ANST - Feast Regulations?

[Margo Lynn Hablutzel]

>>> What exactly are the stated guidelines for planning an event's feast?

Speaking as someone who has cooked or assisted at feasts in four other
Kingdoms, and only helped in the kitchen for one in Ansteorra, I can tell
you that I have never seen "stated guidelines."  This seems to be something
that is based upon the knowledge and skills (and cooking facilities) of the
group and/or persons involved.

Some people like the consistent atmosphere given by having the feast follow
the theme of the event.  So, for a 14th Century Italian event you try to
serve a 14th Century Italian meal, for a "Turn of the Millenium" event you
try to serve foods from 1000CE.  Some people go to great lengths to
investigate foods from countries from which we have few records: Japan,
Scotland, Viking lands, etc.  Some people try to rely exclusively on foods
that are available agriculturally in the season, root vegetables in winter,
fresh salad only in the spring.

Others find their skills and interests, or the palates of their members,
more limited.  They may make all the foods from one book, such as "Pleyn
Delit" or (HORRORS!) "Fabulous Feasts" as it is all they have.  They may do
something very basic because the people won't eat anything they cannot
recognize or there are no servers so it has to be serve-able from a buffet
line or the seneschal or Baron(ess) has decreed that all feasts must
include glazed carrots or some other favoured dish.  Some groups care less
about cooking from period recipes than others.

There are also mix-and-match feasts, dictated by the wimsy of the cook.  My
"cannot believe it's really period" feast is one such, several courses of
foods that people don't think of as period, such as potato soup, stuffed
eggs, meatloaf with macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, cheesecake, and so
on.  You might get a White Feast for a winter event, or a Feast of Tartes
at a Fooles Event.  These can also fit the event's theme, but the dishes
may not all be from the same location and timeperiod.  Many years ago, when
ambassadors from Lochac came to visit the area, I did a feast with three
removes that focussed on the three major peoples in our area: European,
Middle Eastern, and Japanese.  This fit as they were being introduced to
our area and out people, although in period such a mixture would not have
occurred.

Pretty much the only rules I have seen, are to have foods that everybody
can eat (not everybody eats all the foods, but try to keep in mind (1)
vegetarians and (2) major food allergies: milk/dairy, onions/garlic,
pepper, wheat); serve lots of meat; serve food at required or expected
temperatures.  If the tofu dish is offered as a vegetarian alternative to a
meat dish, then you have one concern, but if it's a main dish you have
another.

Probably *my* only rigidity is to use limonadas instead of that icky nasty
expensive powdered lemon drink stuff.  Not always appropriate in time and
space, but delicious and available year-around in modern times.


                                        ---= Morgan


           |\     THIS is the cutting edge of technology! 
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           |/     Morgan Cain * Hablutzel at compuserve.com
                     Barony of the Steppes * Ansteorra
                    daytime: margolh at nortelnetworks.com

    Criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home.
                           --- Dale Carnegie
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