"L'aperitif is artichoke, prepared to be served with clarified topaz butter."
The actual layers of artichoke were mixed: Half of the leaves were grilled, half were steamed, and the hearts had been thoroughly roasted. The real inventiveness (in Spike’s own opinion) was in the butter sauce and its presentation: The edges of each shallow bowl were rimmed with alternating stripes of salt, pepper, spices, and powdered gems. Spike placed the plates one at a time as everypony passed the bread and butter around the table.
"Thank you, Spike."
"Looks great!"
"Aint' too pleased 'bout anything with 'choke' right in the name, but Ah'll trust ya."
Spike had already sampled all of the dishes during his cooking process to make sure they had achieved his desired goals, but he still took a few bites in the moment. He'd be keeping too busy to really sit down and settle in, especially with how awkward it would be to sit and stand over and over. Although maybe in this case that would be taking advantage of the buff?
Topaz-Buttered Artichoke Three Ways: Improves Dexterity training, 4 hours.
Of the twelve main dishes he'd prepared for the feast, six improved the returns for training the core attributes and six temporarily enhanced the attributes themselves. That boost to every aspect of a pony let him be confident about making a course meal that was truly as well-rounded as possible. Balance of flavors took him some extra time, but Spike felt he had arrived at a satisfactory solution.
The starter was quick to be cleared out, which didn't surprise him: Not a ton of choice bulk on the thin leaves, after all. It was more of a wake-up, a palette... Un-cleanser? There's probably a word for it in Prench, but he hadn't gone that far in his preparations.
"L'entree is king trumpet mushrooms, pan-fried in herbal butter with diamond dust."
A heartier dish took a bit more time to be properly cleared out, and conversations picked back up where they had originally left off. Spike avoided too many interjections, deciding instead to fade into the background of the scene. He went that route more often than not when the entire crew got together anyways. Still, it brought an instant smile to his face to see his friends enjoying the food he made: He'd have to remember to treat the Crusaders to their own portions sometime soon.
Diamond Dusted Trumpet Mushrooms: Improves Strength training, 4 hours.
Before the next service he cleared his throat lightly to draw everypony's attention.
"The fish dish will be scallops served under diamond-vodka cream sauce alongside tiger's eye roast potatoes. Afterwards, a topaz lemon ice will be served as a palate cleanser."
To say that the reactions were 'varied' would be a huge understatement. Dash and Fluttershy both perked up as soon as he mentioned a fish dish: They were far more common for pegasi than the other ponies, and he knew for a fact that Dash had minimums to meet for her racing diet. The immediate swerve on Applejack's face when he mentioned potatoes, on the other hand? That was far less positive.
"...Y'all sure that's good ta eat?"
Twilight fielded the reply before Spike even got the chance.
"Yes! I was surprised as well, but it seems like the same method that makes gemstones digestible also detoxifies nightshades and other harmful plants. I did a sample of a different take on this dish earlier in the week, just to be sure."
The matter was settled at that point: Everypony trusted Twilight, and even if they weren't all used to seafood it wasn't that uncommon. Spike served the plates with a slight twist of the wrist, making sure the main protein was turned towards each guest directly: One of the tips Pinkie had given him, even if he wasn't sure about the reasons. Rarity gave him a quiet nod at the gesture, so he took that as a sign of success in terms of Fancy.
Vodka Cream Diamond Scallops: Modestly increases Strength, 4 hours.
Tiger's Eye Roasted Potatoes: Modestly increases Vitality, 4 hours.
Once everypony had finished that course (he'd plated smaller portions to avoid bogging things down, just in case) he followed with the cleanser: His personal favorite of them all, even if competition was stiff with some of the desserts. The cold and tart dish wasn't quite a sorbet, having a thicker texture with larger grains, and it also wasn’t so chunky as to be granita... But the system didn't seem to care about that level of distinction.
Topaz-Lemon Sorbet Ice: Modestly increases Dexterity, 4 hours.
Giving everypony time to settle and converse, Spike even joined into a debate that sprung up: Of all the things it could have been, it ended up with Twilight and Rainbow Dash very begrudgingly agreeing that maybe the upcoming Daring Do book's delayed release was a good thing. He didn't have any stake in that argument, even though the books were pretty great. It did make him wonder if Marevel was ever going to get around to that comic adaptation...
Later. That was a later train of thought: Right now they were approaching the peak of the meal, so he had to get his head back into service mode. This wasn't just about showing off, or providing a huge pile of buffs to his friends. Spike wanted to improve his ability to take advantage of Balanced Soul and his so-called harmonious nature. That meant learning to do a little bit of everything, and after so many years of cooking and blindly serving, it was nice to learn more about these things.
"The main course of the evening is a duo course with two soups: Minestrone with tiger's eye and spicy wonton soup with amber. Dandelion greens and fennel are served aside."
Everypony dug in with gusto, although he wasn't surprised to see that some had a preference for one soup or the other: He refilled their bowls appropriately and evened out the difference when he served himself. Fluttershy was minimal about tackling the stronger dish (although she still had a bit) while Rarity stuck to the broth alone from the fairly heavy minestrone.
