The line of applicants wrapped around Master Benno's restaurant. Most were young apprentices trying to become masters. Just a few were older cooks. Apparently new chefs had trouble finding openings for anything above starting positions. Only the nobility hired professional chefs, Mark-san had explained to him. And once hired, they were usually retained for life.
Lutz's job was to take the information of the applicants. Their names, where they could be found, and their years of experience. He could tell which ones came from Master Benno's peoples and which ones came from his. Their sort wasn't surprised by him writing on a slate, while the ones from his neighborhood looked like he must've when he first met Master Benno. Terrified.
Lutz brought them to the kitchen one by one. Master Benno would give the instructions. Each application had until the end of a large sand timer to cook a meal that must include meatloaf. How they cooked it, and the provided ingredients, were up to them.
In the first round, Lutz knew something was off. One counter was covered with different herbs and grains, and another with slabs of meat. Beef, pork, chicken, fish—no squirrel, though. It was enough food to last his family months.
But Lutz could've counted on his hands the number of ingredients he'd listed for meatloaf. It wasn't like his master to spend more than he had to. There must've been a reason.
Lutz watched the applicants closely. Master Benno had instructed him to take notes. Who kept the kitchen clean, how many ingredients they used—things like that.
Some cooks reminded him of his mom. They mixed meat and chopped veggies like they'd been born doing it. But the looks on their faces were far away. Planning. Worrying. The same look his mom got when staring into the pot after a long day at work.
Lutz almost rooted for them. Their meals were hearty—something he'd happily scarf down. But Master Benno wasn't impressed. Soon, he saw why: all of their meals were just different kinds of the same. Mashed kafkas and baked meat.
Some cooks were fun to watch. They handled every ingredient like it was a precious honeybug. Maybe they weren't used to cooking with this much food? One or two pestered Master Benno for every detail about the meal he wanted—a bit like Johann. Those were the ones who had trouble, their meats still baking or their side dishes half-cooked by the time the last grain of sand fell.
Eventually, Lutz could guess who Master Benno liked. He'd jab his finger on Lutz's tablet to make sure he'd gotten their information. Lutz would draw a little star next to their name.
But most applicants were rejected on the spot. Master Benno wasn't rude, but he didn't leave any doubt, either. The chefs whose meatloafs were too dry were thanked for their time, then dismissed. Same with the ones who used too many herbs. The cooks who wouldn't lower themselves to cook such a "peasant's" meal were also shown the door.
A few cooks stood out. One looked like a bird that flew into a window, head dipping as he looked over the ingredients once, twice. The third time, he started to sweat. But then he clenched his hands behind his back and marched up to Master Benno. "Excuse me, Benno-sama, but there's no breadcrumbs. I could prepare a sauce instead to moisten the meat, but I wanted your approval first."
"Use your best judgment," Master Benno replied neutrally.
The man swallowed, but got to work. He moved with a carefulness like his dad got when he was working on a special piece of furniture. Except this man—Hugo, he'd said—could actually move the muscles in his face.
When Hugo finished cooking, he stood in front of Master Benno with his hands knotted behind his back. But his voice didn't shake. "I have prepared a meatloaf with brown gravy and freshly sliced mushrooms on top, as well as a bowl of creamed vegetables, biscuits, and fried kafkas on the side."
Lutz could barely keep up as he scribbled the list of foods. Wow. Most of the cooks had improvised on the meatloaf, but no one had made that many side dishes.
While Master Benno's expression didn't change, he did take several bites of each serving. "Thank you," he finally said. Lutz could almost hear Hugo's sigh of relief. "We will notify you in a few days if we seek your employment." In other words, if he didn't hear from him, don't bother him again.
Still, Lutz drew a star next to his name.
The next chef was a tall, mustached man who introduced himself as Paulus. He sniffed each ingredient and was constantly tasting his food. He was interesting to watch…but also gave Lutz a headache. Constantly griping about the ingredients or snapping orders at Lutz. The first time Lutz went to follow one, Master Benno put a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. Lutz didn't hide his relief.
Paulus had wrapped his meatloaf in ham and baked it with three hard boiled eggs inside. Lutz didn't understand why. But then he sliced the meatloaf. The bright white and yellow rings from the eggs looked like a flower. Lutz's stomach growled just from looking at it. Master Benno had peered at the design for a long time, sizing it up, before taking a bite. He looked impressed.
One of the last cooks was a girl. Not many had come in. She was a few years older than Lutz, but still one of the youngest applicants they had. When she introduced herself, she was surprised when he wrote down her name—Ella.
The mountain of ingredients took her by surprise. But then she rolled up her sleeves. She looked over the ingredients just once, but with a focus, like she was taking inventory. She reminded him of Tuuli the few times he'd watched her sew line after line of matching stitches. That careful precision.
