There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

"Boss, what other ingredients do you have?"

Seeing my sudden question, Mr. Dart spread his hands and said, "There's only a little cheese and oil left. All kinds of meat are running low; normally I only store enough perishable ingredients for three days. There are plenty of vegetables, but unfortunately..."

Boss Dart lifted a tarpaulin, revealing the Navigators' Alliance's special cargo crates inside, "but there's only one crate of carrots, one crate of white radishes, and one crate of turnips left..."

"...This ingredient is rather scarce." I also looked constipated, staring blankly at the pile of vegetables. People can't live on vegetables alone. If the food shortage caused by this insect plague lasts for ten days or half a month, everyone will look like a vegetable.

Aside from the two alcoholics who can make a living by drinking, it would be impossible for anyone else to adapt so easily.

"It's really difficult. So Lin and I ate all the good stuff this morning, and you can have the leftovers. That way, the whole town will be poor, and no one will have the chance to come and freeload."

...So, boss, you ate all the good food to prevent freeloaders from showing up?

What's even more infuriating is that a mischievous glint flashed in Boss Dart's eyes: "That swindler Jeff must have a batch of goods stored up. Let's see what he's going to do this time."

Hahaha, that makes sense, serves him right!

Jeff, the unscrupulous businessman, will definitely take the opportunity to raise prices; he has absolutely no conscience about helping his neighbors. If he's convicted of hoarding essential supplies and artificially creating famine, wouldn't the town raid his house?

Wait a minute, it seems I'm the police officer in this town now. Does that mean I'll be sent into battle? I'm not afraid of Boss Jeff, but what if Karen comes after me?

Forget it, now is not the time to watch the show. Even if it's just to help Karen, I have to come up with a solution.

"Boss, do you remember the special dishes I can make? Give me these to cook, and I'm confident I can get everyone to switch to a vegetarian diet."

I volunteered.

Boss Dart's eyes lit up, but he was still skeptical: "But... no matter how magical the cooking method is, it's still just the appearance. The ingredients inside are all radishes, how could people not tell?"

I sighed: "To be honest, that's true. But right now, is there no other way out besides this method? Everyone's primary task is to overcome this. Once the supply of materials is restored, these won't be problems anymore."

“Alright…” The boss pointed to the ingredients in front of him, “Then go and give it a try, see what you can make.”

I rolled up my sleeves and went into the kitchen, grabbed two radishes and a turnip, and went inside.

Mr. Dart shook his head, not holding out much hope for me. That kind of simple food was just a deception of the taste buds, it was simply...

In the following time, there was a lot of banging and clanging noise coming from the kitchen, as if several Jackie Chans were inside making a lot of noise with various tools throughout the entire movie.

"What's that brat doing? Why does he have to make a scene even when he's just cutting a radish?"

Mr. Dart was worried about his kitchenware and was about to lift the curtain to go in and see what was going on when he saw me walk out first, carrying an upside-down white porcelain plate and mysteriously holding something.

"What are you doing!" Boss Dart said disapprovingly, casually lifting the plate covering it. "This kind of mushy food won't oxidize, why make it like this... Hmm! What is this?"

What he saw on the plate was not the original blob of unknown substance, but three beautiful flowers in full bloom!

Three tulips of different colors bloom on the plate. Their petals are thick and soft, still glistening with dew. Even the tiny sepals are visible. Their vibrant colors, graceful shapes, and fragrant aromas attract people's attention.

"Where did this flower come from?" Mr. Dart asked in surprise, only to find that the delicate, translucent stamens still bore traces of melted cheese.

This isn't a flower at all! It's a flower carved from a radish, with every detail meticulously crafted, making it indistinguishable from a real flower to the untrained eye!

"The white radish flower is as clear as jade, the carrot flower is as elegant as a noble lady, and the turnip is as fresh and graceful as a delicate lady. How about that? I carved flowers out of vegetables, steamed them slightly, and then added melted cheese, which solidified into tulips that never melt."

"What... is this dish called?" Boss Dart stared at the dish in astonishment, speechless with surprise. When did Marcus's previously terrible cooking methods become so sophisticated!

"This dish..."

Oh no, what should I call this dish? If I don't give it a good name, all my efforts will be wasted. Can the same action be called "rustic disco" and "Shadow Master"?

“The name of this dish is…” I pondered.

"A gathering of heroes!"

