Published a new 'The Chef's cafe' chapter. And Beginning to work on the next one. (12-03-2024)
Book 1,
Filly Twilight Goes to a restaurant called "The Royal Star" with her parents and Cadence and Shining Armor.
She fall in love with the food there and wants to meet the chef.
When she meets the chef she too want to become one.
This is the story of how Twilight grew up from just a apprentice to a cooking student.
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REALLY good job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places in this AU Story. Have to admit, I kind of like the idea of Twilight's folks and Cadance trying to treat Shining to a meal at a nice restaurant in order to ease his nerves (and Twilight's) and Twilight learning to love cooking. Somehow, I could see her eventually opening her own restaurant in Ponyville (far less competition) and developing a friendly rivalry with Pinkie with the rest of the Mane Six as her best customers. And, yeah, I KNOW I'm getting more than a decade ahead of myself there.
Anyway, on to the next chapter.
Again, a very good job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. I especially loved the dialogue after it was revealed Shining got in to the academy, as well as the selection of beverages and meals for Twi and her family, the mention of Luna (don't worry, Twi; you'll DEFINITELY be meeting her in a bit over a decade) and how the restaurant staff was EVEN MORE high-strung than Twi.
Again, on to the next chapter.
Once again, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are well done in all the right places. I admit, I can definitely understand Twilight's frustrations when she was first trying to learn to cook and realized that it wasn't as easy as she thought. And I enjoyed Twilight's chat with that griffon who was looking for quality meat and her run-in (figurative AND literal) with that royal chef.
Of course, I would have to say that this definitely deserves an "Alternate Universe" tag.
At any rate, very certainly looking forward to more of this.
10263969
I can only add 3 Genres. :(
10264455
Fair enough. Sorry about that.
REALLY good job on this latest chapter. Absolutely loved the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I especially adored Twilight being OFFICIALLY introduced to Royal, Cadance's pride at how Twilight got that meat by helping out that griffon and Twilight's chat with Carrot Top as the former was getting the carrots. I'm quite certainly glad Twi has more friends in this universe than she did in canon at this time, but maybe Spike could still be hatched (though by Moondancer, who DOES become Celestia's personal student in this universe).
Anyway, definitely looking forward to more of this.
10265925
I just realized that she too is a candidate... for protege however...
I already have a protege in mind for the future.
Stay tuned!
10266124
Okie dokie. Thanks for the heads up.
10266124
oh gods its the braggart isn't it
Excellent work on this latest chapter. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I particularly enjoyed seeing Twi and her mom in that lesson in cooking vegetarian spaghetti as well as the lessons in cooking vegetable soup and avocado salad later on. And getting Blueblood's respect is really saying something about how good a job she did. And the part where Cadance was giving Twi a ride home was quite sweet.
Of course, it might be entertaining seeing her learning to cook for a young dragon (yeah, dragons are omnivores in the truest sense of the word, but gems are one of their favorites, so having to balance preparing food for a dragon and other customers who CAN'T eat gems would be a good lesson).
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
Whoa mama. Great job on the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I especially enjoyed seeing Twilight and Shining helping that blue filly (I have my suspicions about who she is [fifty-fifty on whether it's Trixie or Lyra], but I COULD be wrong) as well as Celestia helping out with the save, Twilight getting that bacon for Vermouth, Twilight briefly seeing young Fluttershy, the chat with Moondancer and Twi providing that ruby necklace as evidence against that one librarian.
All in all, it was some wonderful work and I'm definitely looking forward to the next arc of this story.
What Twilight is doing feels at home with what I’ve been trained to do.
Excellent job on this latest chapter/start of the next arc. Absolutely loved the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-ups in all the right places. I especially loved Twilight's reflections on all the roles that are important to a restaurant, Velvet and Royal BOTH reassuring Twilight about how mistakes are a good learning tool, the reflections on the assorted lessons involved in cooking as well as kitchens in general, Twilight's first OFFICIAL meeting with both Fluttershy AND Rainbow (yeah, Twi befriending at least a few of the rest of the Mane Six YEARS sooner than in canon is ALWAYS a good thing) and that rather big market scene that coincided with Twi's seventh birthday.
All in all, great work and I'm definitely looking forward to more of this.
