SC - RE: Tasting Dinners

[LHG, JRG]

In a message dated 10/18/1998 9:26:27 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
stefan at texas.net writes:

<< It may be splitting hairs, but serving special dishes or the same dishes
with 
 special, more expensive ingredients to the the high table might also be
 considered to be a similar misuse of event or group money. I am undecided
myself on this one. >>

A few separate dishes that go to the head table is very period and can really
lend to the ambience of the feast, if its handled correctly.  A different type
of presentation, or making a big production out of the serving of those few
special dishes has really added to feasts I've attended in the past.  The
problem I've seen is when the special dish is offered to individuals who
aren't at the head table for whatever reason.

A good case in point is our A&S Collegium which was held a couple of weeks
ago.  My husband and I were invited to sit at the head table because he is the
new Kingdom chronicler and I was the autocrat.  There was one special dish
that was served to the head table, a roast leg of lamb.(Which was not
purchased specially for the high table, it was what was left of the whole lamb
purchased for a specific dish.)  Everything was fine until the person serving
the head table came to take the tray away.  On his way back to the kitchen he
decided to stop and give some to two Countesses, who were not sitting at head
table because they were helping with serving.  He just stopped, let them have
some of the lamb and continued on to the kitchen.  This embarassed the two
recipients and made the rest of their table feel left out.  Unfortunately I
didn't find this out until I got home and was told the story, or I would have
had a long talk with that server.

What it really comes down to is a value judgement by the kitchen staff on how
to hanble this sort of thing, as Master Adamantius pointed out.

Noemi
Windkeep
Outlands
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