Ella headed straight to the meat. Without hesitation, she grabbed the beef and hand-mixed it in a bowl with pork. Huh. Not many of the other chefs had thought of combining the meats before.
Mark-san tapped his tablet. "Your notes?" he said. Lutz flushed. He hadn't taken notes since she'd started. He hurriedly looked down, scribbling nonsense before his thoughts could catch up.
It was close, but Ella pulled out the meatloaf right before the sand timer ran out. She placed it in front of Master Benno, then wrung her hands on her dirty apron. "I thought the beef would be too dry by itself, so I mixed it with pork to keep it moist. I hope it's not too fatty." She glanced at Master Benno, but he didn't reply. "I-I also made creamed kafkas on the side. Sir."
"Thank you for the meal," Master Benno said. She nodded, and almost scampered out.
When the last applicant finished, they all heaved a sigh of relief. Lutz immediately shook his hands. They were cramping from writing so much.
Master Benno grimaced as he took in the mess of leftover food. "If I have to eat another morsel, I'll be sick."
"We can give what remains to your employees," said Mark-san. Lutz shot him a grateful look.
"Fine, just as long as I don't smell it." Master Benno turned to Lutz. "Are your notes any good?"
"Yes, sir."
"Which applicants stood out?"
Lutz carefully flipped through his tablet. "Anton, Harald, Hugo… Paulus, Mira, and Ella."
"Which ones come from lower classes?"
"Uh, if I had to guess… Harald, Hugo, Mira, and Ella," he answered. "Is… their class important…?"
"It's always important," he said. "Do you think a family who'd served nobles would take orders from Myne?"
"If she talked at them long enough."
Master Benno smirked. "Point taken. Still, not a risk we'd want to take."
"Although," said Mark-san, "Anton did not seem put-off by his situation. He performed with zeal."
"Yes, but he also ran out of time. Him and… the other man…"
"Harald, sir," said Lutz.
"Yes, him. A cook's no good if they starve their customers. What are the others' backgrounds?"
"Hugo cooked for one of the Eatery Guild's restaurants for three years as their deputy chef," said Lutz. Whatever that meant.
"That's just below the head chef," noted Mark-san.
"Which makes me wonder why he quit," said Master Benno. "Does he have strong references?"
"He does, sir. His last employer wrote him a letter with high praise. It seems he is interested in expanding his repertoire."
"So he's searching for new experiences. He'll have no shortage of that with Myne. And the second applicant?"
"Mira," Lutz said. "She's been a station chef for the Bakery Guild for the last four years."
"Cross her out. We want as little to do with the Bakery Guild as possible. Shame," he sighed. "Her dinner rolls were even better than Corinna's." He glanced at Lutz. "Don't tell Otto that."
"Tell him what?"
"Good lad. And the last one?"
"Ella, Eatery Guild, one year. She worked as a…kitchen porter?"
"She's green," he said. "She cuts vegetables, peels skins, that sort of thing. You said she's only worked for a year?"
"Yes, since last summer."
"But this isn't her first job," he observed. "She looks a few years past her Baptism."
"Um…" Lutz checked his notes. "Yes, that's right. She was apprenticed at her uncle's tavern since her Baptism, before getting a job at a restaurant."
"Probably the best decision she'd made," Master Benno murmured.
"Why's that, Master?"
He glanced at him, almost in surprise. "Taverns don't provide only food and a bed, Lutz."
"They can have an…unsavory reputation," Mark-san added when he looked confused.
"Oh." Lutz felt his face heat up. He was grateful when Master Benno continued.
"It's clear she can do more than just skin kafkas. She's promising, if she could learn how to cook like that in only a year."
"However, she is still inexperienced," said Mark-san. "She could pose a risk."
"Hugo would balance her out. I don't see either of them working well with Paulus, do you?"
Lutz snorted. That man may have cooked the best meal, but he also would've made his mom force a bar of soap down his throat.
"Have you made your decision, Master Benno?" Mark-san asked.
"I believe so."
"I'll send our messengers, then."
Lutz hid a smile. He would've been lying if he'd said he wasn't happy to be seeing that girl again.
A/N:
Apparently, addresses weren't really a thing until at least the 18th century, and certainly wouldn't be in this time frame. Locations would be based on local, relative knowledge, such as a house's name. Like, "The Golden Eagle," or "The building across from the Gilberta Company," for example…which would be confusing if more than one house had the same name.
Sources: wiki/Address#History , wiki/House_numbering#History , histoiremesure/3942?lang=en
Interestingly, résumés have been around for much longer!
Source: wiki/R#History
Anton's meatloaf variation is a mix of the Austrian and Hungarian entries listed here: wiki/Meatloaf#Hungary