Current Events > Teen Titans CYOA: Romance Resurrected Part 19

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"Of course I'm wearing it to work," you say. "I'll be very careful not to make a mess of it, but I am certainly being Gomez Addams at the Magical Melting Pot."

"Really? What will your customers think? What'll your employees think?"

"That I'm in the Halloween spirit, obviously," you say. "I fully expect customers and employees to be in costume, too."

"Alright," she chuckles. "When should I come by?"

"I think dinner time will be fine," you say. "I wouldn't want to cut into your time patrolling for Aurum."

Even now, months later, Aurum Miller, the man with the Midas Touch and gold specific telekinesis, as well as one of six potential half-siblings to Raven, is on the loose, having completely dropped off the radar since the summer.

"Yeah," Raven says, the concern still audible in her voice.

You give her a comforting hug and kiss on the forehead.

"So," you say, "7:30, yes?"

"Yes," Raven says. "What's the special for Halloween?"

"Well, making up a clever pun for the meals is more a Shadowy Scorpion thing. But for tonight, the dinner special will be..."

A) Beef Stew with Bacon Garnish
B) Capitone in Umida
C) Calamari Ripieni

C

A)

A

"Beef stew with bacon garnish," you say. "Smoked the bacon and soaked it in brine all week, it'll go nicely with the oxtail."

"Mmm~," Raven says. "Thick cut, right?"

"Of course," you say.

"Alright, sounds good," she says. "See you then."

You and Raven kiss before you leave Titans Tower and ride Shadowfax back home to 176 Ledyard Street. You dress in your Gomez costume then get in your new car and drive to the restaurant. You park in the back and pick up your apron off the wall.

"Good morning, Chef," your sous-chef, Emile, greets. "Or I should say, Mr. Addams."

"Good morning," you say. "Very good Where's Waldo costume."

"The peppers didn't come in," he says.

"Ugh, seriously? We are going to need to talk to Tugenberg about this. Is Verdinelli in?"

"Yes."

"Alright," you say as you bring out a checkbook. "Get him to the market and buy $100 worth of peppers."

You write the check out, Emile calls Verdinelli over and hand the check over. Verdinelli has proven to have a keen eye, he'll be able to pick out the best peppers in terms of their size and health.

Emile and Verdinelli head out and you hurry to make sure everything else is still on course.

"Good morning, Chef," Danita, your patissier, says.

"Good morning," you say. "Great work on the glaze for the donuts."

"Thank you, Chef," she says with a smile.

You go to your rotisseur, who also doubles as your grillardin and friturier, meaning they handle the roasts, braised meats, grilled foods and fried foods.

"Harper," you say.

"Good morning, Chef," he says.

"Ah, yes," you say. "Everything looks great already."

"Thank you, sir," he says. "I'm ready for anything. Bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, eggs, whatever the people want."

"Ready to open, Chef," Elena of your waiting staff says.

"Then by all means," you say.

Elena has Sibbie flip the sign and unlock the door. Sibbie lets the early crowd in and you get Harper right on the bacon, sausage and eggs. Danita also gets on brewing the coffee and putting a kettle on for tea and hot cocoa.

Though you're the owner and head chef, you just go where needed while your specialized chefs handle things. For right now, you jump on...

A) Making pancakes
B) Preparing toast
C) Juicing oranges

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A

C

B

oh nvm didn't see that this got a new post.

B

... preparing toast.

You get the loaves of bread, both white bread and wheat bread, and bring it to the toasters. One toaster is set to light, another to dark, and the third is at the middle. You also have the items for French toast ready, should anyone want some.

"A pair of cluck 'n' grunts, one with a side of brown down, one with regular," Sibbie says.

"How hot on those?" you ask.

"Light on the brown down, heavy on the regular," she says.

You put wheat bread slices in the lightly set toaster, white bread in the dark.

"What do we say about the peppers not being here?" Harper asks. "We won't have anything for the spicy omelletes."

"Emile and Verdinelli will be back soon enough," you say. "For now, it's just not available.

"Alright," he says, going back to the bacon and eggs.

"Two brown cows and two cups o' joe, all with life preservers," Aubry says.

