toastsim/KITCHEN-ATLAS.md

# TOASTSIM — THE KITCHEN ATLAS (the mega plan: every medium, every tool, every dish)

*This is MASTERPLAN.md's continuation — phases P6–P11, cut-ready for Opus.
Read MASTERPLAN §1–§3 first (the design law and the bones are unchanged and
non-negotiable), then Brief 3 §1–§2 (working agreements + traps). Each phase
below gets its own OPUS-BUILD-BRIEF-N.md when its turn comes, re-planned
against what the previous phase taught. Asset generation is unlimited and
free on MODELBEAST — when in doubt, render it. Don't be shy.*

## 0. The audit — what exists, what's missing (2026-07-18)

**Mediums covered by P0–P5:** dry radiant (toaster), enclosed roast (oven),
conductive + fat (the pan, P2), wet-gentle (poach, P3), air (whip, P3).
**Mediums missing:** boil, steam, deep-fry, grill, directed flame (torch),
smoke, cure/pickle (time itself as a medium), freeze/churn, microwave (as
comedy), pressure (as risk).
**Tools covered:** knife identities (dinner/bread/butter/Best Thing/soup
spoon), juicers ×3, box grater, toaster, oven tray, tongs+basting spoon (P2).
**Tools missing:** the knife SET as a system (chef's, paring, boning,
cleaver, carving pair), mandoline, peeler, melon baller, torch, thermometer,
pestle & mortar, piping bag, ladle, sieve, rolling pin, ricer, fish slice.
**Technique classes missing:** spec cuts (brunoise/julienne/chiffonade/
tourné), peeling, carving, tempering, emulsifying, seasoning-as-navigation.

Six phases close those gaps. Order matters: WATER before the FRYER (the pot
teaches wet heat cheap), the SPICE RACK before the BANQUET (alchemy is the
depth multiplier), the KNIFE ROLL early (spec cuts feed every later dish).

## 1. The three doctrines this atlas adds (design law amendments)

1. **THE IRREVERSIBILITY DOCTRINE** (John's law: *you can always add more
   salt, you can't add less*). Seasoning is a ONE-WAY vector walk. Every
   pinch, splash, and spoonful moves the dish's point in flavor space and
   there is NO undo — only dilution (add volume: moves you on OTHER axes
   too) or acceptance. The TASTE verb (spoon, costs 3s of service time) is
   the only way to see your position. This single rule makes every shake of
   the jar a decision with weight. It is the alchemy John asked for: the
   cauldron never subtracts.
2. **THE INFORMATION-TOOL DOCTRINE.** Some tools don't change the dish —
   they reveal it. The thermometer shows the interior ramp; the taste spoon
   shows flavor position; the flour-dust shows the rolled thickness. Info
   tools cost TIME, and time is the judge's oldest criterion — knowing vs
   guessing becomes the skill economy. Masters guess; cowards probe; the
   judge respects a confident blind serve that lands ("No thermometer. Bold.
   ...Correct.").
3. **THE SPEC DOCTRINE.** Every cutting/portioning task can carry a SPEC:
   a target size band + CV + optional clock. The same dice you know becomes
   brunoise-2mm-in-40s. Specs are data, not code — one `CutSpec` type feeds
   the prep bench, the drills mode, and every recipe forever.