Holy mackerel. This was a really emotional chapter. The exchanges, characterizations, emotional content and future chapter set-up were all well done in all the right places. I LOVED the discussion between Royal and High concerning the vegetables and Twilight's possible mutation that allows her to eat meat with only a minor bellyache. And that "for meat emergencies" stuff? I would say Twi is channeling a bit of her future friend Pinkie Pie (except that, well, to be fair, meat DOES come up a fair bit in cooking). And then it got serious following the "black target orb" incident at the military training grounds. If nothing else, it taught Twilight that she NEEDS to be A LOT more careful with her magic. And, yeah, I did appreciate Twi at least having enough compassion/guilt to help prepare some porridge and soup for the injured survivors of that aforementioned incident.
Anyway, very definitely looking forward to more of this.
The defective magic orb balanced out the death of the doctor’s wife, but Twilight would be traumatized by canon standards because she accidentally killed ponies.
Again, an appropriately emotional chapter. The exchanges, characterizations, emotional content and future chapter set-up continue to be well done. So, the black training orb incident was sabotage, which made the mess worse than it already was? But I did enjoy all the support Twi got as she was fessing up to and trying to make amends for her mistake (ESPECIALLY from Shiny and Cadance). And that was some really good dealing (particularly with Vermouth) to get the supplies needed to not only repair, but also improve upon, the slums. And the truly spiritual wrap-up was appropriately bittersweet.
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
REALLY good job on this latest chapter. Indeed, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all beautifully done. I especially liked the discussion on Twilight learning to bake cookies as well as Royal being sensitive enough to give Twilight an extra day to rest before starting the latest lessons. And Twilight's first meeting with Applejack was great stuff (particularly with the former ignoring the latter's tribalist talk and helping her out regardless). And I also enjoyed Twi stepping in to help out during the argument with Elly and Vermouth. And, I could see Twi holding off on using her special chocolate for the cookies until she is more confident with her baking skills. At least Twi seemed to do a really good job on that batch of cookies.
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.
Ube by itself can’t be used for desserts because you have to process it into jam first. You CAN cook it like normal potatoes or yams, but it’s better used for desserts.
As for how to make the jam,
You peel the skins, boil it like making mashed potatoes, then you gradually incorporate condensed milk until the jam is soft. At that point, you can eat the ube jam as a spread OR you can add it to other desserts. Also, commercial-grade ube jam is sweeter and watered down because there is more condensed milk and evaporated milk compared to their homemade counterparts.
I also can’t help but add more of my bits in saying that ube doesn’t seem native to Equestria at all. I’m also sorry if I bored anyone in this comment section.
I wonder why Velvet wants Twilight to be a pastry chef? I’m well aware of Celestia’s cake addiction and Equestria’s love of all things sweet, but Twilight can take on the savory route if she wants.
10306928
Thanks for the explanation. Personally I have no experience using Ube. And simply borrowed that idea from binging for babish.
And yes. Ube is not native in Equestria as it's based in america. Ube is a more eastern ingredient, atleast I believe it is.
I don't see it much in America, nor in europe. So yea.
Thanks for the explanation. I might put that information in the fanfic itself with a slight twist of course.
Again, really good job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Yeah, I ADORED Shining AND Twilight's drive to help out the injured with morale and quality food. Plus, the explanation concerning the royal guards and royal army was well done, particularly with Twi's comparison with the hot/doing and cold/prepping sides of the kitchen. It's definitely heart-warming seeing how much cooperation Twi is getting with getting the supplies for the rations for the injured.
VERY much looking forward to more of this.
I love everything about the story because of the stories I am reading are good but not as good as yours that's coming arouNd very nicely continue writing it you have support from me
VERY good work on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I definitely enjoyed Twi getting ready for that convention in Manehattan (along with the explained rules), the waiter's confusion about Twilight comparing the food favorably to that of the only five-star restaurant in Canterlot and the chat with the owner.
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
how can filly, twilight from canterlot, meet filly carrot from ponyville?
I guess the spring roll has some French influence because of French rule in Vietnam... Props to the restaurant for expanding beyond mainland France. The musical fruit-cheese croissant surprised me. On a side note, I can read some French, prolly on a kindergartner’s level.
10321332
That will be explained in future chapters.
okay nice everything is very good i really love this story
Superb work on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places of this chapter. I absolutely loved how Twilight helped stop those child abusers AND helped out Trixie on her debts (not to mention making sure Trixie DID have a job). And, yeah, Celestia pointing out the law against physical punishment for child thieves was a good one (of course, we know she and the other princesses will make an exception with Cozy Glow in about fifteen years, but, to be fair, Cozy committed FAR worse than theft [plus, for all we know, Cozy might actually be an adult that just LOOKS enough like a filly to fool most ponies, which would explain her intelligence]). And, yeah, at least Twilight and Trixie's first meeting in THIS universe went FAR better than their CANON first meeting and the reflections on Twilight's accomplishments at such a young age was beautiful stuff.
