Fire Fly Feast Copper Beech

Six zebras pull a gold encrusted carriage with blacked out windows though the parting crowd. When it finally stops swaying a chubby man in a purple cassock clutching an ornate bowl emerges, he is the high priest and the Fire Fly King's top food taster.

He waddles over to the podium, idly stabbing something in his bowl as the crowd kneels all around. Suddenly he catches one and stuffs it in his mouth, you hear a crunch like fresh carrot and then another jumps from his bowl, it lands on your arm and jumps off again to freedom!

It was a locust!

And the priest chews away obviously enjoying his little hopping treat. Everyone else is kneeling, so perhaps it would be best if you kneeled too?

(All kneel)

Then the high priest speaks, mouth open and chock full of mashed up locust, chomping away like a washing machine and begins to speak.

'I am the high priest, and it is my ordained task to preside over my lord, The Fire Fly King's dinners.'

'It is decreed' he says 'that The King must never, ever' and he waits a second before continuing, 'EVER eat the same meal twice, if he were to do so, then a terrible calamity would befall him.'

He pauses for a moment scanning the crowd, his tiny dark eyes deep set in a pudgy white face, looking like bright beads pushed into wet clay.

'YOU have been chosen as the King's sacred tasters' and he points at you with his chubby fingers.
'YOU have been trusted with the King's life.'
'YOU will choose a single meal which the Fire Fly King has NEVER tasted before.'

At each point he stabs at his bowl making the point that if you choose badly then you will be skewered just like one of his locusts!

'Chosen tasters' he says, 'all rise'

(Everyone stand up)

A ceremonial knife longer than your arm and encrusted with jewels from hilt to tip is placed in priest's hand.

With a lazy motion he raises it high and then brings it down onto a taught ribbon, this is the signal. Simultaneously a flag is raised, a bronze bell swung and an hour glass is turned with its sands beginning to pour from one chamber to the other, counting down the hour.

It is the signal you have been waiting for, so you pick up your notes and head over to the chefs and their kitchens throughout the arena. Your team must choose a dish of food which the King has never eaten before and then wonder just how on earth are you going to do that!

Now take your marking sheet and head out to the field kitchens to find something exotic as if your life depended upon it!

As you approach the stall you see mosquitos all over the place they are stocking food and shopping there but they never went to the last shelf because they were full of mosquito muffin. They are yummy and taste amazing.

How you Make a mosquito muffin
The chef then did the most incredible thing he found loads of mosquitos and put them in a bowl and got a knife then chop a slit in one so he can sprinkle some blueberry juice on it and mixed it in some slug slime and sprinkled guts and blood of a giant hornet and then he stuffed them into some blueberry muffins and had a side of leaves and cattipilers and to wash it all down whith some slug slime juice and that's how he Mackey it and it can be your friend because it flutters and tickles your nose and it is the most yummeyest thing ever

It was like a pice of fluffy popcorn that has been dipped in sugar

The End

As you approach the stall You can see cages with tarantulas in it and raw sausage with dark druling blood ,fresh from the creepy night.

The chef got a hot heavy frying pan and flattened the poor spider and grated some spiders eyebrows and put them in the big pan.Then he washed it down with a fizzy eye watering blood drink.It tasted like a mouth watering poison summers night with a tropikle flavour like your on holiday in howiey.And the spider was err!!

you do not want to go there but because I had £5 in my pocket so I had to by something but someone tried to steal my money that was sneaky I could of lost £5 after all this is a country of lorse.After that my mum did not let me go to the shops on my own again and I was sixteen evry sixteen year old boy shood be able to go out to the shops on there own.

As you approach the stall you see the the table is covered in beaks? What type you wonder?Toucan!They are filled with red slime.The stall is covered in red flags with
Toucans.

Then the chef did the most incredible thing he chopped the head of some of the blood
Fell on the grass path.Then he pulled out the insides of the toucans. Rolled it out and
stuffed it in the beak so you can have it.He slowly and carefully.You took it out and tried
it tasted like candy floss and rainbos

As you approach the stall you can see a banner saying Slug casserole. You can also see a big tent with flags and the flags have a picture of a slug. You can see little hot air ballon coming down with the slug casserole in the basket.

Then the chef did something amazing!He had put in some spicy, yellow slugs,probably to add some flavour to it. It tasted like going to Orlando resort because it was so good!

