Working in the Elven kitchen was an interesting experience for Kevin. This was his first time actually getting to know any Elven people in this world, and he realized that there had been some holes in his education. For one, while he knew the basics of Elven customs, language, and even some of their rituals, he hadn't actually learned about their society or culture. One surprising thing he discovered was that the elves didn't use their real names with most other races.

It wasn’t to the same level as secret name, or kept hidden, which was definitely different from magical creatures. Elves just…gave fake names to people they didn’t know or didn’t respect.

For instance, the man who usually greeted them at the front of the restaurant's real name was New Leaf. The reason why Kevin kept forgetting his name before was because he’d given more than one fake name. New Leaf had lost track, and that had confused Kevin.

One of the head chefs, who was Max's direct superior, was named Piney Scent. The elves did not shorten each other's names either; there were no nicknames. In some ways, the way they spoke to each other was even more formal than how they spoke with strangers.

The difference was bizarre, but also reflected Elven society. He was starting to understand this better for time.

In the beginning, when Kevin had started his first day in the kitchen, the two other kitchen workers hadn't tried very hard to hide their skepticism at his presence in their kitchen. Even Piney Scent had watched him like a hawk, despite the fact she’d invited him in the first place.

Piney Scent was curious what other changes he might be able to make to the restaurant’s dishes, and also curious if he could work in the kitchen. In Elven culture, hunches and gut feelings were treated with near-religious conviction. She’d explained this to the other Elves in the kitchen, but they’d still watched Kevin’s every move.

However, if any of the reasons they were unsure of his presence was the fact he was a goblin, and they assumed he would be dirty, they were soon disabused of those notions.

Kevin had worked in several kitchens during his days on Earth, and he was sure that ServSafe was at least as good as any food safety the Elves practiced. From the moment he walked into the kitchen, Kevin washed his hands religiously and already knew proper food handling techniques.

The line cooks, Swan Grace and Polished Stone, eventually stopped watching him so closely. Nobody had even needed to correct the way Kevin handled food.

The second head chef Storm Tree was a different story, though. Kevin could understand why he felt that way. After all, Kevin’s mere presence in the kitchen, much less after how he'd been invited back there, was a bit of a slap in the face to him.

Kevin began to understand even more when he learned how few Elven restaurants there were outside of Elven lands. Moonlit Leaf was already strange, much less for being in Clearmine. The only reason the restaurant was not completely packed every day was a combination of the relative high prices for this city, and the fact many locals had never been inside and didn’t believe the food was really Elvish. Kevin vowed to eventually get close enough to his new co-workers to ask why they had opened a restaurant like Moonlit Leaf in Clearmine.

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The fact the elves were in Clearmine was strange, but Kevin was glad for it. After all, this restaurant was head and shoulders above most other food in the city. It was too bad more of the regular people in the city couldn’t afford it.

Kevin hadn't thought much of the cost when he'd first rolled into town with the goblins, but that was because he had an entire pouch full of gold courtesy of his parents. He felt a little embarrassed it had only taken a single life to adopt some spoiled rich kid world views.

Another interesting result of working in the Moonlit Leaf kitchen was how the elves were visibly surprised by how little matter-of-fact Kevin took everything they expected him to be shocked by. As they slowly opened up to him during his first few days of work, he learned that the elves had gotten used to other races staring at them or asking inappropriate questions. Meanwhile, Kevin just did his work and slowly began getting to know them like he would anyone else.

This was a somewhat novel experience for the Elves. Some of them had expected even worse from him because he was a goblin. Kevin was both gladdened and saddened by the news he was impressing his new coworkers.

Even Storm Tree had grudgingly given his approval of Kevin working in the kitchen, and just made himself scarce afterwards. It seemed Piney Scent was the more hands-on chef, while Storm Tree’s focus was more on procuring ingredients and dealing with other local businesses.

Kevin was seriously starting to wonder about the stereotypes of goblins. After all, the only other goblins he'd met in this world so far had been more or less peaceful and kind people, but he had to admit to himself that his entire experience had a sample size of less than ten.

He was working in the kitchen on his fifth day when he pulled up his status screen again and glumly looked at one line:

[The Spoon of Perfect Seasoning] 1 / 3

One out of three. Ever since he'd first used the spoon the first time, it had awakened new senses in him and he had been a great help in the kitchen. Picking up how to cook new things was incredibly easy, too. In fact, even though he'd originally been hired mostly as just a consultant, and mostly out of morbid curiosity, now he had a part-time job during the busiest times of the day to help out.

However, even though he'd given his opinions on seasoning and helped elevate several dishes, enlightening Piney Scent, he still hadn't satisfied whatever requirement there was to get closer to unlocking [The Spoon of Perfect Seasoning]. He didn't understand the mechanics of it at all.

And so, five days after he’d started working at the restaurant, in an effort to finish fully unlocking the spoon's potential, he decided to put more effort into experimentation. That day, during the lull before rush time, after he'd finished prep work for the evening, Kevin approached Piney Scent. "Chef, would you mind if I experiment with a new dish on the line? While it’s still slow, I mean."

She gave him an appraising look. "Maybe. You’re right that not much is going on right now, but if we get any customers, you need to clear out. Also, if you use more ingredients than it’d take to make your one free meal of the day, you'll have to pay for the ingredients."

Kevin nodded. "That's fair. Thank you."

Not for the first time, the elven chef gave Kevin a strange look as she walked back to the area where she’d been working. Kevin wondered why she kept giving him that expression. He didn't know if it was just because of what he was doing, some perception of goblins, or maybe some weird social hang-up of the Elves. He couldn't be sure, and some of the reactions he'd noticed around him as he stayed longer in Clearmine had been maddening. He was glad that he'd helped Rock and the other goblins, but sometimes he missed the ability to change into human form before going into a town. At least then, if he was in human form and people made weird looks at him, it would help narrow down the reasons why.

His line of thought was making him feel guilty and lazy again, so he dismissed it. Instead, he started focusing on cooking again.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to make until he saw the flour, some eggs, and had a sudden inspiration. Do they have everything I’d need for it?

Kevin checked. Excitement grew at the top of his chest as he bustled around the kitchen, gathering everything he’d need. The last item was a contraption with a roller that the elves used to crush carrots for juice.

But it’d make flat noodles in a pinch!