Carl stood beside the table and began placing a glass of water soaked in mint he grew in his garden in front of each person.
He then explained his menu.
"For today, dinner, I have prepared a three course meal. First, I'll bring out the appetizer."
Soon he brought out plates made out of logs of wood and placed them in front of each person. "The appetizer is a mixed decomposition of mashed potatoes and carrots along with slices of mango. All the ingredients have been procured from my garden. Please enjoy."
The six were slightly intimidated by the avant garde garnishing and plating, but soon began digging in. Carl had already entered the kitchen to prepare the main course.
"Oh my god! How can it be so delicious?"
"Alex, you really did a good job this time! Each item tastes like bliss!"
"I can't believe a mashed potato could taste like this. The vegetables have an incredible freshness to them."
Even Nina didn't say anything, however, she was shaken by the food as well. Alex was amazed. Lies! All those rumors about Carl Lune were definitely lies! He immediately realized.
Before they knew it, they had already finished with their share. At the appropriate moment, Carl came out and replaced their plates with the main course.
"This is the main course - Fish done three ways. Grilled, smoked and sliced. The fish isn't an ordinary species, but an extremely rare deep sea variety whose meat texture is more supple than fish. Bon Appetit." Carl explained before disappearing.
The people immediately dug in, but their eyes bulged out in shock and disbelief.
"This... this is not any ordinary dish!"
"Oh my god, its hard to believe the three preparations are of the same meat! The flavors are so subtle yet so different!"
"Try it with the wasabi, it really enhances the taste of each preparation in different ways."
"I didn't imagine such unique tastes existed."
Nina couldn't hold back her incredulity anymore either. "I've had all kinds of meals in Michelin restaurants before! I've never had one with such impact!"
"Delicious! Simply delicious!" Alex was rampaging through his food!
By the end, they were all done amd they felt satisfied. But Carl came out and smiled. "I'll now serve desert."
He brought out flat rectangular slabs of pink salt for the final course. On top of the rock salt slab, he carefully layered wafer thin slices of myriad fruits and then added some high grade ice cream and supplemented it with an extremely spicy chilli sauce.
After explaining the dish, Carl went away and the six began digging in.
"This is a heavenly desert, there is no other way to put it."
"I never imagined spiciness would go along so well with sweetness."
"The slices are so thin that they are almost transparent." Alex laughed.
"I thought I couldn't eat anymore, who knew seeing the desert would make me hungry again!"
The people quietly ate their deserts, mesmerized by the food and the entire experience.
After dinner, Carl cleaned up the table. He apologized for not having alcohol at the moment and that his service was a work in progress.
"Chef, even your water felt magically refreshing." Alex complemented. "We didn't feel the need for any alcohol."
"Thank you, I soaked the water in a few herbs and chilled it before." Carl replied with a smile.
"Chef, all those rumors about you ruining the restaurant? How can they be possible? Your cooking is clearly of such an incredible level." Alex was curious about this bit.
"I'd rather not talk about those matters, this is my new project that I am solely committed to at the moment." Carl deftly avoided the question.
Alex nodded. "Chef, how do we make the payment?" Obviously he was going to pay. Initially he thought that 10,000 star coins was a ridiculous price, but now he felt it was too cheap!
"You can transfer it to my bank account." Carl replied.
Alex and the others each discussed about how much to pay, eventually deciding on 15,000 per person.
They each paid the amount and thanked Carl for his hospitality. As the others were leaving, Nina suddenly walked up to Carl to speak about something.
"Is it possible to book an appointment for dinner again?" She asked with a little haze in her voice.
"At the moment, I am only considering customers through lottery." Carl replied apologetically.
"I'm willing to pay more to reserve a meal." Nina insisted.
"How about this, you can tell me your contact details, if I am able to accommodate your request, I will contact you." Carl replied after some thought.
Nina thought for a while and then nodded. After exchanging contacts, she left for the battleship along with the others.
Alex saw Nina talking to Carl and felt jealousy in his heart. "What were you asking the chef?" He nonchalantly asked Nina.
"I was asking him if he could allow me a special appointment for extra money, but he rejected my request." Nina replied before entering the battle ship.
When Alex heard that he laughed in relief. "Truly a principled chef!" He thought to himself as the battleship took off from the planet, disappearing into hyperspace.
On social media, Alex and his team put up photos of their meal.
"The Mystery Restaurant - I just had the best dinner of my life! Carl Lune is a legend of cooking!" Was Alex's status.
Since Carl was tagged, the posts appeared within his profile as well and the gourmets were immediately buzzing.
"First tasters are extremely positive! Is this manufactured marketing?"
"Manufactured my ass! Do you know who those six are? They are heavenly genius warriors, stars among the warriors!" Someone knowledgeable commented.
"When is the next lottery coming out? I thought it was daily."
At that moment, Carl put up status.
"Next meal after three days. Putting up the lottery for the appointment."