Pompom was in her element. After all the attention she had received during the Slateport bake sale, she was living for this spotlight. Chu-e stood behind her, a less noticeable presence despite his size on the pokemon; Pompom's personality could draw in the room. Currently, the little pokemon was on stage using her Cute Charm to sweeten up and dazzle the crowd. People were clicking pictures and a few people squealing at her cuteness. This had been her first public appearance since Slateport!

... Chu-e was saddened his pokemon's social media presence was so much larger than his own. But only briefly.

"Pompom," He started, sing song, picking up his provided basket. Mostly empty, except for a bottle that promised sweet red wine on the label. "Let's go find the cutest berries, just like you!" Okay, it was super cheesy even with how he said it. Pompom agreed, clapping her little hands together before the balloon pokemon hopped up and floating back down, gently, to rest on her Trainer's head.

Like this was Ratatouille, Chu-e let the Igglybuff guide him through the bushes, occasionally stopped when she said. He would carefully search the bushes, not that he really knew what to look for, and would hand the berries up to his pokemon. Most were scoffed at and thrown to the ground, but occasionally she would plant a Sweet Kiss on a berry and hand it back. These berries were placed in the basket.

TP4jaMaQ

··

When they were moved to the next phase, Chu-e laid his berries out to wash at the small show kitchen provided. He plucked up one or two of the berries, popping them into his mouth to taste. He couldn't help but pull a face because raw like this, most of these bitches were real bitter or dry. He smacked his lips and picked up that bottle of red wine from earlier, just cracking it open and taking a big swig.

... actually, that wasn't too bad.

Putting the bottle he drank from down, Chu-e charged for the pantry with Pompom still on his head. He passed by Alexei Ivanov as he went- sticking his tongue out at the other man before winking at him. He remembered the Pie Incident. He did. Most of what he grabbed was sugar, butter, bread flour, and a little salt. Anything else he could get later.

He worked quick in his bowls, mixing together the flour with the water and butter with his bare hands. (Washed, of course!). Chu-e wasn't the type to measure his ingredients out, going more for the feel of the dough he was working. If it felt too crumbly he added more water. To wet and he added more flour. Soon, he was left with a large ball that was just right, he knew. Soon, he it was doing rolled into squares, butter slathered on, folded, rotated, over and over with Pompom cheering her trainer on all the way. It was a lot of hard work, but to make a good Puff Pastry you had to put in the elbow grease.

Setting the dough aside to rise when he was done, Chu-e was covered in flour. He smeared some on his cheek by accident, sighing, and moved to the berries. The Chesto and Durin were all separated from the Passho; After a good cleaning, he handed over the bowl of Passho berried to Pompom, who he had set on the counter. Knowing what to do, since she helped him cook at home, she started to Pound the berries into a fine paste. The mixture was added to a saucepan with an ton of sugar and the red wine, stirred quickly to dissolve, then started on the Chesto and Durin. He finished cleaning them, moved Pompom to the sink so she could wash up, then grabbed his dough and cut thin strips off of it, so he could careful wrap each berry in a spiraling cocoon of dough. It took the longest, him moving slowly, with his tongue sticking out and eyebrows knit.

Finally, they were ready to go into the over.

Chu-e slid them in and went back to the reduction he was making, hoping he didn't get so distracted making sure it turned out that he burned anything.

---

chu-e is attempting to make something like this

kW5d1uS7

Chu-e does not hesitate to step up to the plate. As he does, Pompom, now back on top of his head, used her Charm on the judges, blowing them all kisses and getting the crowd riled up again. Chu-e does shoot finger guns and a wink to Dominique, making a 'call me' gesture as he does.

Then he slides his platter on the table and lifts the metal hood to reveal his dish. While he had some issues baking, the Passho sauce drips down the puff pastry in delicate rivers, sticky and sweet. It pools in the bottom of the plate without drowning the puff pastry, ensuring it will stay fluffy and crisp. He's done his best to cover up any of the bad spots from his improper cooking with the sauce.

"So this is, uh... my version of Poires en Croute. Chesto are really dry and Durin are super bitter, while Passho is a mixture of both. The Sweet Red Wine pairs nicely with dry and bitter flavors, which is why I used it as the base in the reduction. The Passho reduction is also extremely sweet, so I wouldn't recommend eating it by itself; it's meant to even out the natural bitterness from the Durin and Passho. So, uh... Enjoy?