Danita takes care of the coffee along with her donuts. The toast finishes and you send that over to Harper so he can include them with the eggs 'n' bacon.

"Chicks, Sunny Side-Up, on a Raft," Suzette says. "Keep the raft light."

You put more toast in the light set toaster while Harper cracks two more eggs.

"Eternal twins and douse 'em," Keriann says.

"Oh, I forgot the ham," Harper says.

"I'll go get it," you say.

"Chef, you don't always need to do the odd jobs," Danita says.

"It's fine, it's fine," you say. "The bread is still toasting."

You hurry to the fridge where you keep the meats. You volunteer to do this even though you don't have to, because it lessens the chances your employees notice you've modified this fridge the same way your family's company does other refrigerators.

You grab a fresh leg of ham and bring it to the main kitchen. You get on cutting slices, but then the toasters pop. You get the light toast over to Harper for the Chicks on a Raft, and he serves up some eggs to go with the ham, and you take care of putting the Tabasco sauce on before serving.

"We're back!" Emile says.

"Yes, thank you," you say as he and Verdinelli bring the peppers in. "Now we can serve omelettes."

As the breakfast crowd gives way to the mid morning, you start bringing out the lunch items.

"Today's lunch special," you say as you look at a little chalkboard.

A) Hamburger Steak Don
B) Zuppa di Pesce
C) Duck Cutlet Curry

A

A.

A

A

bump, been a busy day

sorry, another busy day

A

"Don" coming from "donburi," Japanese for "rice bowl dish." Basically, anything can be a donburi if you serve it in a very big bowl with rice. Danita helps bring out the giant bowls while Verdinelli washes dishes from breakfast.

You get the rice cookers going at full power, all white rice. The obvious element of a Hamburger Steak Don is the Hamburger steak, but the donburi includes a sunny-side up egg, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. You bring out the vegetables while Harper cooks the Grade A beef patties and the eggs while you bring out the vegetables and Emile mixes gravy for the Hamburger steak.

Orders for the Hamburger Steak Don come in, you scoop rice into the bowls to fill them halfway. Then you place a leaf of lettuce, two cherry tomatoes, and then pass it over to Harper. He puts the Hamburger steak on first, then the sunny-side up egg, and then Emile comes in to drizzle gravy onto the steak.

"We have a custom order on the donburi," Sibbie says. "One Pork Cutlet Don."

"On its way," you say.

You fetch a pork cutlet, bread it for Harper to fry up, and then you scramble up some eggs at the same time. You cook those scrambled eggs, put them on top of the rice in the donburi, and then Haprer cuts up the cutlet before placing it on top of the eggs.

"One Katsudon," you say as you pass that to Sibbie.

You personally handle orders that aren't the special, such as the spicy Chinese Pepper Steak now that you have peppers to use. You stir fry the shredded sirloin strip steak with the chopped green and red bell peppers while splashing in soy sauce and sprinkling in ginger.

"Mmm, might want some of this myself," you say while plating a couple orders.

"You could take a lunch break soon," Emile says.

"No, no, not until you all take your breaks," you say.

"I know you're the head chef, but you are younger than us," Emile says. "You need to take care of yourself."

"I will," you say smirk. "Once I make sure everyone else is taken care of."

The lunch crowd passes and things slow down. You and your chefs take time to take care of yourselves now.

A) Have the Pepper Steak
B) Have a Hamburger Steak Don
C) Have alternate donburi

A

B

A)

A

You did say you wanted some, so you have what's left of the Pepper Steak with what's left of the rice for the donburi, as well as the last two slices of white bread left in the loaf.

"That stuff's really spicy, isn't it?" Verdinelli says.

"That it is," you say as you scoop up meat and rice with fork and spoon. "Just how I like it."

You eat up, with the bread helping to bring the spicy sauce off your tongue. You also do have some milk, too, but the bread helps you from having to chug and chug.

The others improvise their own lunches, such as a salad from the lettuce and cherry tomatoes not used in the donburi, or just simple Hamburger steaks with gravy to use up the gravy Emile made.

As time passes away into the afternoon, you get the after school crowd. Parents and children of all ages come in, wearing all sorts of costumes.

