SC - primary sources

[Decker, Terry D.]

> Being new to this list I have a few questions about the "SCA" feast.  I
> was
> wondering if ya'll could share your opinions on the importance of the
> difference
> between the modern palate and the need to make feasts that appeal to most
> modern
> people.  
> 
Now that I have a few more moments, I'll try to make my answer a little more
thorough.

When I am preparing a feast, my first goal is to make it palatable.  If my
food is inedible, I have failed.  My second goal is to see that people get
their money's worth and that the feast at least break-even.  My third goal
is to make the feast as Medieval or Renaissance as possible.  The three
goals are not mutually exclusive.

I tend to work to theme when preparing a feast and choose my recipes
accordingly.  I also evaluate the menu based on the available kitchen and
the appearance and taste of the dishes in a course.  I often measure halls,
plan the table layout, plan the server traffic pattern, be choosy about my
head server, and have gone so far as to organize the entertainment during
the feast.  I have a vision of feast being theater as much as food and I
have seen too many feasts fail when the food could not be delivered to the
table quickly and at the proper temperature.  As a chef, you know that
running a restaurant is as much about purchasing and service as it is about
cooking.  Many people who do feasts think of it as cooking a meal for four
times fifty and fail to take into account the true logistics of being a
caterer.

I am not particularly concerned by the modern palate, as most period foods
are about as strange as most ethnic cooking.  I limit the number of truly
outre dishes and provide a menu with ingredients listed, so that people can
determine the suitability of the feast.  I also try to make sure the range
of dishes is broad enough that vegetarians and the allergic will not starve.

> As we all know people's  taste  have changed throughout the years.  I
> am one that is inclined to believe that food should be taste good to the
> masses
> not just to the "SCA food Nazi's". 
> 
I really can't tell the difference between badly cooked medieval food and
badly cooked modern food.  I've had both at events and it was plain bad
cooking.  The taste had nothing to do with where the recipes came from
(except, maybe, in the case of Fabulous Feasts).

Good cooking is to be appreciated.  I've enjoyed some modern meals as
feasts, but I favor a properly prepared Medieval or Renaissance meal in a
proper setting.

> As I am responsible for preparing our
> Baronies 25 yr. celebration,  I am trying to enter the feast for an A&S
> competition.  I am looking for documentation. But in my search I,  am
> falling
> short. I am getting a bit discouraged when it comes to documentation.  As
> I am a
> professional chef and not a historian.  I would appreciate any help that
> could
> be sent my way.  You can email me at morrisc at sitta.uwstout.edu.
> 
> In Search of the game once again.
> Aaron DaCook Hawksmoor.
> 
Phlip gave you two good sources.  In case you miss it, you might wish to try
the Medieval and Renaissance Food Page at Greg Lindahl's site:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html

This contains a scanned version of The Forme of Cury and pointers to several
cookbook translations webbed by Cariadoc.

You might also wish to look at Cindy Renfrow's link page:

http://members.aol.com/renfrowcm/links.html#Food

As you think of specific questions, ask.  We're usually willing to share our
opinions.  Since you want to produce a baronial feast and an A&S entry at
the same time, I'd say you're in the right place, even if we are food
Nazis.:-)

Bon Chance

Bear
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