SC - [Fwd: Brief introduction]

[Decker, Terry D.]

     Greetings, good gentles!
     
     My name is Lady Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina, and I live in the 
     Barony of Thescorre in Aethelmearc (mundanely Rochester, NY). I joined 
     the society in 1988 and played in the Barony Beyond the Mountain and 
     the Barony of Dragonship Haven (mundanely, Connecticut) before moving 
     here a few years ago.
     
     As someone who loves to cook and bake, I decided early on that the 
     kitchen was where I wanted to be at an event.  In the beginning, I 
     chopped veggies, washed dishes, and such. A few years ago, my barony 
     asked me to try my hand at being head cook and I decided that I really 
     liked the research, planning, organization, and, of course, the 
     cooking! Oh, and teaching people how to bake or learning a cooking 
     skill from them is one of the coolest side effects of being in the 
     kitchen.
     
     Over the past two years, I've been head cook at five feasts (ranging 
     from 60 to 150 people) and baked bread or did lunch for two others. I 
     started out with a hearty, delicious, on-time, under-budget meal which 
     I now realize was ridiculously unauthentic. My last feast used all 
     period sources and I redacted several of the recipes myself, I'm 
     relieved to report. Oh, and it was still yummy, on time, and under 
     budget. Heh heh. However, I'm still really lame in the subtlety 
     department.  I'm afraid that I'm a good cook, but a lousy artisan.
     
     My first question to you knowledgable folks is this: I've been asked 
     to cater the wedding of two SCAdians next year. They want, of course, 
     a medieval-themed ceremony and meal. Researching the food and 
     preparing the meal doesn't stump me. My concern is that this won't be 
     an SCA event and thus won't be covered by *SCA insurance*. 
     
     Now, I've always posted my recipes and ingredients and made an effort 
     to accommodate vegetarians, lactose-intolerant people, and a variety 
     of allergies in my feasts. I've never made anyone sick, to my 
     knowledge, and I've never let dirty or broken serving ware go out into 
     the hall. So, I don't have a specific reason to be concerned, but I 
     know that this is, unfortunately, a litigious world that we live in. 
     The SCA couple is having difficulty finding a site that will let them 
     use a caterer who is not professionally licensed or insured. I've done 
     some investigation, and the insurance would be pretty friggin' 
     expensive, even for just one day.
     
     The couple thinks they've found a site which will allow a 
     non-professional caterer, but I'm still worried that this could be the 
     one time that something awful happens, that someone gets sick, and 
     they or their family sues me and/or the couple.
     
     Any suggestions? I've considered waivers, I've thought about not 
     charging the couple so that I'm not actually "catering." I just want 
     to cook this meal because I think it will be a blast. What have any of 
     you done in this situation?
     
     Katja
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