Cotton and Horse Soul, the renowned chefs, were not around, and what was left in Shadow were all cooking rookies. Conversely, it was a good thing they were not there, as it might have led to issues. Without automatically generated recipes, all ingredients needed to be cleaned, chopped, or processed—no one could withstand such work alone in the winter.
Assisting in the kitchen could easily lead to minor disagreements and quarrels, which in turn could break the principle of equality and lead to a hierarchy. Normally, to avoid being scolded, the assistants might have to flatter the head chef. Even if everyone could restrain themselves, emotionally, no one wanted to offend the head chef.