"Give me a moment," you say as orders come in. "Eyes are still watering from the Pepper Steak. I think I went a lot harder on the pepper than I realized."

You use a paper towel to wipe your eyes, and you have a bit more milk to cool your mouth off. You might need a mint later, too, the heat is still lingering.

"Chef," Emile says. "Could you get more pork, and then some skewers?"

"Right away," you say as you go back to the freezer.

You bring out more cutlets, and then fetch a box of wood skewers from storage. You bring those to the grilling station and cut them up for Harper to braise. Emile sends over a lovely blend of sauces and spices and you brush those onto the meat before you and Harper skewer them for kebabs. Those are plated with a side of mashed potatoes and sent out.

"Let's get going on the dinner special for today while there's still time," you say.

The five-day soaked, thick cut bacon is put into the smoker while you bring out the stewed oxtail cuts. The oxtails are already tender, on course to be all but falling apart by the time Raven visits.

"Let's make sure we have plenty of those shallow bowls ready," you tell Verdinelli and Danita. "We'll fill about a quarter of it with the juice, and that pool will keep the oxtail moist while it's being eaten."

"Yes, Chef," they both say.

You prepare more pork kebabs with Harper, then shift gears to making chicken karaage. The after school crowd being teens and kids, the bite sized, sweet 'n' sour chicken is very popular. You make the marinade of soy sauce, apple juice, onions, ginger, garlic, nutmeg, black pepper and allspice, coat the chicken chunks and then have Harper deep fry them for you.

The dinner menu starts at 5 PM, so you get Harper on sauteeing the mushrooms and glazing the pearl onions that go with the special. The bacon is down smoking so you bring those out as Danita and Verdinelli fill bowls with stew stock. You carefully place oxtail at the center, place two slices of the bacon garnish together on one side, then a scoop of onions and a scoop of mushrooms are placed next to those.

"Beef stew with bacon garnish, ready to serve," you say.

You get a phone call just before 6 PM and you see it's Raven. You excuse yourself to answer it.

"Hello there," you say.

"Hey," she responds. "We ended up in your neighborhood because of other small time crimes and stuff, things like that. The others are debating if they should drop in for something or not."

A) It's fine, come by now
B) Keep it to just you and Raven later

B

B

B

"I was kind of hoping it would be the two of us..." you say.

"Yeah, same here..." she says.

"Well, then you should probably tell them that," you say. "Have them go somewhere else for right now."

"Alright," she says. "I'll try to convince them."

"Alright," you say. "See you later, then."

"See you later."

You hang up and go back to work.

"Nine Vegetable Terrine," Keriann says.

Emile brings out the slab you had chilling in the fridge and you slice off a piece to plate with cut cherry tomatoes and dabs of salad dressings.

"Mouth Watering Chicken," Aubry says.

Harper stir-fries chicken in a wok, Emile whips up the soy-chili sauce mix. The sauce fills a bowl, the chicken is set inside the sauce, and you sprinkle chopped scallions and white sesame seeds on top.

"Capitone in Umido," Sibbie says.

You grab eel meat from the fridge and have Harper cook it while seasoning it with olive oil, salt, pepper, onions, garlic and a little white wine. Emile makes the tomato sauce from scratch, and you grill up premade garlic bread. The eel meat, which is about a foot long, is cut into four segments, put on the plate, and the sauce is poured on top before the bread is placed.

A few minutes pass, but the Titans don't arrive so Raven must've convinced the others to stay away for tonight. You keep an eye on the beef stew and make sure there's a serving for Raven.

You prepare a few more Nine Vegetable Terrines and Mouth Watering Chickens, and even some curry and rice for the trick or treat crowd wanting to get going.

Raven arrives just before 7:30, wearing her Morticia dress and with her hair long. Harper smirks and nudges you with an elbow.

A) Prepare a VIP table
B) Prepare a seat at the bar

A. VIP table

bump

another bump

A

A

You go up to the counter from your side and look for a waitress that isn't busy.

"Elena," you say as you wave her over.

Elena walks over.

"Let's prepare a VIP table, shall we?" you say while pointing out Raven.

"Yes, Chef," she smiles.

Elena prepares a table off in the corner, close to the kitchen. She sets out the silverware and a candle. She lights the candle while Sibbie walks Raven over.

