Dulciaria Structura Chapter is the Story Quest chapter for Escoffier.
List of Acts[]
- Act I - Treasured Above All
- Requirements:
- Reach Adventure Rank 40
- Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act V - Masquerade of the Guilty
- Requirements:
Summary[]
Act I - Treasured Above All[]
A cherry is a crown, crystalline and exquisite, a jewel festooning an extraordinary deed.
But in the shadow of enhaloed brilliance do ordinary mortals struggle.
The greater the yearning, the greater the regrets. The more beset with longing, the further one drifts.
- Shaped by Fame
Arriving at Hotel Debord, the Traveler and Paimon find Navia sitting outside the hotel. They greet her and ask what she's doing, but she tells them to stay quiet. Suddenly, yelling can be heard from the entrance, as one chef, Savanna, scolding another, Monica, telling her not to return until she got her act straight. Paimon intervenes, forcing Navia to help. Navia tells Savanna that she's been overworking her staff to the point that one of them, Firmin, had to stop working because of injuries sustained during work. Savanna then orders Monika back inside, while Navia explains that Savanna was the current head chef of the hotel, working its chefs non-stop. She was trying to get compensation for Firmin, but Savanna's ruthless attitude meant that negotiations were not going anywhere. Leone then appears and gives Navia a candy made from Monica. As they prepare to eat it, they find writing on the wrapper, telling them to find Escoffier. Navia recognizes the name and tells them to follow her to Fleuve Cendre.
As they arrive in the underground city, Navia explains that Escoffier was the previous head chef of the Delbord. She managed to recreate the legendary Gateau Debord and restored the restaurant's glory, being on par with its founder, Modeste. Paimon recognizes the Gateau Debord as the limited cake and asks how Savanna became the head chef. Navia tells them that someone complained of a food incident where an illegal substance was being added onto the food. None of the chefs were responsible for it, but as the head chef, Escoffier took responsibility and was sentenced to the Fortress of Meropide for a short duration. Though there appeared to be no malicious intent as the quantity was low, when Escoffier was released, Savanna had taken over the restaurant's operations, though Escoffier was still respected by the staff. Navia believes that Monica wanted Escoffier to return and handle the matter. Paimon believes so too, until they spot Escoffier scolding Hilaire for wasting mushroom and cream. Paimon approaches Escoffier, but she rebukes her, and Navia tells her that she's in the zone.
While waiting for her to finish up, Navia explains to the pair that business had tripled since Escoffier joined as a temporary chef and that she had no need to return to the Debord. Escoffier gives the ruined food to Hilaire and tells him not to waste food again before she approaches the trio. She had been aware of the situation since Navia had pestered her about it. Escoffier is reluctant to return since she feels that she shouldn't interfere, she notices that Monica had put sugar "thicker than the sole of her shoe" on the wrapper and angrily storms off to the Debord to find her. There, they find her apologizing to a customer named Renaud. Monica apologizes to Escoffier, as the chefs had no idea who had put lumiline in the food. Navia explains that it was a drug devised from Lumitoile, which heightened the senses for those who were impaired, at the cost of mood swings and nerve damage, causing it to be quickly banned. Some lumiline products had still entered the market by the time it was banned, and Monica apologizes once again.
Savanna then appears and recognizes Escoffier, angered that she was trying to run a business that was no longer hers. Escoffier is likewise angered at her sudden temper, accusing her of harming the chefs while attempting to be cheap on products. Suddenly, the hotel's boss, Vaneigem, arrives and suggests the two have a cook-off. Renaud explains that restaurant's founders, Modeste and Savelli, had cooking contests to settle disputes of all types. While Escoffier is unsure about partaking in the cook-off, Vaneigem grants her an exception while Savanna accepts, telling Escoffier that if she lost, she would hand the Codex Debord to her. The codex contained all of Modeste's recipes and was only granted to both current and former head chefs. Escoffier tells her that she already had her own copy, but Savanna wants the original, which was given to Escoffier as thanks for her service. Escoffier accepts the terms and they return to Fleuve Cendre to prepare.
Escoffier tells the trio that the codex was full of notes made by Modeste and Savelli, who had explored countless areas and made use of the ingredients they found in their recipes, which greatly influenced Fontanian cuisine. Even the legendary Gateau Debord was made with an ingredient discovered during one of these adventures, resulting in the cake's limited availability. They founded the hotel and catapulted into fame, but after ten years, the pair separated and Modeste died in his prime, resulting in the Debord's reputation slipping until recent times. They speculate Savanna's sudden mood change and desire for her original codex, but Escoffier decides it'll be settled in the cook-off.
As the cake traditionally requires three people to assist in its creation, Escoffier tests the trio in their cooking skills. As the final part of the assessment, she asks them to make a dish from the Debord's menu. They present her dishes to her, and she gives both Paimon and Navia's submissions a scalding 6 out of 100. Upon trying the Traveler's food, she rates it an 8 out of 10, surprised at their proficiency but remarks that there was room for improvement. Since she needs good assistants, Escoffier wonders who she'll get when Firmin arrives and volunteers to assist. However, his hands tremble violently while attempting to pick up a knife just as Monica arrives. Monica wishes to help Escoffier, since Savanna's current mood was not beneficial to her.
