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Karakuri, a snow island located in Paradise. It was a textbook example of a Grand Line country with a harsh environment. But even here people lived and thrived. Its capital Future City flourished through technological marvels. Even the smaller towns scattered around the island benefited from technology. But there were some things that needed more than just the attention of machines to live. Native flora and fauna managed to adapt to this icy cold weather on their own. Nature was amazing that way.

Seeking to learn more about them, a small party arrived at a certain field to inspect the condition of the crops there. Adapting to the environment was simply just that. They could live in it, but it didn't mean the fruit and yield was in any way comparable to what you might find in say a tropical island. For an organization like the Marines, supply and productivity was quite important, especially for a commodity like food. So if there was any way it could be improved, it would be a huge boon.

The supposed leader of the small entourage stepped away from the group and bent down to check what was on the ground. Garden trowel in hand, the little Commodore dug up a bit of the soil and snow mixture until she finally unearthed what looked like a potato. Although as far as her culinary knowledge could tell her, it was very much below average in size compared to the potatoes she was used to.


The one closest to her flipped through some papers before nodding. She shook her head. It was worse than she thought. In any other island, being this close to harvest meant the crops should be quite enormous in size already. Yet what she dug up here was barely bigger than her hand. And she had very small hands.

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A massive man stepped forward from the group and crouched down a couple of meters away from Suzume, introducing himself as one of the scientist recruits and giving his opinion on the crop yield. He was nearly four times her height when standing upright and him kneeling down next to her only highlighted the vast difference between them. If only the potatoes here were as big as he was. As for his comment, it was about as scientific as you'd expect. The climate was the clear culprit here. As far as she could "see" there wasn't anything "bad" in the soil. Lacking was probably the more accurate description. That, and cold.


The Commodore got back up, but even standing straight she was still significantly shorter than the crouching ensign. He had mentioned something about providing aid in the more scientific aspects of the investigation. But before they started using any chemicals and whatnot, as a chef, Suzume felt there was something else she could do to improve the food supply that didn't involve messing with nature. It wasn't an alternative but more of a supplement. She still had to put these scientists to work after all.


She clapped her hands a couple of times.


Sometimes less was more. The potatoes may have been small but until she personally used them in the kitchen, she wouldn't know for sure if they were really bad or good. There was a small cottage nearby that she could use for preparations so the men could take the harvest there. It was just about lunch time anyway.

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In all her years as a Marine officer and sous-chef there was nothing more desirable than good people under her command. Battalions and kitchens were made and broken by the quality of human resources available and she was pleased to see that despite having a smaller group than usual under her thumb, they were prompt and efficient with following orders and asked relevant questions.


Once the group had finished digging up and gathering the row. The little Commodore led the way to the cottage where it would be her turn to do some heavy work. She would be walking just a little bit ahead of the ensign while thinking about his earlier suggestion. A greenhouse that simulated a warmer environment would indeed be effective. But that would only work if they had regular crops with them. There was no telling how Karakuri potatoes would react to a new environment. It might even be bad for them. But that's what the scientisit's job was for she supposed.


Arriving at the cottage, she saw that it was quite well-maintained. They probably cleaned it up recently to accommodate their visit. It was a little on the small side however and while Ensign Kuhn could enter, he wouldn't be able to stand straight without hitting his head. She hurried on ahead to the kitchen and found a respectable enough selection of cooking tools and utensils. She could work with this.


Quickly putting on an apron, she would begin her work. It wouldn't be long before the tantalizing scent of freshly baked, boiled and cooked potatoes would begin wafting out from around the building.

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In hindsight in might have been better to have had a chat with the people who actually lived in Karakuri for local potato recipes. But it was a new frontier for a chef to work with an ingredient she had never used before. She didn't have much to work with however so her capacity for trial and error wasn't  too great. She had to get things right while avoiding wasting too much of their precious stock.

There was a small selection of other vegetables available too but Suzume's plan was ultimately to make the potato the starring ingredient. Choosing from the recipes she knew, she decided to go with potato soup, baked potato, and mashed potato. It wasn't exactly a balanced meal, but with limited resources and the need to lower her chances of failure she had to go with recipes that were easy to modify to account for any unique traits the Karakuri potatoes might have. In fact she just discovered one from the first slice. They were much firmer than the usual potato. She would have to take this firmness into account when estimating the cooking time for the dishes.

The soup would be the clear winner when it came to making more out of less. By adding just a bit a time while stirring the pot, the little chef found that there was a decent amount of flavor packed into the small potatoes. Perhaps it was a mechanism against the cold in that while they didn't grow and expand in size, instead mother nature stored the nutrients in a more compact manner. It wasn't a huge difference but simply knowing that that approach can have some basis would give her scientists something to work on.