"Thank you," Raven says before taking her seat.

Raven spots you through the order window and smiles. You smile back and wave before creating a plate for her.

"You know you could take a break and sit with her," Emile says.

A) Have dinner with Raven
B) Work on dessert first

A.

A)

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A

A

"I suppose that's fair," you say. "Just remember about the-"

"Nine Vegetable Terrine is to be served as a full inch slice and the Capitone is to be seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, onions, garlic and a sprinkle of white wine," Emile says. "You've taught us these recipes pretty well these past few months, we've got it."

You nod and put your apron aside. You create a plate of the oxtail stew for yourself, and take both to the table.

"Here you are," you say as you set the plates down.

"Oooh, personal service," Raven says as you sit with her. "I feel so special."

"Well, you are special," you say. "You're one of a kind."

She smiles while Sibbie pours you glasses of apple cider.

"Apple cider, hm?" Raven says.

"Yes, I did some taste testing," you say. "I felt apple cider pairs with the beef and bacon the best."

Raven takes a bite of the bacon garnish, chew and swallow, then a sip of the cider.

"Hmm, that is pretty good," she says.

You also dig in, and you enjoy the tender ox tail. You have one bacon garnish mostly dry, while the other one you have soak in the soup. Because of the thick cut, both strips are juicy, but soaking the second in soup gives it a great quality from the seasoning and stock.

You also enjoy adding the mushrooms and onions into your bites. The glazed onions and sauteed mushrooms are soft from soaking in the soup, and those flavors go well with the tender, savory ox.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Raven says.

"Am I?" you ask.

"You've got this great restaurant, with all these different cultures and flavors on the same menu, and I mean, look at this place. It's Halloween, and it's basically packed. I don't really know if that's a thing for restaurants, having busy Halloweens, but you've got it."

"Well I think I owe much of that to the team I managed to assemble," you say. "They're all great chefs, they're able to support me and these dishes."

"So what's dessert?" Raven asks.

A) Chocolate Checkerboard Cake
B) Lemon Curd Italiano Semifreddo
C) Autumn Leaf Entrement

A.

C

B

B.

B

"The Lemon Curd Italiano Semifreddo," you say.

"Oh, right, the multi-layered ice cream cake," she says. "I think I'll have a slice of that."

"Very good," you say.

You have Sibbie bring your order for two slices of the semifreddo to the kitchen, and she returns with that order. You and Raven dig in, and enjoy the three layers in combination. The crunchy almonds in the praline, the smooth and lemony ice cream, and the fluffy almond Pte Biscuit.

"Mmm~," she says. "This is different than before with the genoise, isn't it?"

"Yes," you say. "The Pte Biscuit we use here is easier to make, and therefore can be made quickly for the base of the full semifreddo cake. And it compliments the almond praline while adding to the contrast with the ice cream layer. We also switched out lemon curd with lemon preserves. Less processed and sugary."

You and Raven eat your semifreddo, but you do see things getting a little busier. You look to the kitchen and see they're handling things just fine, so you relax.

"Should I call you when I'm done here?" you ask.

"Actually," Raven says. "Maybe I could be at the house already? Y'know, relax and wait for you."

"Well alright," you say. "Here, you can have the house key."

You take the house key off the keychain and hand it to Raven.

"Thank you," she says.

She finishes her cider and then you both stand up from the table. You walk Raven to the door, she gives you a quick good-bye kiss, and then she heads off for Silver Terrace. You return to work and a new customer walks in. He may be in costume as "The Burger King," but you can easily tell it's Huntley Shatkin.

"Is he really going to walk in here like that and try this food challenge again?" Harper asks.

"Welcome back, Huntley," you say. "Well done on the crown."

"Thank you," he says. "Good mustache. Gomez Addams?"

"Yes, thank you for noticing," you say as you adjust the tie and make sure the toupee is in place.

"I hope you've got something... fit for a king," Huntley says with a smarmy smile.

"Oh I'm sure," you say.

You go to your team and coordinate with them to make...

A) Beef Stew Special Edition
B) Mapo Dofu
C) African Ramen
D) Livre La Royale

A.

bump

D

C