At any rate, I'll certainly be looking forward to more.
10323219 I know Cozy Glow ain’t relevant to the story, but her looking like a filly actually explains a lot. She could have been a tactician in another life, but eh. Seems that Luna’s laws are going to be really helpful later on, even if they didn’t make sense at the time they were made.
Excellent job on this latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places. I absolutely loved how Twilight and Shining are helping Trixie adjust to things, as well as getting some possible bits of Trixie's backstory (I say "possible" because we have to wait and see if Twi's connections pan out there), and yeah, Trixie and Shining both vouching for Twilight (Trixie concerning how Twilight helped her against her assailants even though she exhausted herself in the process and Shining as far as how Twilight learned combat magic), and Twilight having that "dream world chat" with Luna. And it is a really good thing Twi has such a loving family to help her out after she ran herself that ragged.
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.
Excellent job on the latest chapter. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up, naturally. Greatly enjoyed seeing Twilight relaxing a bit before Royal prepared her final lessons. And, wow. she did an EXCELLENT job on that onigiri when she was in the zone as it were. Good thing Shiny was able to help get enough troops to feed the excess to (and Twi made a pretty sizeable amount of money off that too). And, yeah, Royal finding out about Twilight being able to eat fish (off the yellowtail demonstration) was superb as well.
VERY much looking forward to more of this.
Hey there. Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up. I really appreciate you going to the effort. And, yeah, I can understand the delay. Real world matters come first after all AND quality over speed. Anyway, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are well done in all the right places. I REALLY enjoyed how Twi's parents responded to her being an omnivore (considering that there were only two other omnivores in all of Equestria besides the Princesses, I wonder if that could be an extremely subtle hint that she is a potential alicorn herself [:-D]). And yeah, considering how powerful her magic is, it makes sense that she would require a diet that is high in energy. But, yeah, I digress. The meat preparation lessons as well as how hard a time Royal had finding the meat for the lessons were wonderful details too. And, yeah, the analysis of the results of that Salisbury Steak definitely make sense.
VERY much looking forward to more of this.
VERY good job on the first chapter of this arc. I absolutely loved the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up.
Yeah, given how hard she has been working and her skill, it doesn't surprise me that Twi got a perfect score (though I LOVED how sweet the scene with Royal and her parents was). And, yeah, also greatly enjoyed how quickly Twilight caught on to "Sunny Days" (and rather epically calling her out at that), the mention of the permission to bring and use a listening device as well as how well she did in knife handling AND P.E. (yeah, somebody that young being able to lift half a metric ton IS quite respectable).
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
Twilight is too smart for this culinary school. She might as well be Neil deGrasse Tyson if he pursued culinary instead of science.
10408652
Lmao
10409658 Well, she IS!
Excellent job on the exchanges, characterizations and future arc set-up in this chapter. Loved the introduction to Twilight's new "physical" teacher as well as Twi taking notes on how to improve her work.
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.
All I can say is great job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Absolutely loved how Twilight explained the situation concerning Trixie to Shining after Trixie revealed she was being targeted by the mob. And, yeah, helping somebody in that big of trouble IS more important than getting to school on time (and at least the class and a few of the teachers seem to respect that). Unfortunately, Twi got HERSELF in trouble with the mob too. We'll have to see how Twilight's friends and family will handle this mess in the final arc of the first book.
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
REALLY good work on this chapter. Again, I enjoyed the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Absolutely loved Shining and Trixie reassuring each other concerning how Twilight got kidnapped, as well as the mention that Twilight has WAY too many friends in high places for the kidnapping to go unpunished, Celestia getting personally involved with the rescue and Twilight basically explaining to the mobsters that kidnapped her that she did her research beforehand and that she turned down the spot as Celestia's personal student because she knew Trixie would get the protection she needed in that role (and, furthermore, that she deliberately let herself get captured because she knew she was better equipped to take care of herself long enough for help to arrive). In terms of planning and preparation, THIS version of Twilight could give BATMAN a run for his money.
REALLY looking forward to the final few chapters of the first book in this AU series.
10471966
Okay, This got a laugh out of me.
It was the point yeah. But still I wrote it and it still hit late. That it was a lot big brain planning
10472030
Indeed it was.
