The World Culinary Fair of 1930 (Open to all)

[VoxApocrypha]

The Greater Republic of Roskana
1930, City of Auran 

 Site of the Yearly World Culinary Fair

---

 Every year for almost a hundred or so years, Auran was the site of a particular major international gathering. The World Culinary Fair. 
People's from across Ouhiri, from every edge, would venture to the city to share their dishes in the largest food related gathering hosted in the north, running over the span of a full week. Roskanan's would be getting off of work early to be able to visit the venue. Vendor permits were easy to get, safety standards enforced by dedicated staff, and supplied by the immense wealth of food Roskana had to offer, as well as its imports of foreign foodstuffs for the event in particular. Invitations to various international agencies and delegations would arrive at embassies across Auran and be sent via telegram to other states to reach these other foreign agencies. 

[Greywall]

Ulster Gaelians in the hundreds chose to take holiday in Auran to attend the World Culinary Fair, several Gaelic vendors would purchase permits and display their food in various ways. As Gaelic citizens entered the fair, they would approach the Roskanan vendors eager to eat their food and get a taste of something different.

The Gaelic Vendors would line up in the same row, if possible, their stalls adorned with the white and green flag of the UKUG and the smells of savory foods would dominate the area.

Gaelic Breakfast foods would be pretty basic. Eggs, haggis, tomatoes, mushrooms, pork sausage, toast and beans. They also ate oat porridge with honey.

Other meals would be heavily potato based. Haggis a local favorite on the islands would be a savory minced pudding of sorts of sheep pluck, onions, oatmeal, spices and stock stuffed into an animal's stomach. While grotesque to some foreigners it was a delicacy in the UKUG. Fish also would play a huge role as everything from roasted whole fish with scallions to deep fried fish and chips would be available. Red meat would only have one real stall as it was rare and it offered simple steak and minced beef with vegetables.

Finally, the desert section. Cranachan with strawberries, honey and pudding would be common along with shortbreads, cakes and Gaelic coffee which would be a dark brew of Nevarran coffee but mixed with Gaelic whiskey, sugar and topped with cream.

[callmedelta]

Once word of the Culinary Fair had traveled to Pareau, Lehran de Angelis and Sylvain Gautier, the heads of the Franch Foreign Affairs Administration and Ministry of Commerce and Prosperity respectively, they knew they had a potential goldmine on their hands. Franch cuisine was largely unknown outside of Touli, with the exception of Lusatia, and the World Culinary Fair was the perfect opportunity to get the tastes of Franerre's food out onto the world stage, the interest generated hopefully leading to an increase of exports. That was how, in one large stand bearing the Franch flag, Franerre sent an official delegation to the World Culinary Fair.

The Franch vendors would have three key items they wanted to display. The first was Franch wine, the nation playing host to countless family-owned vineyards, small and large, stretching back generations. Wines ranging from the deep reds of Setange to the light whites of Bordemer were on offer, as well as samples of the grapes used to make said wines. The second food type on offer were the various different types of bread and pastries Franerre had to offer from the humble baguette and croissants to the delectable eclairs, custards, and macarons. The last food type on order would be the various different types of seafood native to the Peaceful Marsh and Bromsole Bays, shipped to Auran with specially purchased coolers for the occasion. While not as good as if it were freshly caught, the various types of fish, such as bass, trout, and tuna, as well as mollusks, crabs, and frogs were all on offer.

[aimway921]

Ashinaran officials have received the invitation and were excited about the opportunity. It would be probably one of the best ways to announce their nation onto the world state now that it came out of isolation. A commission would be assembled to nominate the nations best chefs to send to the Fair, along with an entourage of celebrities to both perform national music and other culture - after all, surely there would be more festivities going on other than just eating - as well as to educate anyone who would be interested about the Toulian island nation.

Once there, the Ashinaran vendors would have several tables occupied for the wide variety of national cuisine. The vendors would all wear traditional Ashinaran outfits, red boots, bright blue or red silk sharovary pants, and white linen shirts with beautiful embroidery, called vyshyvanka, as well as red embroidered sashes. Female version of the outfit would include silk dresses or skirts, similar embroidered shirts. Tables would be covered in elaborate embroidered tablecloths. 

