TGT Presents... The Chemist, the Cat and the Time Machine

I've been running this blog for more than three years now, and yet when you think about it, we've never really gone on an 'adventure'. Well, that is all about to change today, as I proudly announce the première of The Chemist, the Cat and the Time Machine.

Long time readers will probably know that it is at this time of the year that I tend to give my restaurant, The Garlic Tree, a complete makeover. Many of the quirks of my place are always maintained, but the layout is given a reboot, just to keep things fresh. Well, it's that time again, but on this occasion I've decided to spice things up...

Inspired by some of the quite brilliant storylines that my great neighbour Nibbles and Noms has conjured up in the past, I'm going to bring you a tall tale over the course of the next few weeks which you can follow right here on the blog.

Let's get straight to it, and our story begins at The Garlic Tree, but not in the usual surroundings. For the first time, I'm taking you downstairs to the basement, which turns out to be a more interesting place than you'd ever believe...

Overview of basement of The Garlic Tree

Down here is a hive of activity as the Mad Chemist runs a laboratory alongside his Lab Assistant. Who'd have thought a basement could be so hectic! Let's focus in on some of the regions, starting with the maze:

Maze in the basement of The Garlic Tree

The Chemist has been working hard on developing artificial intelligence, and one of his finest creations is the Robo Dog. To test the capability of this hunk of metal the Chemist has constructed an intricate maze enclosed by Riverboat Railings which the mechanical mongrel has to navigate correctly. It looks like the Robo Dog is just about to enter, so cross your fingers that he sticks to the Shiny floor tiles and stays off the Venetian!

If puzzling out how to get the Robo Dog to pass through the maze unscathed proves too tough on the mind then the Chemist tends to take a timeout in his Steampunk section:

Steampunk section in the basement of The Garlic Tree

Here is where the Chemist stretches out on the Steampunk Couch, turns on Gran's Phonograph, and clears his head. The Steampunk Globe can sometimes provide some inspiration while the Steampunk Lamp ensures he's always got a source of light down in the basement for taking any important notes. And when he gets hungry there's always the Thanksgiving Desserts left over from last November which he can chew on (it's cold enough in the basement that they've not gone off!)

There are a couple of parts of the lab which the Chemist avoids visiting, with the first of those being the Zombie Waiter's abandoned corner.

Abandoned lab in the basement of The Garlic Tree

It's like a scene out of Halloween here, not just because the Zombie Waiter's eyes are popping out of his head, but also because of the Spider Stone flooring and Lobster Mayhem.

It's not the most well maintained of areas, with the Stacked Wood Dividers piled up and the Lab Experiment bearing webs. As a result it's not all that surprising that the Chemist has seen fit to put up some Caution Tape Dividers to segregate this contaminated zone from the rest of the lab.

The other space which the Chemist stays clear of is much more vibrant:

Biology lab in the basement of The Garlic Tree

This is the biology lab, where experiments are focused on the greenery of the world. When he's not busy upstairs in the restaurant, Cashier Lee gets involved with his various tools, and Arbor Phoebe takes care of the Container Garden. This is flanked by Bouquet Dispensers, which mean that we're never short of fresh flowers to study.

Detective Phoebe is also in attendance and is casting a close eye on the Sapling Display which has been fertilised with mystical liquids from the Aromatics Display and Fairy Jars. Those mixes are the Chemist's only contributions in here - his proficiencies are in the field of chemistry (with a little physics on the side!) so he leaves the planting and watering to the experts.

But the Chemist is right in his element in the kitchen:

Kitchen in the basement of The Garlic Tree

I promised a story, and this is where it begins. Despite the size of those Industrial Fridges and the many dials on the Lab Counters, the Chemist is unable to churn out anything other than Biscuits and Gravy. My neighbours will be well aware that the Biscuits and Gravy is often all that is on the menu at The Garlic Tree, and this is why. The Chemist may be a very clever man, but like many fine scientists he does not possess a stash of creativity.

And that takes us to the centrepiece in this laboratory, which is the Time Machine.

Time Machine in the basement of The Garlic Tree

The Chemist has been developing this behemoth of a contraption alongside his Lab Assistant for a long time and with the Steampunk Arcades along the back wall precisely calibrated they're nearly ready to put it into action. The Chemist and the Cat are clutching the final ingredient for this great machine - the fuel! They're ready to toast their work and go on a journey through time and space in which they hope to find new and exciting dishes they can bring back to The Garlic Tree!

---

It's been a good few months since I came up with this idea, and it's somewhat surreal to now be putting it into practice! My preparation started in the latter stages of last year when I intensified my cooking of Biscuits and Gravy. The whole reason they are a signature dish in my diner is that they have such a good profit per plate, and by focusing on them I've now accumulated over 3.1 million plates of the stuff. That translates into more than 12 million coins waiting to be gained!

I need to have a lot of Biscuits and Gravy on a counter because it will be present throughout this journey, and with every week there will be a new recipe based on the surrounding theme which is prepared across all my appliances. My hope is that with every week another one of the counters around the Time Machine will be filled, meaning that eventually we'll have a full house. Whether this concept is realistically something that can be done we'll have to wait and see, but I'm going to give it a go!

So the plan is to make the next passage every Tuesday, with the accompanying blog post published the following Monday, starting with next Monday (March 28th). This will give me plenty of time to piece together the post of all the details. Remember you can use the Storm8 ID 'lorettasapron' to visit me if waiting until the Monday is trying your patience!

What else can I say? The adventure begins!

Next: Stop #1 - The dawn of time