SC - Tasting Dinners

[Christine A Seelye-King]

I would like to say a few things about tasting dinners.  
I usually do them. 
I usually use part of the feast budget to finance them.  The amount used
for one table's worth of food is not enough to throw off the entire
budget, and can be done within the budget set forth for the feast.  
I have attended several feasts where I would have gladly paid extra to
have had the cook do a pre-test dinner of their own.  
I feel they are part and parcel of researching and preparing the dinner,
to ensure an appetizing combination of foods and flavors, and to work out
any bugs in new recipies or serving order.  
While I usually use spices and staples from my own kitchen to do them,
(especially if I haven't bought those items for the feast yet), I think
that the feast budget should cover costs for a pre-test dinner's main
ingredients.  
Obviously, this could be abused, ie; cooking steak dinners for you and
your friends six nights running to "try out" that grilled steak and onion
recipie you found, but I don't know many feastcrats that are in this for
the groceries.  
I have gladly volunteered countless hours of labor, knowledge, resources,
my own kitchen, serving utensils, equipment, transportation, storage,
upkeep of perishibles, etc. for feasts that I and others have done, and
will do so again with no compunction. (I'm the one with 3 refrigerators
and a deep freeze!)  BUT, I don't have a problem with SCA funds covering
food costs and expenses for an event where fees are paid.  (If we're all
donating everything for Toys for Tots or somesuch, that's another
matter.)
There.  I feel better now.  Go back to your regularly scheduled chat. 
Mistress Christianna MacGrain

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