The two cooks begin their preparation, and while not the best job, they start out decently. Going with the safest option possible (Stew, that is), the air begins to shimmer with hear as you add fuel to the fire under your cauldron, the vegetables sizzling with heat as they slide into the bubbling water. The smell isn't the most pleasant, but by no means are you riuning the meal.

Meanwhile, crashing is heard from the kitchen as the other team seems to have no clue what they are doing. The guard glances at the door before leaning over to Braggus and speaking, his voice a little grating "Well, seems the competition is on, eh? It ought to be close." He gives Braggus a 'friendly' punch in the arm, and at that exact moment one of the teenagers in the kitchen goes "Hells! That hurt!"

Basically, depending on how many successes you get, that will determine DC of the dish for the eater. Do you wish to continue or serve the dish now? I won't reveal how many successes you'll need, so its your shot.

{I think Branor has more cooking he want's to do, and Zeymira has some flavoring to do, so at least another round of checks, maybe two. Will defer to the primary cook as to how long he wants to work on it.}

Branor continues to work on the stew, adding in more and more of the ingredients, trying to turn them into something they aren’t.

”How the hells is anything decent supposed to be made from this rubbish! Just smush it all together and shove it down that goliath’s throat. Hopefully his stomach is made of better stuff than this stupid cauldron, half the damn liquid is dripping out!”

(went 2 more rounds 5+2 & 8+2 😖)

Róisín finds a spot to sit and watch. A spot as far away from the bubbling cauldron as she can get. "This is awful. I dearly hope all the competitions aren't so vile." she mumbles. Whenever she gets a whiff of what's cooking she wrinkles up her nose.  

Zeymira starts working on the flavor and smell of the stew, trying to make it easier to get down.

Arcana 7 and 23 (rolled in game log)

While trying to make it taste like a good stew, she also adds in the requested taste of cream and strawberry.

Orunmila watched with concern....she certainly wouldn't want those under her watch trying to operate on such vile rations.

After a few more minutes of cooking, to mixed results, the two cooks try their hardest, but it seems that things aren't going so well. The tavern cook looks over with concern, as if about to comment, but then rushes off as a small explosion happens in the kitchen. How those kids don't need a healer yet is astonishing.

As the others watch, the smell of...cream and strawberry? Fills the air, the guard looks around, a pleasant but confused smile growing on his face. Clearly, he thinks that meal is for him.

Do you wish to continue?

No, I’m hoping ours is better than theirs lol

The party decides that they are done, and ring the tiny handbell provided to signal to the cook, and he toddles over, looking over the stew pot. With a nod, that would be approving, except for the fact that the meal is gross, despite the best efforts of Branor and Zeymira. "Well, since your meal was first to be finished, you get this." He hands Braggus a small bottle with clear liquid inside. "Use it however you want. Wash something down, sauce, whatever."

Finally, after a few more minutes, the other team finishes their meal, and an even fouler stench radiates from the kitchen as they bring out their meal. Looking at is, you have no clue what it is. Is it a cake? A soup? It's very confusing. As the two meals are set in front of their respective eaters, the judge looks slightly green, and mutters to himself "I'm going to be doing this all day, aren't I?

How would Braggus like to use his mysterious liquid? As he takes the first bite, he must make a DC 15 CON save with Advantage.

How would the cooks like to describe their dishes? Be creative and you just might earn an inspiration!

While she couldn't do anything about the appearance or texture, Zeymira made sure that the stew would taste good, and even included the requested cream and strawberry flavors, as if the stew had a cream base (instead of sour milk) and fresh strawberries had been included in the stew.

The stew sloshed heavily in a battered wooden bowl, the broth a murky brown-gray that clung thickly to the sides. Misshapen lumps of over-boiled vegetables and ragged scraps of meat jutted up unevenly, giving it a lumpy, almost swamp-like appearance. The steam rising from it was thin and uneven, but carried an oddly sweet scent—like strawberries folded into cream—that seemed impossibly out of place with the dish’s coarse, grimy look. Nothing about it was elegant; it was a meal thrown together with blunt force.

As he took the shabby wooden bowl into his hands, Braggus couldn't help but grimace at the sight of the stew - not that he could blame Branor much for being asked to create anything halfway edible, given the ingredients they were being asked to do away with. The steam rising from its surface, however, reminded him of many more pleasant meals he'd enjoyed as a child, particularly in the late winter when snowberries ripened below the timberline of Snom's lofty snowcapped mountains. 

He resolved to close his eyes and focus on those memories and the smell, preferring not to see what he was about to put into his body. He opts to mix whatever the liquid seemed to be into the stew itself, hoping it might dilute the worst of the flavor and add something at least semi-fresh into the spoiled broth.

Constitution save results w/advantage (rolled in campaign gamelog): 18, 21

Róisín watches Braggus take the bowl with apprehension. From an appreciable distance.

Orunmila readied herself to provide first aid if required.