This is so great keep going :)
REALLY good work on the latest chapter to this story. Loved how good a job you did on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Greatly enjoyed the "pumpkin latte" information and the work that is going into making them. The "pans" argument between Shining and Velvet was great as well as Twilight letting Shining have some chocolate from her private stash to make up for messing up Shining's plans for that pumpkin.
Anyway, definitely looking forward to more of this. And I'm wishing you and yours a Happy Halloween.
Again, this is a really good job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Loved the stuff about Twi reading up on proper heat distribution as well as the detail of Shining's failed attempts at training to be a pastry chef, the probable origin of Cadance's dislike for meat even though she is an omnivore and the detail of what the archaeology team went through recovering Cadance's diary.
VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.
10500900
uh not cadence in this case.
Seems to me Twilight is more powerful if she’s anything but a princess. Or an alicorn. Being an alicorn nerfs your magic power.
10500934
Okay. Thanks for the correction.
A fair bit of warning, I am NOT a chef because I’m too poor to attend culinary school nor do I have an actual job in the foodservice industry. Oh, and I also don’t own a horse. That being said, I am a home cook with a culinary degree, a love for food, and equipped with some cooking and catering experience under my belt. I also happened to look up equine eating habits on a whim. I mainly cook for myself, but when push comes to shove, I can make an enjoyable dish for twenty people. I also plan to expand my skill to make dog-friendly food as well.
I’m not aware of the effort when it comes to making lattes from scratch. Without specialized tools.
On the matter of meat, it’s true that the processing of meat can be an inequiine matter, especially since it’s considered taboo in some fanfics, but for now we ignore the moral implications of meat and save that for another day. In this ‘verse, meat is necessary for the cultures and the occasional pony who have the genes to digest it. It’s optional for ponies, but for those cultures who absolutely have to eat meat, they have to because they don’t have the teeth or the protein to properly digest vegetables- In the same way, this is why you should never feed a steak to your horse or a salad to your cats and dogs- they can eat it, but they will get sick from eating too much of it.
On the topic of meat, while I am NOT a butcher, it is important that you treat your meat (get your mind out of the gutter!!!) with the utmost respect by NOT plopping it on the cutting board! After you fabricate your meat of choice, you gently place it on the cutting board. Also, when you’re fabricating chicken or turkey, it’s easier to fabricate the wings, then breast and thigh/legs in that order. Ideally, you would fabricate turkey with a boning knife, which is known for its curved and narrow blade. It’s normally the best knife for poultry, but you can also use it for meat and fish.
Anyway, moving on.
It’s a little tricky to figure out where the joints are located, so if you’re new to fabricating altogether, first you watch your professor make a demo of fabricating the chicken, THEN you feel around for the joints. Imh, the thighs/legs region is the trickiest part to fabricate because it’s harder to locate the joints.
To fabricate the wings, the first thing you do is feel around for the joint where the wings meet the breast, then you cut at the end of the wing- NOT the bone. Next, when you’re trying to fabricate the breast, don’t cut straight for the middle because of the ribcage- wait, no, the area between the chicken breast is called the keel bone. instead, you should cut a bit to the left or right depending on where you want to start. Follow the curve of the ribcage and then switch to the outside. After that, you feel around for the legs- you should be to cut the legs if you see and feel a fat deposit near the bone- be careful NOT to cut into the bone- you’ll know it’s bone if you feel something hard while cutting and THEN you pull and snap.
Beyond that point is the thigh, so you can cut it with the legs or separate them if you want. Also, Finally, there’s a section of the chicken called the carcass. It’s where the chicken’s organs are located so you can use those if you want. Repeat with the other side.
You can also use the same technique with turkey and other uncommon poultry such as duck. There are extra steps if you want to cut a whole chicken, but the head and bum are already cut for you when you buy them. On a side note, lamb and rabbit aren’t poultry, but they’re classified as white meat even though they have a gamey smell.
As for fish, the first thing you do is wash it to remove the gunk and slime, then you pat it dry and descale it. You do that by running your knife at an angle and gently pushing the scales. Repeat for the other side, then you cut off the head, dorsal fins, and tail. Speaking of cutting the head, you cut near the gills. You should apply a bit of force due to the spine connecting the head to the rest of the body. Next, hold your hand down on the fish and slice along the side- that is called filleting. After you do that, that’s when you can take out the guts and the bone.