A large variety of foods would be present on the tables. Several different soups, at the head of which has been the Borsch. Kulish, Holubtsi, boiled unmashed potatoes with dill and oil, roasted fish, many various dished from pork - kielbasa, kotleta, and many more, but at the head of it all - salo - a variety of bacon, consisting mostly of the fat off of a pig's back, that would be heavily salted as the means of it's cooking and preservation, served on another staple of Ashinaran cuisine - Palyanytsya bread. The tables would continue with a variety of half-circular dumplings with elaborate wavy edges - Varenyki. There were a lot of different fillings for them - meat, cabbage, mushrooms, and more. Many bowls of sour cream were sprinkled across the table, for it was the main condiment added to almost every dish. On the side of the sweets, there were more Varenyki - these filled with fruit fillings, but the most prominent of them would be Varenyki filled with cherries. They would be complimented by various sweets. Veruny - a sort of donuts made of strips of dough twisted into braids, Mlyntsi - crepe pancakes - with jam or cottage cheese fillings, honey oat cookies, Pyrizhki - small portion-sized baked "pies" with poppy seed filling and more. Here would also be the only foods that are not cooked by the chefs, but made in a factory, noticeable by its packaging - various chocolate, caramel and other sorts of candies. The crown jewel of the sweets section would be the Kyograd Cake - a beautifully crafted cake of two meringue layers, buttercream filling mixed with hazelnuts, and covered by a chocolate glaze and decorated with icing to give the top of the cake a look resembling a flowery field.

Finally, there would be a choice of drinks. Non-alcohol choices included Uzvar - a drink made by boiling various fruits, with a bit of sugar for sweetness. There would be several different Uzvar variations - apple, apricot, pear and berry. Another non-alcoholic drink was Kvas - a carbonated drink made from fermenting bread in the same way as grains are fermented for beer. Of course, there have been several alcoholic beers as well. But they were secondary to the more prominent alcoholic drinks were mead - several different varieties, starting with plain honey mead, and then with various infused berries and fruits. Finally, there has been Horilka - a strong spirit. Several different brands of Horilka were presented - Hortytsia and Nemiroff were the most prominent ones.

[VoxApocrypha]

Roskanan's were arriving from outside of the city of Auran, ranging from as far a field as West Barricade where the nation's border met Marrlan's. It was one of the largest and most attended gatherings in all of the North, and indeed worldwide, hosting somewhere upwards of almost 80,000 people at its peak on some occassions, from all across Ouhiri.

The many denizens of Auran - which were a spectacular range of people ranging from the native humans, Karrashi, Festria and Kithium, to the more exotics like the descendants of Elenrian refugees and Kumos, would be flocking into the event to get a taste of something new. In particular the Ashinaran and Gaelic areas were receiving a lot of traffic, and the WCF would provide some more material from its stock to aid them in cooking and prepping more food. As well people began to filter int othe Franch area more as their food drew more notice from some of the attendees, and word spread they had something new and tasty to offer.

Naturally of course such an event had more than food to offer. At the far end of the massive plaza the event was hosted in, the Auran Capitol Plaza, there would be a presidential podium already erected, with a pair of flagpoles at either side reaching up to 60 feet in the air, with the Roskanan flag waving atop of both. There would be organizers and government staff around it, as well as a noticeable police presence. At either side of it would be the Roskanan Republican Army Choir and the RRA Band, the two alternating between each other as they would do renditions of the national anthems of the attendant nations.

As well, Roskanan celebrities and bands were intermixed among all the work, singing and performing for the crowds. Dancers and large dancing spaces abounded, especially so in the two large parks that the area of the fair encompassed. Police roamed in pairs doing patrol work, settling disputes and otherwise receiving plates of food to eat on their breaks. The atmosphere could be described aptly as 'Gay'. Standing atop of the stage towards the northern part of the plaza, would be the recently arrived Vice President of the Greater Republic, Lawrel Runan. He'd be standing by the podium, holding papers for a speech and speaking in Rosark to his advisor and a couple of others, with a pair of Republic secret service agents standing nearby.

[Sophie]

The Kumosenkan Ministry of the Interior began their search for the chefs that would be sent over to Auran, Roskana, for the World Culinary Fair. It didn’t take long to develop a shortlist as Kumosenkan has a special award for the best cooks in the nation, simply called the “Empress’s Approval.” The award could only earn it by cooking for the Empress at her palace and receiving a passing grade from both her and her daughter.

A famous curry chef and a woman who runs a takoyaki stand were selected to be Kumosenkan’s ambassadors for the year. Both themselves and their families were given free transport to Roskana and whatever they needed to set up a stall in a foreign country.