- Roasted by Flames
The next day, the group arrives at the Debord to begin the cook-off. Vaneigem states that the cook-off would be held in a double blind format, with the winner only determined by a slip under the dishes. They prepare their Gateau Debords, and the judges unanimously agree that one of them is far below their standards. Savanna is declared the winner, and Escoffier honors the verdict. Savanna reads the codex and faints upon realizing that there were no secrets within. The other chefs explain that while Savanna pushed them hard, she pushed herself even harder over the nights. Paimon asks about the cheating, and no one is sure as to what happened.
They head back downstairs and Escoffier "interrogates" the cake, discovering that someone had sabotaged the cake while it was being made. Monica then apologizes, revealing that Savanna had blackmailed her into making Escoffier lose. Savanna wakes up while Monica explains that after Escoffier left, customers were questioning Savanna's leadership. Savanna realizes that she's the problem and breaks down, while the rest decide to come back later. Escoffier hopes that she could make Savanna realize the error of her ways.
- Ice-Frosted Endgame
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon return to the Debord and find a sleep-deprived Escoffier sleeping on a table, exhausted by her work. They quickly acquire coffee for her, perking her back to her usual self. She had been trying to pinpoint the cause of failure when Vaneigem comes in, telling her that Savanna was missing. He had left a few chefs to watch her house when they too return, explaining that they found a map with circled spots on it. Escoffier realizes that these were the spots that Modeste and Savelli had traveled, but wonders how the full map was acquired as the codex only contained fragments that were not cohesive enough by themselves. They also found some threatening letters to her, and the Traveler suspects that something is wrong. Their discretion is correct, as Savanna confronts the true mastermind behind the events, Monica.
Heading to the location of the ruins, Escoffier promises to give Savanna the scolding of her life. As they enter the ruins, Escoffier recognizes it as a public Remurian bathhouse where food and drinks were served. Paimon spots two Blubberbeasts, who dive back into the water upon being spotted. The path ahead is blocked, and through reading Modeste's notes, they needed to give the Blubberbeasts a good meal. They scavenge the local flora and create a dish that satisfies them, granting them further access inside. There, they find Monica threatening Savanna, who saw through her plan of poisoning the water they drank in an attempt to stop her. Monica pulls a knife and puts it on Savanna's neck, knowing that they would not risk her life to stop her. She reveals that she had discovered the secret ingredient for the original Gateau Debord, which was found in the ruins, and believed that Savelli had destroyed Modeste's reputation after he had been shunned. She sets off some explosives to cover her retreat, much to Escoffier's outrage as she was lucky they didn't collapse the ruins.
The trio manage to find another way through the rubble and soon come upon some more modern tents, discovering that Savelli had set up camp after reading several journals left behind. In them, they discover that the ingredient came from the ruins and that Modeste eventually committed suicide when his taste was lost, which was caused by the secret ingredient. Before his suicide, he sent a final letter to Savelli, who realized the truth and knew that in order to protect his friend's legacy, he had to frame himself as the culprit, erasing all evidence that could implicate him.
Monica eventually reaches the chamber where the ingredient was held, having knocked out Savanna beforehand and grabs the container, only to realize that it was empty; Savelli had emptied it beforehand to ensure it would not harm future generations. Angered at her plans being ruined, the trio arrive and try to calm her down. In her anger, Monica smashes the container, causing two Praetorian Golems to awaken and attack her. After destroying them, the ruins shake, and as they prepare to leave, Monica holds Escoffier at gunpoint. Claiming that her plan was in ruins, she wanted to take Escoffier down with her when Savanna knocks her out. They leave Monica behind and escape the ruins, where they are greeted by the others.
Savanna apologizes to her staff for her actions, begging Escoffier to return and oversee operations. Escoffier tells her that she wasn't intending to return, reassuring her that she had what it took to be a head chef. The other staff support her decision, as Savanna was the one keeping them together after Escoffier's departure. Firmin also appears and Savanna apologizes to him for her cruelty, but he would have none of it. After reading the threat letter, he realized that it was not Savanna who had hurt him, but it was Monica, who laced his tea with lumiline, and it was likely that she had also laced her with it too. Savanna asks her why her cake was not the same as Escoffier's, and she tells her that Monica had sabotaged the ovens. Savanna is still unsure if she is worthy to be a head chef, but Escoffier tells her that she has the talent to be one and that talent didn't appear overnight; she had spent nearly three years creating her Gateau Debord before being satisfied with it.
Escoffier is still upset at Savanna's unintentional cheating and demands an immediate cook-off, which Savanna agrees to. After watching the judges be blown away by her cake, Savanna is nervous to bring hers up, but Escoffier reassures her to do so. Ultimately, Savanna loses the cook-off. Outside, Escoffier explains she left the Debord for two reasons; the food safety incident, and realizing that the restaurant could no longer support her. During her travels, she met a chef from Liyue who was just as adventurous as Modeste and Savelli and used many unusual ingredients; she had used Romaritime Flowers on the cake itself, inspired by the events in the ruins. She hands them a revised copy of her recipe for them while also revealing that she would visit the Debord from time to time to ensure their standards were still kept high. While Paimon is upset at Monica's needless sacrifice, Escoffier believes that the secret ingredient in the original Gateau was actually lumiline, and it was only hyped in the past because sugar was less accessible to the people. Suddenly, Navia runs in, revealing a special issue regarding the jar's value, only to be upset when there was a report indicating that it was smashed to pieces.
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Dulciaria Structura Chapter |