This would make an excellent for for the King.

As you approach the kitchen there are parts of cars everywhere, wheels, hub caps, even steering wheels. A waiter guides you to a seat which was once part of an old van but is very comfy. A napkin is placed on your knees and a tiny bowl no bigger than an egg cup is placed in front of you. There is also a spoon which would be better in a dolls house it is so small.

You see the chef leaning around a truck gear box trying to see if you approve and the waiter lifts the tiny spoon and puts it in your hand, it would appear they are expecting you to eat with it!

The food in the tiny bowl looks like mustard mixed with ear wax, you are very cautious taking a little, but you dig the spoon in and then lift it to your nose for a sniff before popping it in your mouth.

The flavour is exceptional, filling your whole body with warmth from the inside out, so you take another tiny taste. The second is even better than the first as the flavour seems to sparkle on your tongue, it is amazing and before you know it the weird waxy paste is all eaten up.

The chef then comes over with a car window screen and explains.

'We take wasps which get squashed onto car window screens and add a little,' he then waves his hands in a circular motion before saying 'flourish.'

'OK, are you saying this soup has been made from bugs scraped off car window screens?'

'Yes' he says very proudly, 'but we also add the stings of 17 wasps to give it a zing!'

This sounds crazy, but it did taste good, now fill in the details on your voting slip before you move on.

As you approach the stall the wasps where capturing them and then put them in pies and delivering them on superb camouflage drones. Then without looking at me they got freshly delivered. Nevously took a bite and loved it so did u .People eat up as there last meal and loving the food.Then suddenly the king loved it hooray u said it worked u was happy it was a sucses.

Back at the podium the flag is lowered as the last grain of sand falls through the hour glass timer. The high priest is reclining on plump purple cushions looking fat and bored.

There is one long table set out in a line in front of him and you place your offering on it. As you do this three servants wheel over a small crane which they swing over the priest and begin to clip into his reclining cushions. At a simple nod they hoist him up until his feet begin to dangle then carry him over to the offerings, yours is last in line.

The first one reads 'Sticky Ant Pant Pudding' and a servant then puts a fork into the gooey cake and feeds the priest just like a baby, but the priest doesn't chew for long, he spits it out into a waiting copper dish.

'8th August, St Pucid the unfortunates celebratory dinner, second sitting' he says followed by the word 'execute.'

Is that the date the King gets to eat this you think? But no, the guards drag that team of sacred tasters away in a very rough fashion indeed!

Next up is 'Woodlouse Falafel' and again the same thing happens.

A fork of the food is lifted into the priests mouth, he tastes it for just a second then spits it out before saying 'the King ate this on the 6th September, St Leonids celebrations, fourth sitting.'

Then he says once again 'execute.'

Guards approach the quivering group as they begin to plead for their lives!

'Next' and the crane swings the high priest down the table, dish after dish is tasted, and after each a date and celebration reeled off when the King ate this before, followed by the terrible word 'execute!'

Next up is 'Wire Worm Waffles' it's the last one before yours and is a beautiful plate of mini waffles, drizzled with a glistening fiery sauce which is steaming nicely and looking rather appealing. The worms themselves are quite easy to see and the priest readies himself for more disappointment.

He sips a glass of water to clear his pallet as a fork of waffle is placed in his mouth. The crowd hold their breath, three chews is all it gets before he spits it out, and pronounces.

'19th July, St Alfred's feast, the King ate this as a canapé. . . . execute!'

The pudgy priest is then craned along the table to your offering, he peers at it but his clay features are really hard to read.

A fork is lifted and the priest is fed baby style once again.

He takes a bite, you just don't know what to do, if it's bad then you'll be executed just like all the others!

He begins to chew, the crowd is silent. . . . he then chews some more . . . then some more, and rather than spitting it out, he swallows, does that mean he likes it!?

'13th February, The Fire Fly Kings birthday celebrations.'

Oh no has the King has already eaten this meal?

But the priest continues, 'this will be a fitting dish for that date.'

Thank goodness what a relief, it would appear you have chosen wisely.

'Now that concludes this session, I suggest we reconvene at 2.30 for the second selection.'

Rather pleased you've escaped execution, you ask the person next to you what he means by second sitting. 'Oh later today you've got to go back out tasting again and find a new dish for the King.'

Oh no not again, you think to yourself, this is impossible, but there is no escape!