The curry chef was extremely old and had her daughter helping her. She only knew how to speak Shusugiris, so her daughter had to translate for her whenever someone placed an order. The takoyaki stand owner was daily young; she had taken over the business from her mother once she had graduated from high school.

Secretary of the Interior Saki Imamura happily attended to taste the foods of the world as well as mingle with the foreigners. Of course, she also volunteered to go because she is a big glutton. Once the fair started and everyone had set up their stalls, Imamura had already begun lining up in every line she could find; With a pocket filled with discretionary funds, she began filling her belly with food from around the world.

[malloc]

As soon as the invitations were received by the Amalian government, the Secretary of the Interior called for the Amali's own National Food Fair two weeks in advance of the World Culinary Fair. Held in Capannoli, the fair would attract over a two and a half dozen nationally renowned chefs, looking to compete to get into the WCF to represent the republic. The categories were: street food, breakfast, dinner, dessert. Lunch typically was covered by street food, as Amali's cities were known nationally to have better filling quick-bites and were cheap enough to afford. The judges were, naturally, from the Department of the Interior in specific regard to food stuffs but the public vote mattered. Eventually, the results were called, and the top two chefs (both by food and charisma) in each of the categories were called forth to represent Amali on one of the most important international affairs.

The diplomatic corps in Auran would prepare the visas along the WCF guidelines, organizing and providing a place to stay for the eight chefs, and providing discretionary funds for them to enjoy while on their mini vacation after the WCF concluded. The diplomatic corps were also in charge of the massive influx of Amalians seeking to vacation during the WCF, leading to long days of making sure all paperwork was in order for the vacation-goers. When all was said and done, however, most of the corps was allowed to alternate who was at the fair on each day to relax and improve morale.

Amongst these chefs were:
- Gustavo Consoli-Gelli: a short, older gentleman famous for his street cart in the capital itself (and having expanded to more sit-down oriented restaurants within the sprawling metropolis) with gyros, soulvaki, and bougasta,
- Orsina Passero-Kallide: a young woman from Psymna, particularly known for her pastries and bakery. Recently, they've expanded to four more bakeries nation-wide and provide the local grocers with their sweets,
- Takis Mutides-Zurliade: a man from the Revukin-Amali border, known particularly for his delectable breakfast foods, and
- Uriah Anagnoti: a young Araneian Nevarran born in Amali. She is renowned for her Nevarran-Amalian fusion food, resulting in a strangely interesting mix between the desert nation's cuisine and that of Amali. Spice and flavors not usually amongst the typical Amalian palette creeped in through this community's creations.

[Artsy Astra]

Being neighbors and regular attendants, Marrlan dispatched cooks to the event. About two-thirds would be just common man chefs who had popular restaurants, the other half would be from the few restaurants with a higher class audience.

Cream of Crab Soup, Crab Cakes, Dressed Deep Fright legs, Tail Bites, and a few other novelties of Marrlan cuisine usually based around fish or sandwiches. All of the food was served Longtooth Sea Spice, a cultural classic required for Marrlan food to truly reach its flavor peak.

[Greywall]

Several hundreds of Gaelians were scattered among the festival, trying different foods and some even mingling with the foreign nationals particularly the Roskana, Marrlan and Amali who were familiar to the Gaelians. They found themselves eating the crab heavy meals of the Marrlan and the food of Ashinara as it was new to them.

And then some found their way to a smell they recognized, a Gaelic man was slowly and awkwardly making his way to the Kumo food stand lured by the smell of their curry. Prior to the Hawaii war and trade ceasing between the two empires, Kumo curry was a popular delicacy many Gaelians enjoyed. As the man walked over and his fellow countrymen noticed they would say in Caledonian "Dale! Don't, stay away from those savages" the man walked up and in common said "I would like a bowl of curry please." A few other Gaelians gathered to see if the Kumo would even serve him or insult him, either way they were ready to react.

At the UKUG stands, food was being handed at a steady pace. Fish and chips being a popular item but also haggis, whole roast fish with potatoes and Gaelic coffee.

[Sophie]

The younger of the two, Kumo at the stand bowed slightly, "Of course, sir, right away." She turned to the elder and began speaking in their native language "別の注文のお母さん. すぐに新しいポットを作る必要があります" The elder turned to look at the person who was ordering and started angrily talking back. "私たちは彼らの人々に奉仕しません。次の顧客。" The younger waved her off, "お母さん、ただ料理して。私は顧客にサービスを提供できます" She turned back to the Gaelic and bowed her head, "I am so sorry. Your order will be right out." The elder placed a bowl on the window with an unmistakable scowl, and the younger handed it off.

