Mantar Semizotu: The Salty Lobster Emperor

Mantar Semizotu is a renowned chef specializing in salty cuisine, currently employed by Soh Marul. In his past life, Semizotu was the monochromatic emperor of Istakoz, a tiny moon of Jupiter containing sentient turquoise lobster entities wearing antennas capable of telepathy. After realizing the cruel fate of their cousins throughout Earth’s kitchens, Semizotu and his army hitched a ride on a nearby comet in order to conquer humanity. However, he alone landed in Turkey’s Lake Tuz, whose hypersalinity scrambled his neurons and left him unable to locate his pod. He eventually developed a taste for salt and relied on the lake’s nutrients until it dried up. 

When Semizotu was reincarnated as a Turkish sailor, he graced local kitchens with his flavourful saline dishes, while his unusual lobster curl mannerisms made him a household name. His fiercely passionate attitudes regarding the preservation of lobsters led to many brawls, until he was barred from working in kitchens nationwide. This caught the attention of the eccentric Indian property magnate Soh Marul, who quickly hired him as his personal chef. 

Semizotu frequently engages in petty duels behind the scenes with Marul’s adopted son-in-law, Nil Yagaan Mhow, a purple honey beekeeper who prefers the sweet palate (and is likely descended from cotton candy), in an attempt to usurp the Marul estate and enact Istakoz' initial invasion plan. Although Semizotu is close friends with the diamond gentleman Mr. Casson, the estate's robot butler, he does not share his glittering vision which remains even when a lobster is boiled alive.