In the bustling kitchen filled with gadgets from the Mandoleer’s Folly, Spacedawg and Abraham were up to more than just whipping up their legendary Nanaimo bars—they were cracking a mystery wide open.
“What’s the word, anything odd?” Abraham glanced over Spacedawg’s shoulder at the molecular scanner humming quietly next to their busy mixer.
“Hold tight,” Spacedawg replied, zooming in on the screen. “And here it is. Our missing ingredient’s laced with synthetic alkaloids. That’s not something you’d find in your typical dessert, right?” He tried to keep his tone light, but his sharp gaze said it all—someone had messed with their stuff.
Over by the competitors’ area, Abraham had pulled aside a hefty competitor who’d been at odds with Marcel, the chef who met a mysterious end. “You two had quite the exchange yesterday. Anything you feel like sharing?”
Wiping his forehead, the man looked uneasy. “It was just a little quarrel. Marcel nicked a sauce recipe from me last year. But murder? That’s way out of my depth.”
Digging deeper, Spacedawg and Abraham started piecing things together and realized they were looking at something much bigger than simple rivalry. “This is no small-time operation,” Spacedawg concluded. “Marcel either got too greedy or stumbled onto something big.”
The competition pushed forward despite the brewing storm of intrigue. Spacedawg and Abraham readied their final piece, not just to compete but to catch the crook. “Stay sharp,” Spacedawg whispered as they added a special glowing foam to their dish, a bit of showmanship intended to draw out the wrongdoer.
The trap was set perfectly. As the final tastings kicked off, a shadowy figure made a beeline for their station. Quick as a flash, Abraham reached out and snagged the culprit—a sous-chef from another team, caught with traces of the stolen cocoa powder on her apron.
With nowhere to run, she broke down. “I was strapped for cash. The recipes I lifted fetched a good price from a syndicate trading in secret culinary formulas.”
The crowd was abuzz with the drama, but the judges quickly got things under control, praising Spacedawg and Abraham for their sharp wit and integrity.
At the medals ceremony, the air was thick with both cheers and reflective thoughts. Our heroes accepted their awards with a nod, recognized not just for their culinary feats but for their sleuthing too.
Later, back aboard the Mandoleer’s Folly, the crew lounged in their upgraded space, mulling over the day’s discoveries. “Looks like we’re up against more than just interstellar scoundrels—got ourselves some culinary bandits too,” Spacedawg half-joked, though the gravity in his eyes was unmistakable.
“To the art of Canadian cuisine,” Abraham toasted, their glasses clinking under the starlit sky.
As they set off into the galaxy, the crew was buoyed by a renewed sense of mission. Ready for anything the universe might throw their way, they were primed for both cosmic battles and culinary showdowns.
