ANST - Steppes 12th Night - THANK YOU!

[Koch, KA Kimberly (4384)]

Hi all,

I just wanted to say a few words on behalf of the head cooks for Steppes
Twelfth Night.  We planned the feast for 400, and were a little
surprised to discover that we were cooking instead for almost exactly
500 - the largest Steppes Twelfth Night ever.  In spite of all the
confusion, we sincerely hope that everyone was well fed and that they
enjoyed the meal.  Admittedly, things did not go exactly as planned, but
with an enormous amount of assistance from kind gentles from all over
the kingdom, we made it through - we even had food left over.  We owe a
tremendous debt of gratitude to everyone who helped with cooking before
the feast and to all the great folks who stopped into the kitchen to
work for a couple of hours - some of them for more like 8 or 10 hours
(or longer).  So, thank you to:

*Eoian, Giuliana, and Robin and Adelicia for helping with prep work, and
Muireann for letting us take over her house for the last week or so  
*the dozen or so wonderful Steppes children and teens who helped all day
in the kitchen, including Chris and Tony, Richard and John, Camaren,
Cynric and Rachel, and others whose names I never caught - special
thanks to Cynric, who did such a great job helping to coordinate serving
at Steppes Artisan last fall, I asked him to do it again
*Deborah, who slaved for hours in the kitchen Friday night and came back
for more the next day
*Christina, Roderick, Johanna, Baroness Aideen, and the many others who
worked all day cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes
*all the servers, who did such a great job under less than ideal
circumstances
*our beloved household members - Conal, Miguel, and Anna, who worked
tirelessly in the kitchen all day, and Donovan, who served head table.
Ooooooporto!  I'm so proud of you guys!
*Michelle, Donovan, and Aldric who drove from Wiesenfeuer just to be
drafted into slave labor the moment they walked in the door - and
special thanks to Michelle, who agreed to coordinate the servers for me
and still doesn't hate me, even after she figured out just what a huge
and impossible job I'd asked her to do
*the members of the chivalry, who came into the kitchen during court, in
their nicest Twelfth Night garb, to clean up after us (I hope I'm not
forgetting anyone) - Galen of Bristol, Godwin, Conrad, Daffydd, Alrek
Kanin, Corwin, Duke Mikael (and Mikaela!), Dieter, and Lyonel.  There
were so many white belts in the kitchen, it looked like a belted circle
(except they were having fun - admit it, guys, you know you did!)
*extra special thanks to the lovely (and cunning) Lady Vanora, who
somehow managed to get all of those knights into the kitchen all at once
- and got pictures!

As always, my apologies to anyone I may have inadvertantly forgotten or
whose names I never caught.  We're indescribably grateful to all who
helped.  I've worked on three coronation feasts and this Twelfth Night,
all of which served over 400 people.  It's an enormous job to feed and
serve so many people, and we are always absolutely dependent on the help
we get from the people who simply volunteer - sometimes they're close
friends, but more often they're strangers who just want to help.  It's
in the kitchen of these events where I've developed my fullest
appreciation of and love for the people in the SCA - they are generous
and hardworking, even knowing full well that their efforts may go
entirely unrecognized.  These people - the ones who volunteer their time
so selflessly, whatever the cause may be - are the heart and soul of the
SCA, and they are why it works.  
Thank you.

With deepest gratitude,
HL Thyra of Black Oak Keep,
on behalf of the cooks,
Duchess Joselyn Allyne Reynard, OP
and Sir Gunthar Jonsson

Please feel free to send comments, questions, suggestions, or complaints
(no, really!) to myself or Sir Gunthar.
Thyra: kochka at gvl.esys.com
Gunthar: mfgunter at fnc.fujitsu.com
  

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