As for the baked and mashed potato, the results were mostly what she expected. The firmness of the Karakuri variety meant she had to make some adjustments to both heat and cooking time, though this was under the assumption that the best approach was to produce a dish that was similar to using regular potatoes. Perhaps the local version did it a different way. She poked the potato she was boiling with a cooking thermometer to test its firmness again. It looked like it was just about ready. The potatoes in the over however, she would have to wait and see when they were done.

The first thing on the menu was warm soup. The little Commodore reappeared from inside the cottage carrying a big pot. It was the sort of load you wouldn't expect an average child to lift or budge, but as if to remind everyone present that she really wasn't a child, Suzume was bringing it over with minimal visible effort on her part. She set it down on the table set up outside, noticing that the men were entertaining themselves a bit with a bit of target shooting.


She had tasted it herself before bring out the pot. This concoction had a certain richness to it that would take a bit more effort to replicate with normal potatoes. It really brought out the uniqueness of the potatoes they found here. At the same time the smaller size of the potatoes were not a hindrance to production and quality. Basically it was good and would definitely be on the menu once they've finalized everything for this project. It was nice to get a small success this early.

As the men would dig in, she would glance around curious about any feedback.

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The reactions were mostly positive. It appeared the richer flavor of the potatoes could be appreciated by most people after all. Although the ensign's comment made her wonder if some would think that the potato was a little overpowering. She grabbed the ladle and stirred the contents of the pot a bit. There actually were vegetables in there but chopped really small in an attempt to just have them accentuate the flavor. Perhaps the ensign liked his vegetables in bigger and more visible chunks.

"Your critique is noted Ensign Khun. I did intentionally keep the vegetable portions small for this batch. I also feel that creating a more balanced harmony of flavors and textures is possible. I learned a lot from making this first trial."

Cooking had a lot of similarities with science. With each new attempt she could improve upon the last from the knowledge she gained from the previous attempt. The several scientists at the probably understood that well. She would be sure to serve an upgraded version of the soup in the future. But for now they must move on.

She briefly excused herself, returning inside the cottage. After a couple of minutes she came out with two things. On her left hand was a huge bowl with mashed potato garnished with finely chopped herbs. On her right hand was a large tray with several rows of baked potatoes lined up neatly. There generous amounts of cheese and cream on top, along with diced vegetable toppings. Presentation was part of cooking after all. There ought to be enough for everyone present to take at least two each, given the smaller than average size of the potatoes. Included with the tray were a couple of saltshakers and a gravy boat. She set them all down on the table with the expertise and finesse of a professional waitress.

"I hope you're still not tired of potatoes. These are fresh from the oven so be careful as they're quite hot."

"I wasn't sure how you liked your mashed potatoes so I prepared gravy, salt and pepper for you to season as you wish."

Without any meat on hand, today's meal was largely vegan with the exception of the cheese and milk. It was healthy and certainly delicious but little Commodore wondered if the men would find it satisfying. Perhaps not. But potatoes were one of the most filling crops out there. The Karakuri variety shouldn't be an exception. So she was confident she at least alleviated their hunger. She would have to make it up to the team some other time for helping her with this survey.

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Suzume couldn't help but beam with satisfaction. The most fulfilling thing for a chef was to have the people she served thoroughly enjoy their meal. She could tell that they were genuinely savoring the food. In that case, her job was done. The Karakuri potatoes were usable and were certainly a worthy ingredient to use in cooking, if only they could solve the issue of the volume. But through this experience she learned that she didn't need to take any excessive measures to make good dishes out of them. They passed in the quality ratio.

While the little Commodore ate a bit herself, Ensign Khun made a comment that caught her attention. He was glad that they finally had an actual cook? She wondered just what sort of meals were these men were having all this time if the ensign didn't feel they had a proper chef before she arrived. She didn't get a chance to before, but now she had a compelling reason to perform a thorough inspection of the Marine base kitchen. As much as she appreciated being praised for her food, she couldn't be the only one making dishes at that standard. She had to get the base chefs up to par. Some coaching and disciplining was in order. But she would save that for when they got back.

"I'm very happy to see you all liked the food. After you're all done, let's clean up quickly and promptly. I have a report to write on the results of our inspection."

"Ensign Khun, I'll be expecting your proposals on the greenhouse within the day. The sooner we get started with this project, the better."

Suzume had started gathering the empty bowls and utensils for washing out of habit. A long time ago she took care of everything from cooking to cleaning up so this was second nature to her. The troops were surprised for a moment but were quick to offer to do this for her instead. This wasn't the job for a commanding officer after all. The little Commodore was slightly embarrassed at being too proactive and allowed them to take over.

Once they were done and everything was put back where they ought to be, Suzume and her entourage would depart from the cottage and make their way back to the base. This proved be a productive survey and she managed to learn a thing or two about the local crops and how to make use of them.

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