SC - do you have any ideas ?

[Diamond]

Responses to several, and I lost the attributions, sorry.

> Yeah, the last is a good point, one I tried to make but may have left
> unstressed: it's one thing to expect adults, who are in this organization
> voluntarily, to sit through courts and other delays before being fed. Children,
> who are often at the event primarily so that their parents can attend, are
> another story, and expecting them to wait an unknown time upon the vagaries of
> courts and the whims of the muckety-mucks is a little unfair.

I would like to stress that it is the parent's responsibility to fix this, not
the kitchen steward.  The kitchen steward is stressed enough, esp. if court is
late.  An additional pre-feast children's feast or different slate of dishes
at feast is not gonna help matters. [Subsequent finishing of my downloaded
mail indicates this is quite often done without a great deal of stress to the
kitchen steward. I bow to experience and will keep that in mind when I cook.]

> As far as period food goes, I've found kids like the "weird tastes" of period
> dishes. An example that comes immedietly to mind was when I served a Blanche
> Porrey at an outdoor feast. Everyone liked it but the kids really loved the
> fact that it had cinnamon in it.

Although many children are inadvertantly taught to like a small range of food,
other children are refreshingly open-minded! If no one has ever insisted that
stew (f'rinstance) must taste like THIS, then stew tasting like THAT doesn't
phase them.

> If I might make a suggestion, perhaps you can incorporate "food weenie
> proof" recipes into your main banquet, so that there's something in every
> course that's "safe". That way kids can sit with their folks, and eat
> together. They may not want to eat everything that comes by, but who knows?
> Maybe they'll try something new and find out they really like cretonnee of
> new peas after all? The food will be better, you wont have to cook two
> seperate meals, and everyone will get a chance to play together, regardless
> of age.

The practice of including some very plain foods in each course is also highly
useful for satisfying the adults with special dietary needs due to allergy or attitude.

Several recommended that subtelties or period variations on kid-safe food
might be helpful.  Not dependably so.  Little porcipines to eat may be
endearing to some, but a nightmare akin to eating Bambi's mother to others.
In my experience, kids who are picky are PICKY.  Those who must have
mac-n-cheese must have the kind they are familiar with, flat noodles and
possibly unexpected additions will be rejected.  The kids that adjust to
different noodles, homemade sauce and other changes, could have accepted
something else altogether.  And so on.

I guess if it were my children during their picky years, I would recommend
roasted chicken legs, plain cooked or raw veggies, plain pasta, boiled rice,
bread without stuff (seeds, herbs) baked in it or on it, cheese cubes, fruit. 
We didn't eat hot dogs, fish sticks or boxed mac-n-cheese and my kids didn't
like them.


Bonne
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