## 2. P6 — WATER & OIL (the pot, the steamer, the fryer)

The pot is the pan's sibling: a heat-under-vessel with a LIQUID field.
- **`sim/pot.ts`**: water state (cold→simmer→rolling; bubble visual+audio
  cues, no meter — the P2 rule), salt-the-water tie-in (M16 dosing),
  contents cook on immersion clocks (pasta al dente window, egg 6/8/10min
  bands — the yolk is a radial doneness ramp, the poach field reused).
- **Steam**: the basket over the pot — gentlest clock, vegetables keep
  colour (a `vibrancy` value that boiling murders and steaming keeps — the
  judge SEES grey broccoli).
- **THE FRYER**: oil temp is the fear mechanic. Too cold = sog (the sog
  clock reused as GREASE), too hot = instant char + spit mess; the basket
  lift-and-drain gesture; the drain rack + paper as a station; double-fry
  for chips (the ticket teaches it: "twice, love. once for cooked, once
  for golden"). Water-drop-in-oil = the spit event (mess + a judged burn
  incident — the knuckle lesson's floor applies: careful play never burns).
- **Dishes unlocked**: pasta night (boil + pan sauce + emulsify with pasta
  water — the swirl), soft-boiled egg soldiers (toast reuse!), fish &
  chips (batter dip + fry + drain), steamed greens side.
- **Feel that must be right:** the fryer's menace. You should hover.
- Assets (seeds 400–429): stockpot, pasta pot w/ strainer lid, steamer
  basket, chip basket, drain rack, oil jug, thermometer probe, egg timer
  (prop only — the REAL clock is the bubbles), chip cup, newspaper cone.

## 3. P7 — THE SPICE RACK (alchemy; the irreversibility doctrine lands)

- **`sim/flavor.ts`**: 6-axis flavor space — salt / heat / acid / sweet /
  bitter / aroma. Every dish carries a position vector + a target REGION
  (per-recipe band, some axes "don't care"). Score = distance-in-band with
  named misses per axis ("acid's hiding, love", "that's not warm, that's
  ANGRY").
- **Spices as data** (the rack grows across days): salt (M16 curve),
  pepper, chili (heat with a LAG — it blooms 8s after tasting, the trap),
  paprika, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, lemon (acid + brightness), vinegar,
  fresh herbs (aroma, DIE if added early to hot pans — timing matrix
  reused). Each spice = a dose curve + an axis vector + a timing profile.
  Adding a spice is `flavor.add(spice, mass)` — THERE IS NO SUBTRACT.
- **The verbs**: pinch/shake (dose gestures, M16), TASTE (the info spoon,
  3s, shows your vector vs target as a wobbly radar blot — precision of
  the readout scales with a "palate" stat that grows with tasting? NO —
  YAGNI, flat readout, the wobble is enough), DILUTE (cream/stock/more
  base: scales all axes toward origin but raises volume — the only
  "eraser" and it costs balance elsewhere), GRIND (pestle & mortar — the
  reamer twist verbatim, whole spices > pre-ground bonus), BLOOM (drop in
  hot fat — pan tie-in, doubles aroma, burns in 6s), TOAST (dry pan on
  whole seeds — a browning Field on a spice bed, shake to even it).
- **Recipes**: curry night is the capstone (bloom → base → build the
  vector axis by axis → taste → correct → the judge's palate names every
  axis). Chili con carne, cinnamon toast (day-3 callback with sugar dose!),
  lemon on the fish (P6 tie).
- **Feel that must be right:** the fear before the second chili pinch.
- Assets (seeds 430–469): spice rack shelf, 12 labelled jars (SAME seed
  ±1 for family coherence), pestle & mortar, taste spoon, cream jug,
  stock pot, chili string, lemon ×2 (whole/half), herb bundle ×3.

