sca-cooks Introduction of newcomer

[Olivia]

Hello there!

I just realized we've all been sitting in a circle, so to speak,
introducing ourselves, and I've been pretty active on this list without
supplying any background. My apologies for the rudeness.

I am Gideanus Tacitus Adamantius, living in the Crown Province of
=D8stgardr, East Kingdom. My chosen persona is of a 5th-6th century
Romanized Briton who has seen service with a war duke commonly called
Arthur. I've been in the Society for almost 15 years, and cooking for
events for just over 12 of those years. I am a Maunche (E.K. arts award)
and a founding member of the Fighting Cooks of =D8stgardr. I live in a
large Province, and the oldest group in the East, and we have seen
numerous groups dissolve as a result of infighting between separate arts
and fighting communities. In an attempt to prevent this, both locally,
and as an example to other groups, we formed the Fighting Cooks. It also
keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously, either on the field or in
the kitchen.

I've cooked for more local events than I can calculate, and have run
three or four very large kitchens at kingdom level events, and have
participated in some form in countless others.

My special areas of interest are food preservation and cheesemaking, and
I am apparently known as an exceptional troubleshooter on-site. I have
been a professional cook in three- and four-star restaurants in New York
for a number of years, but have since decided to pursue something more
theoretical, and less stressful and dangerous. I have, however, had the
quintessentially satisfying experience of showing David Bouley (arguably
one of the finest chefs on the planet) how to make stiffly beaten egg
whites by pouring them through a strainer, following the instructions in
The Forme of Cury.

But enough about me...what do YOU think of me...?

Adamantius