SC - Purpose of the Feast-long

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

hi all from Anne-Marie

Ras asks us:
> It would be nice to hear what some other groups do to encourage period
cookery
> at events.  What system do you use?  How do you encourage others to
practice
> their Art in cookery?  How is your kitchen staff managed?  What positive
> changes do you see in the road from feeding the masses to providing a
total
> medieval experience at events?  How do feast customs in your area allow
for a
> fuller experience of the Dream?

Here in Madrone, our Culinary Guild has a system that we've had in place
for about 20 years!! wow.

The potential autocrate of an event comes to a guild meeting and asks the
guild if they'd be willing to do, say, an "Italian Picnic", for so many
bodies (we're limited as to how many we can cook for) at such and such a
hall (there's some halls we just wont cook in). If it seems we can do it,
we as a guild will volunteer. Within our ranks, we'll find a head cook, and
often pair them with someone less experienced, who wants the chance to
learn the ropes. The head cook is responsible for determining the menu,
finding the recipes, etc. Recipes are handed out to guild members to test
and bring to meetings. In the case of new reconstructions, we'll schedule
lots of reconstruction parties where recipes can be tested out and refined.


Sometimes the head cook will invite a tables worth of guests and cook a
remove for them, to see how it goes. S/he starts recruiting buddies to help
in the kitchen. We often will have 20-30 cooks and staff, about half of
which at least are very experienced, if not professionally trained. We dont
usually do much pre-cooking.

The tentative menu is usually in place a couple months before the banquet.
The kitchen schedule (ie what is going on what burners when. egads, we dont
have enough burners, so we cant do that stew, etc) and budget is worked up
and invariably the menu gets changed to reflect that :). The shopping lists
are generated once we have a final head count (for our big feasts, pre-reg
is required, and the reg list closes about a week before so we can do our
final shopping lists, etc.). Our equipment list is generated, and the
contents of Mistress Rowennas garage are inventoried. Extra stuff we dont
have is rustled up from guild memebers, or rented as needed. Guild members
are enlisted to help tote, carry and transport stuff.

Food is almost always purchased either the Friday before or the Saturday
morngin of the banquet. When its me, I do most of my shopping for produce
and meat and dairy at the Pike Place Market. Orders were placed several
weeks before, confirmed the week of and then picked up by me. I drive my
car to their door and they load the stuff in. non-food stuff, etc is bought
at Costco (this trip is often farmed out) or Cash and Carry. We try really
hard to have a shopping buddy system. Keeps you on track and you are less
likely to wander away from the List. Impusle buys will break your budget.

The day of the banquet, we show up as early as we can, disinfect the
kitchen and start washing the equipment (its stored in a garage, so often
needs washing before use). The kitchen schedule is put on the wall.
Experienced cooks are assigned dishes and nab scullery as needed. They are
given copies of the bulked up recipies, as well as the name of the person
who reconstructed it if they have any questions. The kitchen schedule is
adhered to slavishly, while te kitchen head wanders around keeping people
on track, putting out fires, sending folks to the store for the extra flour
when some decided to just make bread and not follow the recipe given ;) and
making sure that hygeine standards are maintained.

We often have a Hall Steward, someone who's job it is to coordinate the
food coming out of the kitchen with the servers, etc. There is a staging
area where stuff is put, and Team Garnish attacks it. Sometiems we
cooridnate the serving too, but more often that's the autocrates job...she
will determine IF theres' serving, what type, how much pomp and ceremony
they want, etc.

The autocrate is also asked for dishwashing staff, etc. The guild sees that
everything is washed, packed away, leftovers bagged and left for happy
feasters, cleaning up the kitchen and then going to someones house to drink
beer and laugh about the day.

We have a great time. We work very well together and it all runs like a
well oiled machine. Folks from elsewhere are amazed at the kitchen
schedule, etc. If you're around some time when we're doing a big banquet,
you should drop in! Though be warned we'll put you to work....:)

- --AM
PS, re: period vs perio-oide...seems most people not into food dont really
care much as long as its not agregious. (ie no potatoes, corn, tomatoes,
etc). I have more fun doing period recipes, so that's what I do when I'm
kitchen head. The last baronial banquet we did was German, a mix of period
stuff and perio-oide stuff. The one before that was totally period
Elizabethan. Both were very good and very well recieved.

I usually will decide if I want to eat the feast or not based on the menu.
Its not the shires fault I'm a food snob, after all, so I dont whine about
it, I just go quietly off site and eat something that will make me happy.


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