## 4. P8 — THE KNIFE ROLL (tool tiers, spec cuts, drills)

- **THE KNIFE SET, finally**: chef's (the all-rounder), paring (small
  radius = tight curves, peels), boning (flex, fish/meat seams), cleaver
  (mass — crushes garlic flat with the SIDE, the bash gesture), carving
  pair (below), bread + Best Thing + butter (existing). Knives are the
  existing `ToolId` system scaled up: each has bite/wobble/slip numbers
  the cutting sim ALREADY consumes — a knife set is mostly DATA + meshes.
  The KNIFE ROLL UI replaces the drawer when tools exceed 8 (a canvas
  roll-out cloth — the drawer dwell-fish gesture reused on a new surface).
- **Spec cuts** (`CutSpec`: { name, sizeMM: [min,max], cv, clockS? }):
  brunoise (2mm), fine dice (5), medium (12), julienne (2-pass strips —
  dice pattern with pass B skipped + length spec), chiffonade (STACK the
  basil leaves first — a mini stack gesture — then slice the roll),
  bâtonnet, tourné (the absurd seven-sided barrel — 7 curved paring
  strokes, the S-rank flex, judge line: "A tourné. In THIS kitchen.").
- **The peeler**: inverse coverage — remove a skin Field without cutting
  flesh mass; potato, carrot, apple-in-one-ribbon (bonus).
- **The mandoline**: brutal speed for slices-at-spec, and the knuckle
  danger at 10× (the guard exists — USING it is the skill; careless
  no-guard speed = the floor rule protects care, punishes greed).
- **Melon baller**: sphere-scoop dose gesture — perfect spheres from
  watermelon/butter; the ballscape is Clark-Evans ON A PLATE (P4 tie).
- **PREP DRILLS — the minigame mode John asked for**: a side menu off the
  title ("STAGE" — culinary school). Timed spec tickets: "brunoise this
  onion, 60 seconds, CV under 0.15". Score-attack, medal times, S-rank
  ghosts (your best run's cut timings replay as ghost seams). Drills are
  ONE scene reusing the whole prep bench + specs + clock — pure content.
- **Feel that must be right:** the mandoline's hum of danger; a landed
  tourné.
- Assets (seeds 470–519): knife roll cloth, 6 knives (same-seed family),
  carving fork, mandoline, peeler, melon baller, watermelon (whole/half),
  potato ×3, carrot, apple, medal set 2D (bronze/silver/gold/S).

## 5. P9 — FIRE II: DIRECTED HEAT (the torch, the grill, the smoke)

- **THE BLOWTORCH**: the crown gesture of this phase. A hand-held heat
  source you PAINT with — literally the spread gesture driving a browning
  Field, but the "knife" is a flame cone: distance = width + intensity,
  speed = dose. Hold too close/slow = scorch spot; sweep evenly = glass.
  The torch generalizes: brûlée tops, pepper skins (P1 callback — char
  then peel!), meringue tips, cheese melts.
- **CRÈME BRÛLÉE — the elaborate dish that earns the tool**: custard base
  (P3 whisk + temper: add hot cream to yolks SLOWLY — a pour-rate gesture,
  too fast = scramble), bake in a water bath (P6 tie), chill (P10 tie or
  simple clock), sugar dose (even coverage — spread stats), TORCH IT, then
  **THE CRACK TEST**: the judge taps with the back of a spoon, on camera.
  Audio is the verdict — the clean *crack* vs a sad *tap*. Field stats →
  crack quality: mean in band + stdev low + no scorch = the sound of S.
- **THE GRILL**: the browning Field with GRATE GEOMETRY — stripes! The
  90° rotate for crosshatch is a technique flex (the dice's second pass,
  as heat). Flare-ups when fat drips (mess → fire — dodge window).
- **SMOKE** (long clock): the smoker box as a background station across a
  whole day; wood chip choice = an aroma axis vector (P7 tie).
- **Feel that must be right:** the torch sweep, and the crack.
- Assets (seeds 520–559): blowtorch (hero prop — chrome + red), ramekins
  ×3, sugar shaker, grill grate, hibachi, smoker box, wood chip bags ×3,
  blowtorch flame 2D sprite frames, crosshatch reference 2D.

## 6. P10 — COLD & TIME (the freezer, the cure, the long game)

- **Cold as a medium**: freezer states on the temp clock run past fridge —
  granita (scrape-every-N-minutes across a service — a recurring
  interrupt the player must remember, no reminder UI), ice cream (the
  churn — a sustained stir gesture with a stiffening resistance curve,
  the whip's cousin), chilling sets (brûlée, panna cotta — the wobble
  test returns at the pass).
- **CURE & PICKLE — time itself as an ingredient**: salt cure (M16 mass ×
  DAYS — start a gravlax on day N, it's ready day N+2; the save system
  already persists days), quick pickles (acid + sugar + time), preserved
  lemons (P7 tie). A CURING SHELF UI: jars with day counters — the first
  mechanic that makes the player think ACROSS days. The judge remembers:
  "You started this Tuesday. It shows. Good."
- **Feel that must be right:** opening a jar you started three days ago.
- Assets (seeds 560–589): chest freezer, granita tray + fork, churn
  bucket, preserving jars ×4 (empty/full family), gravlax slab, curing
  shelf, ice cream scoop, coupe glass.

