should you let la squadra cook for you? 🍳

it depends on what they're making. but generally:

risotto is a pretty darn good cook, but you feel kind of bad about asking him unless he's planning to cook but doesn't know what to make b/c he's often busy. with baking tho he's one of those people who's always making different breads b/c you get the benefit of something homemade but it needs time to rise and shit so he can still go do other stuff in between. formaggio probably named the sourdough starter that risotto's kept in the fridge for like 3 years. let risotto cook for you if he offers or you catch him at a good time.

prosciutto is very good at cooking, but though it's not that he's Uncreative, he's the kind of person who likes to follow the recipe without too much variance, so if you're looking for something that relies mostly on vibes for cooking it, he's probably not the most compatible for that dish. he's king of making do tho, he knows what works together and what you can substitute so he's amazing at working with a kitchen of odds and ends. for a lot of things, you should let prosciutto cook for you.

pesci is another amazing cook. he's really good at making food feel homey; if 'the secret ingredient is love' could be applied to anyone, it would be pesci. he's not really the one to go to for making something feel fancy because, while he doesn't eschew presentation entirely, it's just not what he thinks Makes a dish, and he's kind of right because his food is so damn good no matter what. similar to pros on recipe-following but a little more flexible, and can make simple things like soup Really Really fuckin good. you should absolutely let pesci cook for you.

formaggio is pretty good at cooking! takeout is always fun but homecooked food hits different in his opinion because, like pesci, it's about the love and effort. it's not always perfect but that's part of the beauty of it in his opinion, it has personality, it's a lil personal somethin somethin to reflect yourself or your family recipes or your friends that you're making it for. he just enjoys it, and he always makes things in big batches/portions b/c he's all about those leftovers that let the flavours meld together. let formaggio cook for you.

illuso is actually a great cook, largely by necessity of being rather reclusive and not wanting to rely solely on takeout or cheap shit. he's creative with it too, great at adding his own lil twists or flairs that just make u go oooh, can follow a recipe or vibes extremely well. the main thing is he usually cooks for himself unless it's his premeditated turn to make dinner or he's feeling generous; outside of that, you'll have to offer something in exchange and pay upfront (but don't worry once u make the deal he won't cut and run). if you have something to pay the Illuso Being Nice tax, you should absolutely let him cook for you.

melone is... not a very good cook. he gets a little too carried away with creative liberties and it just ends up fucking weird. sometimes he hits a sweet spot in experimenting where it's actually pretty good but most of the time you're just kind of like, what the fuck is going on in my mouth rn? baking is easier because it's an exact science, if you give him a set of instructions and tell him not to stray he won't. you can leave him with like, boxed pudding or cake mix and not much else. it's inadvisable to let melone cook for you.

ghiaccio is not a great cook either because he just gets frustrated and overwhelmed with the whole thing easily. if it has to be timed right? nope. burned by popping hot oil/water/steam? he'll hiss and grumble but then he has to keep watching the stove/holding the pot and ah fuck. if something goes wrong he's like WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT and tries fixing it but then he has to do something else and it just spirals. it has to be very simple or very precise or both, because there is something about cooking that just does not click for him. don't let ghiaccio cook for you.

sorbet is an amazing cook. his learned cooking tradition is more on the exact side of things but he has both the craziness and finesse to make vibe-based dishes really well, and be creative without getting too out of hand. he can go fancy or homey, but everything he makes he does really well, because he finds it satisfying. he also just really enjoys taking care of those he's close to. and even if you're a target? he thinks poison is for pussies, so you're at least guaranteed a great meal before you're taken out. there are no downsides to letting sorbet cook for you.

gelato burns water and is less picky than a raccoon. doesn't bother with recipes unless it's right in front of him and his judgement for substituting/freeballing is terrible. time doesn't exist for this adhd king so everything is either under or overcooked. he will try making microwaved baked potatoes and says 'please i KNOW you have to stab holes in it so it doesn't explode 🙄' then puts it in for 12 minutes and makes the whole kitchen smell like burning for the next 48 hours. he's trustworthy with a few basic things he has memorized + has years of experience on or are impossible to fuck up, but otherwise, please don't let gelato cook for you.