Gourmand

"Pan-Seared Batrachobrant from Kheeze with Quargs and Steamed Gloopernuts
Ingredients:
4 batrachobrant legs from Kheeze, skin removed
2 tablespoons of Xhk'kht oil
1 tablespoon of Centauri Spice Blend
1 cup of Quargs, sliced
2 cups of Gloopernuts, steamed
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat your cooking surface to medium-high heat.
Season the batrachobrant legs with Centaurian Spice Blend.
Add Xhk'kht oil to the pan and sear the batrachobrant legs until golden brown.
Add sliced Quargs to the pan and cook until tender.
Serve the batrachobrant legs with steamed Gloopernuts and garnish with additional Centaurian Spice Blend if desired.
Note: When handling batrachobrant, be sure to wear protective gloves to avoid the mild neurotoxins present in the creature's skin.
Pairing Suggestions:
Steamed Mollusks
Turnips or Beets
Variations:
Substitute batrachobrant legs with batrachobrant wings for a crispy exterior and tender interior.
Add a splash of Zang's Finest Vinegar(tm) for an extra burst of flavor."

Celebrity Chefs

At the dawning of the Age of Convergence, some of the most popular entertainment programs on SolarNet are cooking shows that not only give planets a taste of what people are eating in the rest of the Pan-Solar Consortium, but also exciting edibles from alien species contacted by humanity. Much of the latter takes quite a bit of work to eliminate or remove toxins or make the food edible, but that just makes the whole process more exciting.

New Spice Wars?

The primary driver of 'Gourmand Culture' (as it's known) is Eclipse Entertainment, but CosmoBio Dynamics, Luminar BioTech, and Pheonix Bioengineering have all made plays for shares of the market, and Freelance Gourmands abound, running little cooking shows and eating increasingly bizarre alien fare. The business is cutthroat, and sometimes boil over into outright violence. For instance, Luminar BioTech was attacked by Eclipse Entertainment in the Wolf System while chasing after a rumor of an asteroid-based fungus that tastes like paprika soaked in lemon juice. While the ambush wasn't large and LBT's fleet survived, it did show a troubling trend.

An Oddly Competetive Culture

Whether backed by a corp or running freelance, gourmands are a fiercely competetive bunch obsessed with finding the next 'new flavor.' It's not all arrogance and ego, though; exotic flavors can mean a patent, money, licenses, SolarNet followings, and fame. While it may look like an overweight Saturnite and a domestic goddess got into a laser duel under the high noon of a distant star, in reality they're fighting over the sorts of things that people have been fighting over for millennia.

Templates 36 points

Primary Skills 20 points

Artist (H) IQ 4 points, Biology (Xenobiology) (VH) IQ 8 points, Cooking (A) IQ+1 4 points, Savoir-Faire (Gourmet) IQ+2 4 points, 

Secondary Skills 10 points

Connoisseur (A) IQ 2 points, Chemistry (H) IQ-1 2 points, Merchant (A) IQ 2 points, Naturalist (H) IQ-1 2 points, Poisons (H) IQ-1 2 points, 

Background Skills 6 points

Carousing (E) HT 1 point, Guns (Any) (E) DX 1 point, Hiking (A) HT-1 1 point, Research (A) IQ-1 1 point, Scrounging Per 1 point, Survival (A) Per-1 1 point,

Type

Research / Scientific