You can apply this technique with larger fish like salmon, tuna, and swordfish, but you’re most likely going to find those already cut for you when you buy them at the seafood section of your local supermarket or fish market. I learned how to do this when I was taking a classical French class earlier this year and yes, it was part of my training. I’d describe in detail how to fabricate lobster, but I, unfortunately, don’t remember how to do it because someone else did that for me. Also, if you know how to fabricate lobsters, you also know how to work with crayfish. You’re also gonna have to deal with them being live when you buy or catch them, so cover their eyes and stun them first. You don’t have to worry about being pinched because their pincers are already tied down. You also don’t freeze lobster because the meat will stick to the shell and that’ll be hard to take out. However, I can say how to work with shrimp!
The thing about shrimp is that it requires less brute force and a bit of precision. Due to the size, I suggest using a paring knife. The first thing you do is pull the head from the rest of the body. It’s not that hard, but it’s honestly unnerving to have a shrimp stare at you. Anyway... next, you peel the leg along with the shell. It’s not too hard unless you somehow managed to pull ALL the legs off. If that somehow happens, you can still peel the shell, but it’ll take a while unless you have long nails. After that, you pull the tail and run your fingers along the dorsal (upper) side of the shrimp. This is optional, but I’m going to explain it anyway- you take out your paring knife and you make a shallow incision along the dorsal side of the shrimp until you see a black line. That’s the shrimp’s intestine and you can take it out with the paring knife. It’s a matter of preference whether you want to take it out or not.
Since I’m already talking about seafood and I’ve established that I don’t remember how to work with lobster, I might as well mention how to work with crab anyway. The thing about crab is that as with lobster, they are live when you buy them. They come in a paper bag and you have to go home asap if you want to cook with them. You also can’t store your crabs in the freezer because the meat will stick to the shell.
First thing you do is to keep them happy by keeping them in water. While you’re doing that, you prepare a pan with hot water and a touch of salt, preferably a high pot so that the crabs won’t climb out and wreak havoc. It also works as well if you have a steamer basket. DO NOT touch the crabs barehanded- they’re alive and will pinch you if you’re not careful. Staring at them long enough is also unnerving so there’s that. You get a pair of tongs and place the crabs in the pot (or steamer basket). Cover the pot and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. On a related note, there ARE more humane ways to kill seafood, but you’d have to look it up online.
After that, you need something to extract the meat from the shells like a crab hammer or a special kind of scissors with serrated edges along the eyes. The first thing you do is take out ALL the limbs. You can still extract meat from the smaller legs, but they don’t have as much compared to the pincers. Anyway, crack the limbs with the crabhammer or special seafood tool of choice, then take out the meat. Take care not to hit yourself.
There is one more thing, but that’s only if you have a female crab. (Female crabs are typically bigger than males, btw) See the ridges near the bottom of the crab? You can pull apart the body and scoop out the insides. If that doesn’t work, run your finger along the start of the ridges, THEN pull apart. The yellow-grey bits are fat and the orange bits are eggs (they’re just not the eggs you’re used to seeing, but eggs all the same). they can be eaten in moderation. I recommend eating with rice or setting aside for shumai.
As for the shells, you can toss them... or you can set them aside and save it for a fancy soup dish called bisque. Speaking of bones, you can set aside the chicken and turkey bones for gravy. FInally, fish scales are not edible.
Seeing as the students in-verse are ponies, unicorns have it easier with their magic while earth ponies and pegasi can use their hooves. I recommend that they should NOT use their mouth to pull off some of the things in this post. Not only is it unsanitary, but raw seafood also doesn’t taste good yet. And they should also wash their hooves. I know I’m giving an impromptu lecture for ponies, but since they walk around on their hooves, there’s no telling what they’ve stepped on.
I dunno how far along in health standards or food safety standards ponies are, but I am going to be livid if and when I find out they have been handling food without washing their hooves first. No amount of magic can protect a pony from a foodborne illness, and there is no spell (to my knowledge) that deals with that.
10502557
Let's just say, that using magic in this 'verse when in a kitchen of any kind is disrespectful.
reason being, There are usually more earth ponies in this line of work than unicorns.
Having a culinary school in Canterlot might suggest those that those colt or fillies are mostly unicorn. But that isn't quite right.
As in irl agriculture and culinary they go hand in hand. The same rules apply in this universe.
Also, wow. That is the longest comment I have ever seen. (Atleast on Fimfiction)
That being said, in irl I am more or less a prep chef. But my line of work brings me closer to sandwiches and tosti, rather than meat and fish. For that reason I cut short the meat side of schooling and theory side as I have never gone to culinary school or work with meat very often.
I fear that I would accidently spread wrong information on a topic. Most of the things I research are based on the internet. Which isn't very reliable.
And the cleaning side of things I too am a bit unsure off. It might come up later on.