[StaolDerg]

It was not that rare that TAKPOE was allowed to participate in international events, but the chance to show off its ancient culture and communicate to the world once more was rare enough to not be wasted. Though Elenria had no preestablished board to rank cooks like Kumosenkan, it was not particularly difficult to find skilled veteran cooks in the night markets and ancient restaurants in every city- only a commission of taste-testing later were three chefs invited to the event, given full transport with their families.

The greatest issue that the commission found was in fact the number of family members- the cooks were adamant about bringing every member, and it was an unfortunate fact that first amounted to nearly six hundred people in total before they were convinced down to just bring three to help set and assist them at their stalls.

None of the cooks spoke a lick of anything besides old Elenrian, or otherwise only knew a far older version of Common. Like the Kumo stalls, the family of the cooks proceeded to act as their translators for orders, but also as their aides- even though few of them were anything of the food industry profession by trade, they were familiar with helping their family cook from childhood. 

Split into their individual groups, each cooked three meals corresponding to the day's meal- breakfast, lunch, and supper, and produced variants or altogether different dishes depending on what circumstance they were being eaten in.

Traditional breakfast consisted of nearly a dozen different small dishes to add to a bowl of congee, including everything from quail eggs, shellfish, tinned eel, and vegetables to slices of sausage and centennial fermented eggs. The worker's breakfast was more compact and simple, but for the sake of the Fair the cooks had altered its recipe to be far more filling than its native counterpart- a pair of large buns, one sweet and filled with sweet black sesame, and the other a meaty, filling helping of beef and vegetables wrapped inside. But the breakfast meal for holidays was much more lavish than the other two, served with countless small basket portions of dim sum- tofu and bamboo rolls, sweet buns of a dozen varieties, containing red bean paste to taro stuffing. 

(The holiday meal was technically a brunch, as one of the cooks had pointed out while they had set about preparing a menu, but it was close enough to breakfast that they eventually shrugged and added it to the list anyway.)

Lunch was a filling prospect regardless of form. After all, a midday meal spelled the difference between falling asleep from exhaustion during work and chores. Traditional lunch was a bowl of rice accompanied by a healthy dish of pickled vegetables, fish, and sliced meats, plus a bowl of tofu soup. Its mobile counterpart was much more consolidated- a soup of fish balls and bamboo, with crawfish and a thick layer of dense egg noodles. The whole thing was normally supposed to be filled into a large metal container not unlike army ration tins, but for the sake of the fair the cooks put them in large bowls instead. And for holiday lunches, a straw-threaded basket held three triangular prisms wrapped in banana leaf, containing rich sticky rice covering meaty beef and fat, in addition to chestnut in the centers. A moderately sized platter of fried and boiled buns alongside dumplings accompanied the lunch, added by the presence of hot seafood fried rice soup.

And finally, supper. The air that hung around the cooking area of brick ovens and cookware was heavy with the burn of spices as the cooks prepared soups that seemed to vary between a fiery crimson and volcanic blood orange. Dinners had been traditionally heavy to give some energy to a weary body after a full day's work, and the cooks looked to reflect that fact with the boiling pot before them. Traditional supper was therefore a hot pot of swirling red soup and vegetables, accompanied by strips of beef or pork cooked in the still-boiling soup as it was handed to patrons. Cubes of fried tofu and bowl of cold greens and warm meat rolls accompanied the bowl of steaming hot soup, a trait possessed by the working counterpart of the meal. Usually for the fishermen and sailors who'd leave port for the seas, the first night they'd have their family's cooking to remind them of home- a hot metal tub of hot seafood noodle soup with fish balls. In a paper bag, the meal had skewers of thoroughly seasoned beef pork that was sweet and tangy to the tongue and accompanied by a hot cup of strong milk tea. And for the finale, a holiday dinner of seasoned and marinated duck alongside a stew of squid and beef, with a small mountain of fried fish balls and seasoned tofu cubes to finish it off.

[Greywall]

The Gaelic took his bowl of curry, turned around at his countrymen and raised it saying "Oi! They'll feed us!" in Caledonian. More Gaelics approached the Kumo stand and began asking for curry.

