Who I Truly Am - Part 1

An agent ship sailed from one island to another with some customers on board sitting on the deck waiting for their order to be brought. They chat together and enjoyed the lovely music that was playing around the ship where some of the men and women were dancing.

The kitchen was full of hard-working cooks with Ralphie being on board with Zumo, an amazing cook and an amazing agent who worked under the world government. They were preparing a meal for the tables that still required and Ralphie tried to help, but due to his inexperience toward cooking, the chefs didn't want his help and was instead put onto the cleaning duty for dishes and utensils.

"Come on, Zumo! I want to cook! I don't want to constantly be stuck on this duty? Washing dishes is boring and it doesn't even require a lot of skill! You promised me that you'll teach me how to cook one day, so why didn't we started yet?"

Zumo grabbed a baked dough from the furnace and dropped it onto the baker which had a prepared mass already. Zumo chuckled in response of looking at Ralphie and started to complete the dough.

"I did promise, didn't I? If you'd like we can start tonight? The kitchen will be free of cooks and there won't be much noise? What do you say?"

"So, you'll finally teach me how to cook? Being an agent and work as a cook is a bit of a weird combination-?" Before Ralphie finished the entire sentence, Zumo silently pressed his palm against his mouth. "Shh, don't talk out so loudly? There's many other agents on this ship, and you're one of them. But keep it a secret, we don't want the customers to know about our true identities."

"I-I apologize. I totally forgot that we were supposed to stay quiet..."

"Now, finish up the dishes so that we'll have free space once we're done here for the day? Don't forget to wash your hands before you get cooking with me."

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For the day, everything was finished from the dishes to customers and the night started to approach. Like decided and promised, Ralphie met up with Zumo who happened to be an undercover agent of the age 29. His personalities was the opposite of what people called him out to be, and he wore a black suit with black hair barely visible in the darkness. He turned on the light with Ralphie quickly looking throughout the kitchen. It was packed with utensils and dishes that they required and Zumo had already waited him at the biggest counter that stood at the middle of the kitchen.

"I've prepared everything that we'll need to work on. Since you already pretty much know everything that's required for the kitchen tools, I believe we'll start with an easy dish that is very common around these parts and one of our specialties. Make sure to grab the tools required and let's start cooking, Ralphie."

"Finally! I was waiting to start cooking like a true chef! I hope you'll teach me loads before we par ways!"

"Of course. From today onward let's meet up at the kitchen every evening so that we make use of the time we'll have to spend on the ship together. We still have hundreds of days before our shift ends. Hurry up now and get ready. I'll teach you from the required ingredients to how you prepare the food."

"Super, fun!"

"First, I'd like to provide you with a cooking book for the Sausages and meat curing. It's one of the most popular books you'll come across. The book is considered a classic and one of the first thorough works on the topic. It's a straightforward, no-nonsense book jam-packed with recipes. The current edition has been updated and rewritten. This one is the prior edition, and while it contains mistakes and problems that the current edition claims to correct, I continue to hear complaints about it. Regardless, it's a fantastic book with some fantastic recipes. Cured Meats and Tales from an American Charcuterie is a delightful and inspiring read. Several of his most popular dishes are included in this book."

"If you didn't tell, we'll start off by making bratwurst.

The first step in grilling brats is usually done inside or on a grillside burner, not directly over the grill's heat. I usually parboil the fresh brats before putting them on the grill. This makes sure that they're cooked all the way through so you don't have an unpleasant cold spot or raw spot in the middle of the bratwurst.

Many customers want to boil their brats in beer, but I usually don't do so, nor is it recommend doing this, just boiling them in water is good enough. The beer will change as it boils and the brats can take a bit of an acrid flavor while they're cooking. But, of course that's not something we want. If you're looking for beer brats, cook the brats using this method, then put them in a beer bath after cooking..."

"It is also possible to just grill your bratwursts directly. It's easier, but if you'd like to just grill the brats, and not parboil them, I usually put them over medium-low heat, and turning every minute or so to promote even cooking. The texture of these brats will be slightly less bound together on the inside, but you'll need to pay close attention to not overcook the brats..."

"They are great to be grilled outside, but If you're not outside grilling. just finish cooking your bratwursts under a broiler or in a frying pan. I prefer a broiler over a frying pan, but both are good methods for cooking bratwursts if you don't have access to a grill. Now that you know my tips on how to cook bratwursts, let's get started."

"We'll start with some simple directions to make our bratwursts as perfect as they can be. First, place our sausages in a large pot and cover with water. The pot should not be more than three quarters of the way filled, okay?"

Ralphie grabbed a pot, opened a pipe and filled it three quarters up. "Like this?"

"Great job. Now, let's bring the water and brats to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. We'll let it simmer for 10 minutes. We can boil and simmer the liquid and brats either inside on a stovetop or outside over a grill. This parboil step helps cook the brats evenly throughout so you don't have any raw spots in the middle."

"Zumo, can I ask the way you managed to get these sausages? We're on the ocean."

"I pre-ordered an entire box of them before we set sail. That's not the important about preparing a good meal.

They waited about 10 minutes for the sausages to parboil correctly.

"Now that we're done with parboiling, let's remove the brats from the liquid and dry off. Please place the sausages over medium direct heat. Be careful to not put the sausages over anything higher than medium heat to avoid having the casings crack open. Then we'll cook it for 3-4 minutes per side until the casing is browned."

They waited for a couple of minutes and in the next moment, Ralphie took out the sausages with a smile on his face. A very pleasant aroma filled the room and their first step was finished. "Let's move onto the mashed potatoes."

"If we don't hurry the sausages will be cold, but don't worry. I've already boiled the salted water while you were cooking it. Let's start by adding potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain."

It passed another 15 minutes and then Ralphie was introduced to the next step.

"Now, in a small saucepan, heat butter, let's milk over low heat until butter is melted. Let's use the potato masher. Now let's slowly blend milk mixture into potatoes until it becomes smooth and creamy. Then let us season it with salt and pepper to taste."

Did as told, the mashed potatoes were ready.

"We'll stop at here, we can prepare the sauce with it in the future. Are you ready to taste it? I think you've done a good job of making a great meal, Ralphie."

They sat at the kitchen table in the corner, putting the mashed potatoes and sausages on the dish. They took out a fork and knife and got ready to dine. Ralphie's eyes reddened as he felt a calming flavor for his lips the minute he put the sausages and potatoes in his mouth.

"It's so delicious! I think I'll be able to prepare this next time on my own! I can't wait to finally become a good cook!"

"And I'll be here helping you! See, you didn't mess up anything, and it was your first time. Tomorrow we'll prepare the next meal, all right?"

"Of course! I can't wait for tomorrow!"

They spoke and fell asleep in the kitchen for the remainder of the night, so the chefs came to an unexpected conclusion the next morning. As the days passed, Ralphie gained a greater understanding of cooking. He prepared each meal without making any mistakes, and none of them tasted bad.

But then the nightmare began after 89 days of studying how to cook.

To be continued...