## 7. P11 — THE BANQUET (carving, the elaborate table, the symphony)

- **CARVING — the two-handed gesture John called**: the carving FORK
  anchors (place + hold = a pin constraint on the roast; the off-hand's
  first real job) and the knife slices AGAINST the anchor — unanchored
  carving = the roast slides and tears (slip physics at roast scale).
  Carve at the PASS, plated per-slice, thickness spec + evenness across
  slices (CV across the whole bird/joint — the ultimate pieces test).
- **The elaborate dishes** — each one a graduation exam using 4+ stations:
  the roast dinner (roast + carve + gravy [pan fond + flavor nav] + sides
  timed to land TOGETHER — the service clock's final form), the whole
  fish (fillet with the boning knife — seam-following, a guided cut
  along a curve spec — then pan + lemon + herbs), beef wellington if
  we're feeling insane (pastry = rolling pin + wrap + the interior ramp
  through THREE layers — pre-authorized to defer, it's the Everest),
  crème brûlée returns as a course, the banquet DAY: a 3-course ticket
  where the temp clocks, cure shelf, and every station play at once.
- **Menu maturity**: multi-course tickets, course sequencing, the pass
  window (P5's bones, loaded). The judge brings TWO friends. S the
  banquet = the game's current ending (roll credits over the messy bench).
- **Feel that must be right:** the fork anchoring — and the quiet at the
  pass when all three plates land hot at once.
- Assets (seeds 590–629): roast chicken + carved family, roast joint,
  whole fish ×2, carving board with juice groove, gravy boat, dinner
  plates ×3, the pass window shelf, credits hero art 2D.

## 8. Execution rules (how Opus runs this atlas)

1. **One phase = one brief.** Cut OPUS-BUILD-BRIEF-N.md from this atlas
   when its turn comes (P6→Brief 4 is next after Brief 3 ships... unless
   P3 eggs comes first — MASTERPLAN P3–P5 still precede or interleave;
   the reviewer decides the order each time based on what the last phase
   taught. Suggested weave: P2 → P3 → P6 → P7 → P4 → P8 → P9 → P5 → P10
   → P11 — heat before water, alchemy before plating, everything before
   the banquet).
2. **Every phase follows Brief 3 §1 working agreements** (harness first,
   lanes, floors not lotteries, one pressure per day, STATUS discipline,
   deploy per stage) and §2 traps. New traps get APPENDED to the next
   brief — pay once.
3. **Fire the phase's asset batch before writing code.** Seeds are
   reserved above per phase; same-seed families for prop sets that must
   read as siblings (knife set, spice jars, preserving jars). Anything
   that carries physics stays procedural — silhouettes are gameplay.
4. **Dishes are content, primitives are code.** If a new dish needs no
   new primitive, it's a data PR (recipe + spec + lines + assets) — batch
   those freely between phases. If it needs two new primitives, split it.
5. **The drills mode (P8) and the curing shelf (P10) are the two pieces
   of NEW SURFACE** (a menu mode; a cross-day UI) — everything else in
   this atlas is stations and data on existing surfaces. Guard that ratio:
   if a phase sprouts a third new surface, it's over-scoped — cut it.
6. **Kill list stays live**: microwave (comedy cameo only — a prop that
   the judge refuses to acknowledge; pre-authorized to cut), pressure
   cooker (risk without readable skill — cut unless a clean gesture
   appears), sous vide (the bag is a joke prop in P10's freezer, nothing
   more), wellington (defer until P11 ships and begs for it).

## 9. The bet, one last time

Every phase in this atlas is the same bones wearing a new apron: the
browning Field becomes the fryer's grease, the torch's glass, the grill's
stripes; the dose curve becomes the spice rack; the reamer twist becomes
the pestle; the wobble test becomes the crack of a brûlée. That's why this
plan is buildable by agents in weeks instead of years — nothing here is
new physics, it's new POETRY on proven physics. The kitchen grows, the
judge's vocabulary grows with it, and the game stays ONE game — from a
slice of toast to a three-course banquet with a blowtorch in your hand.