Chapter 228 Exquisite Food

Item Name: Fine Food

Ingredients: Radish, carrot, turnip

Condition: Fresh

Shelf life: Will rot in three days (if not refrigerated).

Item Description: A relatively complex dish made with a variety of carefully selected ingredients. It is a work that elevates knife skills and cooking techniques to their peak within the constraints of available ingredients. It is said to have been created by a governor exiled from an empire, a creation made to defend his dignity on a wild planet—but what this governor did not realize was that other roaming predators did not have such elaborate preparations.

Ingredients: 0.5 units of vegetarian ingredients, 0.5 units of meat ingredients

Nutritional value: 1.1 (Nutritional intake of a standard human meal)

I stood confidently in front of Mr. Dart, finally able to proudly wash away my previous reputation as a "chef's disgrace."

Just now in the kitchen, I was actually making simple food, planning to stock up on some of these non-perishable items. Simple food is filling and not limited by ingredients; when famine is imminent, why worry about so many things?

Back then, if anyone dared to complain, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?", I would tie that person to a rocket and launch them into the sky.

But when I was making the eighth serving of food, the colonist system suddenly issued a strange notification.

"The colonist's accumulated cooking experience has been detected, unlocking exquisite food."

"Your current cooking skill level is 9. Please keep working hard to unlock more recipes."

Overjoyed, I checked the options in the work commands and sure enough, under the cooking station's cooking commands, there was a new option for refined food!

So, long-term training can upgrade your skill level?!

Perhaps due to the setbacks in my social skills, I have never relied much on the various skills of the colonist system. Occasionally, I would create some illogical things, but only superficially, and I have never created them on such a large scale.

Unexpectedly, through continuous training, various techniques can be further improved!

Cooking is merely a practical life skill; what I need to train in are skills like building, planting, and crafting. These will be crucial to my ranch business and will help me achieve further breakthroughs…

Just imagine, after constantly honing your skills, reaching the ultimate level where you can run past earthquakes, leap over high walls, defeat zombies, survive cockroaches, conceive without sex, grow crops without soil, generate your own electricity, and build houses with your bare hands—where in the world can't you go?

…………

Ignoring my dazed expression, Boss Dart took out a spoon, scooped up an exquisitely carved radish, and put it in his mouth, eager to taste what the secret of this dish was.

From the outside, it simply appears to be a display of exquisite knife skills, carving radishes to an unprecedented degree. Such skill would naturally leave a chef in awe, perhaps even inspiring an urge to apprentice. However, for diners, the most important thing is the taste.

If these things don't taste good, then no matter how beautiful they look on the surface, it's useless. It might even have the opposite effect, using the technique of praising before criticizing to increase people's aversion to them.

For example, they serve a dish of roasted foie gras, but when you take a bite, it turns out to be tofu. Then they serve roasted suckling pig, which is also made of tofu. Finally, they serve a bowl of cream of pumpkin soup, and when you taste it, you realize, wow, this time it's not tofu, it's soy milk.

"In that case, everyone would flip the table before they even finished eating..."

Mr. Dart thought with suspicion, then put the radish in his mouth and chewed it carefully.

"Gurgle..."

"What's going on?" Boss Dart stared at the empty spoon. Didn't he just put it in his mouth? Why does it feel like he didn't eat anything?

Did it accidentally fall to the ground?

Just then, a rich aroma of milk and fresh vegetables wafted up from his stomach, like rising clouds, completely taking over Mr. Dart's taste buds from bottom to top!

"The creamy aroma of melting cheese and the mellow sweetness of carrots! The fusion is so wonderful, not only masking the raw taste of the carrots but also highlighting the unique characteristics of the cheese." Mr. Dart, eyes closed, savored the flavor, murmuring to himself, "It's not masking, it's layers! The initial creamy aroma overpowers the pungent taste of the vegetables, while the subsequent sweetness of the vegetables masks the gritty taste of the cheese. The two ingredients layer upon layer, stimulating the taste buds, truly..."

Boss Dart scooped up another white radish flower, and it melted in his mouth. Even the act of chewing felt like he was missing something. His teeth barely touched before it went into his stomach, giving rise to a completely different taste.

"Hmm... this time it's the crispness of white radish, this light and refreshing taste is completely different from the mellow sweetness of carrot!"

Without hesitation, Boss Dart scooped up the last turnip flower. "This...this is..."

This time, a sweet, creamy aroma, like that of a cream cake, permeated every cell of the esophagus, immersing one in the wonder of the meal. Turnips naturally have a mild flavor, which Mr. Dart initially thought would be a weakness, highlighting the shortcomings of both ingredients.

