One thing that humans and sapient salamanders have in common is a need for food. Those that prepare said sustenance in said society are a higher status that their fellows who toil in the fields. While most juveniles live on the brink of starvation, those that get assigned to the kitchens can usually get away with stealing at least a few morsels if they try. As such, their rations are higher than normal. Juveniles which are seen to be particularly promising get sent to work in various kitchens. These range from large scale buildings in which hundreds of salamander work day and night making food for mammoth refectories to rough operations around work camps (such as this fellow). Either way, they are spared from the brutal combat that most of their brothers face and the attrition rate among kitchen juveniles is fairly low, though competition remains fierce. Kitchen positions are coveted and even among the inducted many are dismissed and will have to face the more conventional horrors of this race's childhood. But for those who can stand the heat and stay in the kitchen, their chances of reaching matron status are much higher.