SC - Re: SC Brandy

[Decker, Terry D.]

> Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 10:43:12 -0700
> From: yumitori at marsweb.com (Ron Martino Jr)
> Subject: Re: SC - Fw: [Mid] PALE event terminology
> 
> Haifuku!
> 
> > All in all, when I do a feast, I am a feastocrat and any attempt to relegate
> > me to the function of Kitchen Steward will be met with vigorous resistance.
> > :-0
> > 
> > Ras
> 
>         Since you live in a land where properly descriptive terms such as
> 'cook' are looked down upon, what about using 'chef'? Is that word
> documentable to pre-1600?
> 
>         Yumitori

Not, apparently, in a culinary context. The word is a cognate to the
English "chief", and is regarded as more or less interchangable with
"maitre", except one is a title and the other a form of address.
Addressing a chef de cuisine as "Chef" is akin to calling a Duke,
"Duke", instead of "Your Grace".

I believe Lady Aoife wanted to know the female equivalent form. I regret
to say there doesn't really appear to be one. I suppose if Cleopatra (or
was it Nefertiti?) could be Pharoah, a lady can be a chef. Many are,
nowadays, but I suspect Aoife is more of a Lady than the ones I have
encountered. With respect to all concerned, I submit that the correct
form of address for a female chef would be "Madame".

The only historical example I can think of in period, at the moment, is
the Savoyard chef Chiquart Amiczo (~ 15th century, IIRC), who is
referred to in ducal household documents as Maitre Chiquart Amiczo,
Cuisinier. There is another word in the same documents designating
scullions, but offhand I don't recall it.

Adamantius
troy at asan.com
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