Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 253: No Dirty Paws in my Kitchen!

The center of the clearing had transformed into a magnificent outdoor kitchen.

Ren moved between the roaring fire pits and the cast-iron cauldrons with a rhythm that completely mesmerized her prep cooks. The air was incredibly thick with the intoxicating, savory aroma of rendered fat, blooming spices, and caramelizing sugars.

The armadillo-pig braise was bubbling away in the first cauldron. The thick slabs of pork belly had completely surrendered to the dark soy sauce, star anise, and ginger. The connective tissues had melted into liquid gold, transforming the tough meat into incredibly tender, pulled-pork perfection that practically fell apart when Ren prodded it with her wooden spoon.

The broth had reduced to a sticky, mahogany-colored glaze that coated the back of the spoon like syrup.

Beside it, the mini-bison stew was thickening beautifully. The rich, nutty flour roux had perfectly combined with the beef juices, root vegetables, and tangy vinegar, creating a dark, incredibly hearty gravy that hissed and popped in the black iron.

’Now for the tricky part,’ Ren thought, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist.

She turned her attention to the spatchcocked six-legged turkey roasting directly over the open flames on a makeshift wooden spit. She took a massive dollop of butter, mixed it rapidly with wild garlic and crushed peppercorns, and generously basted the entire bird.

The butter melted instantly, sliding down the golden-brown, crispy skin and dripping onto the hot coals below, creating a sudden flare of flames that sent a fresh wave of smoky, garlic-infused aroma sweeping across the clearing. The spiced rice she had stuffed under the carcass was swelling perfectly, soaking up every single drop of the savory pan drippings.

"Dumplings!" Ren called out.

She quickly checked the heavy, stacked bamboo steamer baskets she had placed over a pot of boiling water. The minced rabbit-frog meat, heavily seasoned with chopped scallions and garlic, had steamed to absolute perfection inside their dense, chewy flour wrappers. Plump, bouncy, and piping hot, they puffed out savory clouds of steam as she lifted the lid. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Finally, she threw her cast-iron skillet directly onto the hottest coals for the furry snake-eel.

Ren tossed the paper-thin fillets of translucent meat into the screaming hot pan.

Sssssss!

She immediately poured a sweet-and-spicy chili glaze over the top. The sugars in the glaze hit the scorching iron and instantly caramelized, searing the delicate eel strips hot and fast so they retained a tender bite without turning rubbery. The pungent, spicy kick of the chili made her nose tingle in the best way possible.

With the cooking finally complete, the sheer magnitude of her serving oversight hit her.

Ren looked around the clearing, a deep frown marring her flushed face.

’Where on earth am I going to put all this?’ she thought.

There was absolutely no serving table.

"Adapt and overcome," Ren muttered to herself.

She opened her System Shop interface and rapidly spent a few survival points on dozens of massive wooden platters and incredibly deep, wide wooden bowls.

With the help of her female prep cooks, Ren began plating the feast.

She piled the dark, sticky armadillo-pork braise over mountainous beds of perfectly steamed, fluffy long-grain rice. She ladled the hearty mini-bison stew into the deep wooden bowls, making sure every serving was packed with tender meat and root vegetables.

She carefully transferred the glistening, chili-glazed eel strips onto flat platters, arranged the hot rabbit-frog dumplings alongside piles of boiled ground provisions, and finally, hauled the massive, crispy six-legged turkey off the spit and onto the largest platter she possessed.

With nowhere else to put them, Ren and her helpers carefully set them directly down on the soft, green grass.

They formed a long, colorful, incredibly fragrant buffet line right on the dirt.

Ren stared down at the sprawling feast, her hands resting proudly on her hips. ’Please, God,’ she prayed silently. ’Please do not let there be any giant, mutated fire ants in this grass.’

She looked at the culinary masterpiece she had created out of bizarre forest monsters, a slow, deeply proud smile spreading across her face.

"Beautiful," Ren whispered to herself.

"Lunch is served!" Ren shouted at the top of her lungs. "Everyone, come and get it!"

Dozens of monstrous, starving stomachs growled simultaneously, a deafening chorus of ravenous beastmen who had been smelling the savory torture for the last two hours.

They turned their heads. Their dilated pupils locked onto the steaming platters of food resting in the grass.

A tiny, incredibly fluffy grey wolf cub broke through the front lines of the crowd. Completely overwhelmed by the scent of the roasted six-legged turkey, the cub sprinted forward on his stubby little legs, his mouth hanging wide open, a literal string of drool flying through the air behind him as he aimed his face directly for the meat.

Ren lunged forward, scooping the furry little torpedo up into her arms like a football just a mere second before he face-planted right into the chili-glazed eel strips.

"Whoa, hold your horses!" Ren scolded, holding the squirming, whining cub away from the food. She looked up and glared at the approaching horde of massive, dirt-covered beastmen.

"No dirty paws in my kitchen!" Ren announced, her voice cracking like a whip.

She spotted a frantic stray wolf female rushing out from the crowd and promptly handed the whining cub over to his mother.

Ren stepped protectively in front of the grass buffet line, crossing her arms over her chest. She channeled the terrifying, unyielding aura of a health inspector.

"Go wash your hands!" Ren ordered the crowd of beast folk. "All of you! Look at yourselves! You are covered in dirt! Nobody touches my food until they are clean!"

Terrified that she might withhold the magical, steaming food if they disobeyed, the beastmen and females all turned on their heels. Like a herd of scolded, beastly kindergarteners, they hurriedly made a chaotic, shoving beeline straight for the waterhole to aggressively scrub their hands.