Another day in the kitchen of horrors for a certain eldritch monster, but today was special in that she had been summoned, through a ritual not the standard method of mail, call, or reference, to prepare a special dish for a select group of the higher class. Also known as the rich, renowned, well-known, and wealthy in monetary values.

In other words, Ebony had been asked to prepare a banquet for the 1% of high class billionaires… or something like that. She hadn’t been paying attention.

Odd that they knew how to summon her, but she shrugged it off and guessed it was another follower of the Hungerer that knew about her and had told them. Otherwise, she would have never agreed to this reservation. A full-course banquet for six to eight people using her own ingredients was a waste of her time, resources, and the diners’ times, but she was contracted to obey by the eldritch ritual and summoning.

Just more items in the pantry for the next feast in a few days. As these diners would become her patrons, she would know where to find them when the time came.

The special dish, however, was both strange and familiar to her.

“Prepare the provided model in a similar manner to this video reference, except for the middle and ending sections. We do not wish to become a meal ourselves.” This was what her instructions, read from a note, had said. She looked over at the bound woman she had been provided with, delivered from within a body bag by a pair of hired muscles, she suspected, and frowned. “You won’t be filling at all for these people; maybe a few of the homeless. There isn’t enough time to fattened you up before the deadline, I don’t have time to properly stuff you, and you’re not willing at all…” Ebony said with a smile that only made the woman more afraid of her situation.

The chef leaned forward, hands on her knees, and looked at the woman with her black and yellow eyes. “I won’t hurt you, but you will need to help me with this request. Understand?” She asked.

There was a moment of whimpering, and then the woman nodded her head.

“Good. Now, I am going to untie you, show you to the bath, and get you something to wear while I find a change of clothes for you and make a call. If you try to run, and my employers catch you, they’ll kill you so I can cook you. To avoid that, do as I stay, remain calm, and everything will be alright, okay?” She informed.

The woman nodded her understanding.

“My name is Ebony, Miss Kari Patty. I hope we can be friends.” She added before producing one of her knives from behind her apron and cutting the ropes around the woman’s wrists and legs.

As Kari was in the bath, Ebony made a call on her phone. Technology was not something she usually used, other than cooking appliances, but it was handy in times like this.

“Hello? This is Ebony. Am I speaking with Emiko?”
…
“I was given an order for a fancy dish, but could you come help me with it?”
…
“They want me to prepare a different woman, but the deadline is too soon to get her ready. Will you fill in for her?”
…
“Great! I will also need your help looking up this… video? I believe. It’s called Bon Appetit, by Kari Patty.”
…
“Oh, you’ve seen it? Good. Show it to me when you get here so I have a reference for the preparation stages my employers want. It’s a live cooking and serving order, but use of videos and recording are still out of my field.”
…
“My usual kitchen. The one I impaled you on with the table and live-served you at a few months ago.”
…
“I’ll see you then. Bye.”

-
Half an hour past as Kari finished her bath and changed into a new set of clothes that resembled those of a chef, apron and hairnet with the hat included, while Ebony was busy in the kitchen, setting aside ingredients, oils, seasonings, and making dough when Emiko arrived.

The ebony girl knocked on the door before turning the knob and entering. “Hello! It’s Emiko!” She called out. This was not the first time she had been here, and she knew there was little chance a thief could steal anything from the owner.

It took a moment before Ebony replied. “I’m in the kitchen! Grab the laptop in the living room and meet me here, please!” She called.

As she did, Kari came out of the dining room to greet Emiko, who put two and two together and had a good idea of what was going on. She kept her excitement about meeting an actresses inside for now.

The two shared a short conversation on the way to the kitchen, and then helped Ebony finish up part of her preparations before settling down at the butcher table, using stools as chairs, and watched the requested reference video.

They had to stop the video, rewatch some parts, and discuss what to do for certain parts.
While Ebony and Emiko were fine with the activity of cannibalism, Kari was obviously nervous and horrified by the ordeal, but Ebony’s reminder about her fleeing kept the model from doing just that. Running away was more dangerous than staying.

The knowledge that Emiko had access to a cloning system did not comfort her as much as the two hoped, but at least it did calm her down to talk with them.

When they finally came to a conclusion as to what they would do, it was decided that Kari would chop the vegetables and fill the cauldron before retiring to one of the guest rooms while Ebony prepared Emiko for the banquet.

It would take some time, but Ebony knew of a few ways to cut corners to meet the deadline before the diners began showing up.

And it all started before she even knew about the order. It paid to never tire or require sleep, and her constant work at preparing ingredients ahead of time helped.

“I think I have the general idea in mind, so we can start whenever you two are ready.” Ebony said with a smile. “You two go shower and wash up though. We’ll be handling food, so clean up.”

“What about you?” Kari asked.

Ebony held up her hands to show the two humans. “I’m a mouth for my master. Germs, bacteria, and other organisms or materials are absorbed into my skin and consumed, unless I don’t want them to be. I can feed an apple to my master, peel it, or clean it by touch alone. I’ve tried cleaning meat of blood and bacteria in the same way, but the method is too precise for me.” She explained.

Kari and Emiko looked at the cook with a strange expression on their faces, like they did not understand or believe her.

She decided to prove it, so she went toward the refrigerator she was using to chill the ingredients, took a few minutes looking for something she did not need to use for any upcoming recipes, and finally returned to them with a glass bottle of ketchup.

Ebony held it in front of the two humans, the bottle’s bottom in her left hand and her right hand over the top of it, making sure they were watching her, and the two watched as the bottle began to disappear and her hands get closer and closer together.
Over the span of a minute, the eight-inch tall glass of tomato paste was eaten from the top and bottom simply by being in contact with Ebony’s skin until it was all gone, leaving only a quickly vanishing collection of red on her ivory skin when she turned her palms toward them.

“I’m self-cleaning, and a walking scrap disposal.” Ebony said with a smile, and then made a shooing motion toward the two of them. “Go. Get clean! My patrons asked for a cooked meal, not a raw one.” She added with a joking tone. “The raw one is next month, and sushi based. Something about a sea monkey, but that’s not tonight.”