Laniakea started looking around the kitchen to search for ingredients or tools he hadn't used before. After scanning the room for a moment, he spotted some long wooden sticks.
"I wonder who left these sticks here?" Laniakea muttered to himself.
"Those are chopsticks," the head chef said, stepping into view. "From your expression, I could tell you didn't know what they were. I'm honestly a little surprised; they aren't an expensive utensil, and you could easily make them yourself."
"It's just my first time seeing them. What are they used for?" Laniakea asked.
"Well, it's a little hard to explain, but you can use them for a lot of different things," the chef replied. "That's why I like them. They save me from having to wash other utensils, and since they're made of wood, it's easy to find replacements. I can show you a few uses. Why don't you bring me the pasta you made earlier? I left it on the table."
Laniakea quickly walked over to the table and brought the pasta to the chef.
"You have to hold chopsticks in a specific way to eat properly with them," the chef explained. "I can't really teach you exactly how, since many people hold them differently based on the shape and size of their hands. But you're a smart kid; you'll figure it out. Anyway, chopsticks are perfectly compatible with noodles—especially long ones like pasta. You can easily swoop them up like this."
With a quick, deft maneuver, the chef wrapped the pasta around the chopsticks, lifting them up to show Laniakea.
"Now, you can do something that not many people bother with: you can swipe them across extra sauce or add a pinch of seasoning, like salt, to adjust the flavor. But in my opinion, the first bite without adding anything is the best. There's no need to add flavor if the chef already did a good job," he said with a smile.
Laniakea was mildly impressed, but still skeptical. "Is that all you can do with them? I understand why they still exist if they're way cheaper, but wouldn't it be better to just use a fork?"
"Well, you could see it that way, but that logic only applies to normal people," the head chef countered. "We, on the other hand, are chefs. I also use them to stir food. Because they're made of wood, they react great with water. I can gauge the temperature of the water by how the wood reacts, and I can check the flavor of my dishes because wood is excellent at absorbing flavors."
Laniakea looked on in awe as he realized just how useful the simple tools actually were.
"Amazing. I didn't know you could use them for so much," Laniakea said. "But Chef, I wanted to ask what I should do now. I know I only just arrived, but I'm a little bored and feel like I should be doing something."
The head chef chuckled. "Oh, you won't be bored for long. You still have to cook for the Lady. What will you make for her? I'm curious."
Oh, right, I'm the Lady's personal chef, Laniakea thought to himself. That's why I'm here in the first place.
"I'll make something suited for a noble's taste," Laniakea said aloud. "Give me a few hours. There's a new dish I want to try, and chopsticks seem like the perfect utensil for it."
"Sure, go ahead. The kitchen is all yours for now."
Laniakea stood at the kitchen table, preparing traditional sarmale. On the table sat a bowl of minced beef and smoked venison mixed with barley and herbs, alongside a cask of soured cabbage leaves. Instead of using his hands or a spoon, he used two polished ashwood chopsticks—the very utensils he had just acquired. Though he could have used standard cutlery, he preferred the precision the sticks provided.
He used the chopsticks to lift a wet cabbage leaf from the brine, laying it flat on the table. Then, using the sticks together like a small spade, he scooped a portion of the meat mixture onto the leaf. He folded the sides over the filling, rolled it forward, and used the blunt end of a chopstick to tuck the loose edges securely into the sides.
Once he had dozens of uniform rolls, he used the chopsticks to arrange them in tight circles inside a heavy clay pot, layering them with strips of beef bacon and shredded cabbage. After pouring a rich bone broth over the top, he used a standard iron poker to shift hot embers under the pot. With the sarmale left to simmer, Laniakea wiped his chopsticks clean and tried to give them back to the head chef.
"You might as well keep them," the head chef said, waving his hand. "But I'm curious—what exactly did you make?"
"It's a dish I learned from my teacher at the place I worked before this," Laniakea explained. "He told me he learned it from a wanderer who stopped by and sold him the recipe for some quick cash. It's called sarmale."
"Are you sure it will suit the Lady's taste?" the chef asked, eyebrow raised.
"Well, we'll just have to find out," Laniakea said with confidence.