[Faust]

Nevarrans always so ecstatic when it comes to the topic of food had prepared for the WCF a month in advance where held across several cities in the country such as Barcelona, Aviles, Zadrid, and several others invited Nevarra's chefs to both compete as well as feed the country. From these events there would be a critic vote, a popular vote, and the judge's vote depending on a variety of factors of which included politeness, presentation, and of course, taste. The categories that Nevarra was looking to fill were Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert and that there would be two winners per category, each working together and then presenting their own winning dishes for the World Culinary Fair. Once the victors were decided, preparations were set.

During the days leading up to the World Culinary Fair, visas and other appropriate measures would be taken by Nevarra's diplomatic corps including making sure that the chefs had somewhere to stay for the duration of the fair and also had the tools and resources to prepare their dishes in advance for those whose cooking process required more time to make in preparation.

Ultimately the winners representing each of the categories were.

Breakfast:
-Shani Hakimi: A Kumo-Nevarran woman who won over the public with her dexterity in cooking and her ability to bring out multiple plates with supernatural balance, her winning dish is Tortilla de Potatas con Chapulines Picante.
-Hector Saidan: A Nevarran Elshen man who is famed from his small hometown of Carcano, having worked in a diner and winning over the public with his charismatic soul, his winning dish is a Maple Moli Paratha.

Lunch:
-Louis Giovanna-Babouche: An Amali-Nevarran dawren man from Zadrid well known for his restaurant; "Babouche's" an exemplifying traditional Nevarran cooking while also adding an Amalian twist to his dishes, his winning dish is his famous Arroz con Pollo with Guacamole con Chapulines and Frijoles Puercos
-Kalaam Morales: A Dirian-Nevarran man from Santa Pete who runs a quiet little restaurant in his town having participated but not expecting to win, his winning dish is Chicken Vindaloo with a side of Roti and Keema

Dinner:
-Gil Calvo: A Nevarran man who is known for his vegetarian cuisine and recipes, substituting meat for plant-based alternatives, his winning dish being Red Curry Lentils with a hearty side of Bombay Potatoes and Paneer Makhani
-Peetre Basurto: A Amali-Nevarran man known for having a restaurant in Barcelona which specializes in cooking a wide variety of noodle-based dishes inspired by Kumosenkan noodle recipes and reinforced with Nevarran spices, his winning dish being Black Siracha Soy Ramen with light sides of Fried Gyoza with a Hot Mustard Sauce.

Dessert:
-Ulari Volesk: A Koian-Nevarran man with a boisterous personality from a small village on the Ida Koi-Nevarran border who is well-liked among his community and has been affectionately referred to as the "Ice Cream Moth" by the children of that village, his winning dishes are Baked Marshmapples with a Flaming Cinnamon-Vanilla (slightly-alcoholic) ice cream topping and a Coffee Chocolate Parfait.
-Belle Javarria A Nevarran woman who runs a sweets shop in Aviles called "Twists and Turns" known for making a lot of dried caramel and/or chocolate lattices on her candies, her winning dishes are Salted Espresso Caramel Bites and Butterscotch Budino.

At various points throughout the World Culinary Fair would these dishes be made available.

[VoxApocrypha]

Roskanans were abundant throughout the day, the multi-million population of Auran making it so that they were naturally the majority attendants of the fair. Roskanan police presence was naturally increased, though no incidents were reported, and for the most part it seemed that it was mostly so that patrol officers could use some funds provided by the department for a dish or two from a stand of their choosing, a fair great many of them making for the Nevarran and the Elenrian stands, seeming a favorite among the law enforcement, with some as well venturing to the Gaelian stands. The majority of attendees were the common worker, getting out of work early or simply off of their shift at the right time to come by the fair.

The favorites among the civilian population of the city would generally be the Gaelian stands, the Kumo stand - particualrly because they were interested in curry, and as well the Dirian, Amalian, Ashinnaran and Marrlanian stands, in particular the Marrlanian and Ashinnaran areas would receive a lot of attention as the food and clothing would be considered very interesting to the common man, and as well, to groups like tailors and designers. Franch and other national representatives similarly received a fair lot of attention, though less so than the others.

Ratings were given via paper ballots and placed into boxes at several stands set up by the WCFA, run by staffers and administrators, as well as some police and government officials, asking people to fill out forms and to levie a judgement or several to put into the boxes. The Vice President would be overseeing proceedings for the event itself and as well, would soon be responsible for handing out awards to the delegations of each nation depending on what category they had been judged the winner of.