However, when you actually taste it, the aroma of turnips takes the lead. The juices from the relatively thick petals, after being steamed for a short time, are so juicy that they turn into a clear spring that flows into your throat with just a touch of your teeth and tongue, leaving no residue.

Then, an exaggerated milky aroma comes over the whole room. The texture is like a chilled cream cake. The slightly dulled outer layer prevents the tongue from tasting it at first, but it can burst out all at once when it is awakened, sending the sweet taste into the nerves!

Having tasted both simple and refined foods, Dart, a professional chef himself, has discovered a common thread between the two: stimulating appetite!

Simple foods rely on a wonderful chemical reaction to make the brain accept this sticky, strange food, and even make people more and more enthusiastic about eating it, wishing they could replace the flow of blood with this food.

The method of creating exquisite food involves stimulating both the visual and gustatory senses. Exquisite knife skills and unique presentation can visually pique a diner's curiosity and create an urge to try it – this is a crucial element.

Subsequently, the control of flavor and cooking pairings employed a rather unconventional method of delayed gratification. The deliberate, delicate quality permeates the stomach immediately, allowing the deliciousness to be felt from the inside out. At this moment, with no food in the mouth, the body's hunger is reflected in the nerves, making the desire for the next taste even stronger.

However, each time I tasted it, it went against my physiological habits, so that the feeling of getting tired of good food and not being able to eat it anymore simply did not occur!

Boss Dart sensed a subtle stubbornness behind this dish. It was a unique cooking method born out of the scarcity of ingredients. Otherwise, with this cooking technique, simply improving the ingredients would elevate the quality tenfold; there was no need to push the ingredients to their limits or even utilize human physiological characteristics to create this dish!

"Marcus! Marcus! Who taught you this 'Gathering of Heroes' dish?! Tell me now!"

Mr. Dart shook my shoulders frantically, wanting to see the chef who created this dish; he must be an unparalleled genius!

I snapped out of my reverie and mumbled, "Boss, why don't you go ask the Empress Dowager Restaurant? Oh... just remember, whatever you do, don't drink their wine, it's 180 yuan a glass!"

Chapter 229 Paying Tribute to the Classics Starts with Me

After my explanation (or rather, my persuasion), Mr. Dart finally gave up the idea of ​​going to pay homage to the God of Cookery.

In his mind, that must be the ultimate realm where a chef's skills have reached their peak, and his culinary art has even surpassed the peak, reaching a state where there are no dishes in his hands or in his mind, and everything in the world can be a dish!

But in my mind, I pictured a crazy person, holding a cleaver in one hand and a wok on their head, walking around the streets and seeing everything as food, wanting to wash, chop it up, and stir-fry it all...

"Boss, where I'm from, we usually call this kind of person a psychopathic killer..."

I commented sullenly. "Isn't this just some unscrupulous merchant cutting corners? What 'gathering of heroes'? It's clearly a meeting of scoundrels. And Mr. Dart actually took it seriously? The only ones who can eat anything are gums and pig gods, right? I wonder who ate whom?"

It's no wonder that I'm so amazing. Even a dish I make casually is so amazing, and a name I pick is so elegant and tasteful. Should I consider becoming a literary figure?

"What a pity..."

Mr. Dart sighed and glanced at me sideways. "Marcus, you must have something else to say coming here so early. Go ahead and say it."

"As expected of the boss." I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing my hands together as I called out, "Zack, bring the stuff in!"

Before he finished speaking, a burly man in shorts and a t-shirt walked in from outside, carrying a pile of goods on his hands and shoulders.

I always felt that when Zack tied a towel around his head, he looked like a simple old farmer from northern Shaanxi. If his expression were more serious, he would look like a laborer who was proficient in the Twelve Styles of Springing Leg. There was a contradictory aura about him from head to toe, making him seem both extraordinary and ordinary.

"Zack, what is this? Didn't you say the food supplies on the route were exhausted?"

Upon seeing the familiar shipping crates, Boss Dart exclaimed with delight, wondering if these two had somehow managed to obtain the food.

I gave a wry smile: "Boss, you've misunderstood. This is grain from my ranch, just harvested today, and brought here first. It's all..."

I walked up to the box, yanked open the lid, and said, "Radish..."

After I finished speaking, Zach next to me couldn't bear it and covered his face with his hand.

…………