betwen bites.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Now, the loyalty card is restaurant-specific. As for the hotel proper, rooms are booked quickly, and can cost a pretty penny, so billing it to the Order is the best option if you actually need to rent a room for the night but you can always relax in the pool for the day you ate a meal here" she told [member="Tharr Hei"] before asking for the bill.

The latest rate was 500/night for the romance and signature rooms, 1,000 for the executive suite, and 3,500 for the Imperial Suite. That's probably as high as they will ever get, and, while the restaurant costs about one-half of what it costs at other five-star restaurants she heard about, at least there was the option of eating from à la carte menus, which could include as few as one course, but with pyro/cryo students, she will typically have two courses. Unlike other five-star restaurants on a variety of planets, such as Barkhesh or, closer to them, Randon, where one could only choose from tables d'hôte with a preset number of courses on each of them, and then from a submenu for each of those courses. But then Varindar was mostly finished eating and billing would be, for today, straightforward, since it's going to be held against her pay for the week. Then again I've kept to a lower and lower profile in the pool by now but just because my athletic profile has lowered, doesn't mean my actual skill in the pool is any less than at the peak of my athletic career, she thought, realizing that anything remotely resembling athletic glory had a short shelf life.

"The bill, please"

 

[Tharr Hei]

"Well that's nice. I will try bring my friends next time, we could all use a break."

Tharr looked at the seiling and his soroundings and liked the decoration. The ambiente was realy good too. He would defenetly come back.

"Could you tell me the prize of the menu of the restaurant? And since you talked about a pool, I would like to swim a bit if it's ok."

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Your two-course meal, even though I'm paying for this today, is 60 total, of which 53 is allocated to the strip loin, and seafood tends to cost more, with pasta, vegetables and rice costing less. But ice cream is really the least expensive of the seven desserts"

I hope Tharr realizes that five-star restauration is more expensive than one's regular steakhouse. But since he wanted to go to the pool, I will teach him Force-speed in a swimming context if he doesn't know Force-speed, she thought, while guiding [member="Tharr Hei"] to the pool's male dressing room after paying the restaurant's bill. As usual when she went for training swims with guests, she preferred to wear her training bikini, because she knew that the female regulars of that pool were doing the same under the sun. And most guests are made to think that exposing more skin will make the heat more bearable, really, unless the guest was from one of those furry species, since one's heat would dissipate more easily. Just that she typically goes to the pool without having a guest in tow, and it's been a while since she last brought a guest to the pool. Of course, Tharr wouldn't be surprised to see some restaurant guests, and even more so hotel guests, to be in the short-course pool built by the Ta'jar Blood Gang for holding swimming races, or its tiled deck.

 

[Tharr Hei]

"Good to know."

After he came back outside from the dressing room, Thar met [member="Varindar Asyt"] at the pool. He was dressing a blue male swimsuit and tied his hair into a knot.

"Well shall we begin?"

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Sure, we may begin now"

It was, in fact, pretty fast on [member="Tharr Hei"]'s part to get dressed; however, she had to be mindful of other guests in the lap lane because it's a gutter lane. To the extent that lanes didn't matter to her unless one was swimming in a gutter lane or in a pool with a rather shallow end, she lived with it because the gutter lane is the one that has any real decrease in speed vs the others, with the pool's depth at the shallow end being 2 meters and the deep end being 3 meters deep. From the moment she started swimming backstroke inside the lap swimming lane, it took less than fifteen seconds to swim the whole length of the pool. She did so without any Force-assistance whatsoever. Meanwhile, the other guests in the lap lane were all swimming in the other direction. However, fifteen seconds later, she feels that maybe Tharr would be led to think that it was Force-assisted, but if he is going into another area of the pool for the swim, the guests are all over the place in the remaining nine lanes (or so the maintenance plan of the pool called those). Perhaps, for what she knew, Tharr may have been a guest in the lap lane...

 

[Tharr Hei]

Tharr put his toe in the water to check his temperature.
" It's perfect." he said as he joint [member="Varindar Asyt"] "So how do you do that? Can you teach me to swim just as fast?"

He was impressed by the knights speed, and the size of the pools, he met her in the mitlle of the lane.