Chef (Chef)

Summary

Cooking is one of, if perhaps not the, oldest aspects of civilization. Since times unremembered, people have committed to cooking in the pursuit of health, energy, and deliciousness. Wars have been waged for food, but it was a certain few who transformed all they saw into the meals of legend. For, upon Veltrona, food is not something consumed solely to sustain one's life: it is a vehicle of experience, empowerment, and culture. At the pinnacle of this estimable craft stands the chef, mistress of the kitchen.
The beginning of this path is an easy one to step upon, and something almost everyone has some experience with. Fundamentally, acquiring foodstuffs, then preparing them for consumption is where most people start and stop. Those who continue onward begin experimenting with different combinations of possibilities. Or, having learned from wisened chefs, cook books, or other ways, follow their instruction. It is here where all future chefs of renown begin.
Magic is, after all, a craft of one's experiences, knowledge, and capabilities. Magical food is no different.
Through preparing the ingredients, chefs can weave different magics to affect their properties, behaviors, and outcomes. More skilled chefs can even draw out latent secrets, opening truly incredible possibilities. Their foods transform from simple sustenance to something that can nurture growth, fortify health, restore mana, improve the body, and more. The greatest ones can impart artistic beauty that enriches the soul itself. The demand for these skilled persons is, as can be imagined, truly incredible.
After a certain point, one does wonder what a 'chef' is, exactly. In some respects they're really no different than mages or alchemists. In others, artisans and biologists who want to understand life and what forms it can take. Some cultures also tend to mix more ideas with many others.
One example would be how the baarham regard life, in its totality, as being worthy of study, and their chefs commit greatly to that view. They research, catalogue, and then experiment with all of nature's bounty, seeking inventive methods in doing so. Dragonkind work diligently in building their experiences, each chef a living library of tens of thousands of possible recipes. Such extreme work is required to be make impressive meals for immortals, after all.
Sa-kemet at large traditionally gave ceremonial importance to chefs, as they once shared a common purpose with priestesses. The sharing of food and water is, in the desolate deserts, the same as sharing life itself. It isn't uncommon for many priestesses to still practice cooking in some forms to honor these oldest and sacred traditions. The people of Tensokari place great ritual and purpose upon eating, especially as a form of social engagement. Their chefs focus on not only elaborate and beautiful displays, but complex pieces that take skill to consume gracefully. No end of shame can await someone who makes a fool of themselves or their family name during such tense (but delicious) times.
Of all professions, though, the love of eating and its universal nature serves as common grounds. A lot of cooking-related businesses have deep connections as a result, stretching in unpredictable ways. While it may not get a lot of attention or be flashy, many things start happening at the lunch table first. Only the worst of enemies may refuse to share a table, but even then, some chefs can find a way to bring them in.

Career

Qualifications

The degree to what kind of chef one aspires to be truly determines their qualifications. It is a profession that is easy in its demands, until one dares to go further. The pursuit of greatness as a chef is fraught with difficulties, and ones that'll push people to the brink. In this respect, they have common grounds with scholars, mages, and other learned persons. It takes a truly great amount of time to practice their craft, overcome their failures, and improve upon their successes.
While some chefs are content working for their own ends, many more care about sharing their talent. In that respect, their success is just as much technical skill as it is satisfying their customers. Doing so is no simple feat, especially when all the different kinds of species on Veltrona are considered. While almost all of them share the same palate, each has minute differences that can radically affect a meal's desirability. Add in the complexities of individual tastes, and every person to a chef's eyes is like an intimidating fortress.
It's more the norm that a lot of chefs specialize in their own species' tastes, and maybe a few they cohabitate with regularly. Deciphering the finer parts of a palate one literally cannot experience is quite the formidable proposition. Some, however, are eager to try that sort of challenge. They're an exceptionally rare bunch among chefs, but they're the ones everyone thinks of when a 'mistress chef' is talked about.

Career Progression

Given the incredible variety to the field of cooking, how one measure's a chef's progress changes just as much. Two specific methods often make an appearance, and they're something a lot of cooking guilds and other organizations rely upon.
Like mages, a chef's internal mana and magical ability are important for complex and powerful dishes. The pursuit of education, first-hand experiences, and sheer practice are just as important to them. In fact, it's not uncommon for the two to cross pollinate as professions, with one switching to the other, or even pursuing both at once. Some fighters and warriors, more skilled with blades and martial technique, even make the jump toward a chef's career.
The other qualifier tends to be either the total amount of recipes they can create, or the most difficult one they can succeed with. Since challenging the quantity of recipes is unreasonable to do, it's normally short handed around five-to-ten select recipes instead. Chefs will demonstrate the spectrum of their talents in competitive tournaments as a means of showcasing themselves. It also serves to let them hone themselves in 'direct conflict', and experience the capability of their rivals.
Ultimately, while one is their own judge of progress, many more care about social position and status. If not to their customers, then among their peers. The world of cooking, at large, can be an incredibly competitive place and just as ruthless as any battlefield. Livelihoods are built by one's own hands, and destroyed by incompetence or overwhelming opposition. It is something those higher and higher upon the echelons of cooking live and breathe. Some may deride warriors consumed by bloodlust, but chefs in pursuit of perfection can be just as (if not more) terrifying.

Alternative Names

Kaja, Cook, Firetender, Alutoa

Type

Culinary