SC - Period cookshop at Pennsic?

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

David/Cariadoc wrote:
>...the possibility of adding to the food court a cookshop serving 
>period food...
(snip)
>I am assuming, for the moment, a more modest project than the 
>Tyger--a cookshop using modern cooking equipment to produce period 
>food for sale.Some obvious questions are:

I think it's more practical when starting such a venture to use 
modern equipment. It's easier to change a bottle of gas than to 
rebuild a fire and wait for it to get hot enough; then there are 
smoke issues, etc.

If the cookshop is a success, then begin switching to period equipment.

>Is there a market for it--are there a substantial number of people 
>who would eat period food if it were available?

I'd guess yes, although i've never been to Pennsic - i've only been 
in the SCA one year and 3 months. Next year in Pennsylvania...

>How hard would it be to do, and is there anyone on the list 
>interested in doing it?

Well, *when* i get there, i'd be willing to help. I don't fight - 
well, not yet - and while i love to take classes and shop, i'm sure i 
could spare some hours everyday to help out. Perhaps setting up 4 
hour shifts would work for most folks. Although there'd certainly 
have to be a few manager types with longer shifts. The shop would 
certainly need several very experienced cook-managers to spell each 
other off. Don't want to burn folks out on days from 7 AM to 10 PM or 
something like that.

>How should such a project be run? Should it limit itself to one cuisine...
>...or serve a selection of dishes, or perhaps have different 
>centuries or different cuisines on different days?

Trying to coordinate different cuisines every day might become 
stressful. To be practical, i think it would be best to have a fairly 
"standard" menu. There would surely be enough basics that people 
would take a week to try all of them. Then add daily specials to take 
advantage of whatever is freshest or cheapest at the local markets.

Also, while there weren't exactly different breakfast, lunch, and 
dinner foods in ye olde dayes, many Americans are pretty set in the 
idea that certain types of food are for certain times of day, so 
having a compromise menu for a first year might be good. All medieval 
food, but more of what we consider breakfast from the early AM to 
early PM and more of what we consider lunch and dinner foods in the 
late AM and into the night.

In Japan i had miso soup, rice, and fresh pickles for breakfast, but 
the other American students i was with thought that was weird and 
preferred fried eggs and toast. Pan Perdu might be good in the AM. 
Are there medieval "scrambled egg" dishes? Perhaps some of those 
quiche-y egg-&-cheese pies would be good.

Then again, the shop might want to be open only for lunch and dinner 
and skip breakfast. I'm an early riser so i could be there early, but 
since i've never been to Pennsic, just how busy are the other 
breakfast vendors?

>What are dishes that would be easy and not too expensive to make and 
>would appeal to a lotof people? Some of my suggestions include:
>
>Caboges (Two Fifteenth Century)

I'll eat almost anything (although my experiences are more limited 
than Lord Ras), however, i think that for a lot of people cabbages 
rank just above okra in the list of ucky vegetables.

>Ember Day Tart
>Potage of Meat (Platina)
>Tabahaja (I'm thinking of the one that's fried meat in a sauce of 
>murri and honey)

These sound feasible.

>Bourbelier de Sanglier (for the meat lovers)

Boar?

>Crispes

Always popular, i'm sure.

Where's the chicken? Comparatively inexpensive, fairly quickly 
cooked, and amenable to many cuisines...

Some cold dishes that could be prepared well ahead, sallats, fruit 
dishes, more vegetables... Sekanjabin and other similar flavored 
beverages would be good.

>One possibility would be a cookshop that was open to the general 
>public most of the time, but could also be hired to do a specific 
>meal for a group.

Also a good idea and gives room for some more varied dishes.

But again, i say, be simple and practical first, when embarking on a 
new and potentially expensive venture. Make things easy on the cooks. 
It's easy to fantasize about the ideal medieval fantasy cookshop, but 
what is needed, i think, is something that will actually work.

Anahita al-shazhiyya,
not a short order cook,
just a short cook.