Pinkie asked if she could have her wonton soup extra-spicy: He knew it was probably a set-up for a joke, but obliged her anyway. Surprising nopony, she reacted to the (fairly brutal, even coming from a dragon) first sip by pulling the same shockingly-colorful faces as when she sampled raw rainbow at the cloud factory back in the day. Everypony broke down giggling at that, which was unfortunate for Rainbow Dash since she had a mouthful of greens at the time. That, in turn, just got them all laughing harder. Spike cleared away the bowls and side-plates with a grin, silently dropping an extra napkin for the pegasus as he passed.
Tiger's Eye Minestrone Soup: Improves Vitality training, 4 hours.
Spicy Amber Wonton Soup: Improves Wisdom training, 4 hours.
"The salad course is a strong garlic and greens salad dressed with gold vinaigrette."
The herbage served alongside the main course was more for the sake of clearing the tongue between the two wildly-different soups. This was a proper salad, and he hadn't spared any effort for the seemingly-simple dish. He had been surprised when the gold he tested in the first dressing actually melted, liquifying and entering the emulsion no differently from an egg yolk. The results were absolutely worth the confusion, creating a sparkling dressing with a thick body that thankfully wasn't north of the ~2,000 degrees it should have taken to soften the metal.
Or maybe rather than thankfully, he should say luckily?
Golden Garlic Greens: Modestly increases Luck, 4 hours.
Before Spike served the next dish, he noticed that Twilight was looking off into the distance and avoiding his gaze. It only took a minute to figure out why, and it had nothing to do with her impending revelation.
"Replacing the traditional Prench cheese course, a dish of gold-glazed carrot coins."
The unicorn's expression immediately brightened, and everypony cut into the new dish happily. He was a little annoyed that he was serving both gold-based dishes back to back... But sometimes the flavors of the gems just required that. Dessert was going to be the same gem twice in the same course, so this was honestly a pretty small problem in the overall scheme of the meal.
Gold-Glazed Carrot Coins: Improves Luck training, 4 hours.
By this point he had topped off more than everypony's fair share of wine glasses, and some of them were starting to show it: Applejack and Pinkie both had incredible stamina, and even Fluttershy could hold her drink. Rainbow Dash and Twilight on the other hoof had both gone well past buzzed and into properly tipsy. He decided to either cut them both off to avoid any scenes, or simply dial it back until the celebrations really got underway.
The last of the plates were cleared away, fresh drinks (primarily spritzers and virgin juleps) laid out, and it was time to get on to the tail end. Spike presented a few baskets and small side plates containing the final proper course: After this the coffee closer would have one final gemmed dish, and that would be Twilight's signal to finally spill her secret.
"Dessert at last: Hoof-held amethyst-rhubarb cakes and solid pieces of amethyst, candied in blueberry syrup."
He was especially proud of that second part: Living up to the name of the Creative Kitchen, he'd spent an entire block of cooking time testing out different 'whole gem' preparations. Some were promising for the future, but for tonight's menu he'd gotten the best results out of simmering the sheets and spires of stone in sweet syrup.
Hearteningly, it seemed that his friends agreed: The cakes were appreciated, but the full gem desserts got completely obliterated. Maybe it was the novelty, or maybe it was one of his better results given how much he'd ranked up his skills before making it? Either way, satisfaction was high all around as the last crumbs got inhaled and dabbed up.
Amethyst Rhubarb Cake Bars: Improves Intelligence training, 4 hours.
Blueberry Candied Amethyst: Modestly increases Intelligence, 4 hours.
"To close our meal, strong coffee will be served with amber-infused gingersnap cookies. Thank you all for sticking with me through this."
He might have been fishing for compliments a little bit with that, but he was also legitimately concerned: It was a lot to ask of any group to take their usual casual hangout and turn it into a full course meal with table service and such. That kind of thing can definitely change the tenor of the conversations... But he shouldn't have been worried.
"Are you kidding? If this is the kinda stuff I'd have to look forward to, you could go this crazy cooking whenever the heck you wanted!"
"Secondin' that: I'm real proud of what yer puttin' down, Spike."
"I will admit I was a bit intimidated at first, but I really enjoyed everything."
"You know I'm happy when there's this much food involved, even if it does have that stuffy-party air to it. I'm partially to blame anyways!"
"This has honestly been a better experience than most so-called Prench restaurants I have been to: You have nothing to worry about, dear."
Twilight didn't say anything, the two of them just met eye to eye for a moment and then he cracked a smile: If anything, he should be the one giving her a pep talk... But that would spoil the surprise. Instead he focused on pouring and handing out the demitasse cups, along with small honeyed snacks.
Ambersap Gingersnaps: Modestly improves Wisdom, 4 hours.
At first Spike was inclined to lean back and enjoy the success, but he was interrupted by an alert opening up from his system. Then a second, and a third, a fourth... The cacophony of windows opening in a stream caught him off-guard as he bit down on his own cookie. He stared at the wide spread of rewards... and then calmly shuffled them all away into storage. Those could wait: Right now wasn't about him, or The Gamer. This was the time for Twilight to shine.