SC - foreign cook was What would you do?

[Bonne of Traquair]

>
>I have a related question. It's pretty much come to my attention that my
>local group is just never going to consider me ready for 'the big time'
>(running an event or a feast)-- there's always going to be one more hoop
>to jump through, for me and for others. ;) [Personality issues stink,
>don't they?]

Yeah, they do.  I was going to suggest getting yourself invited to cook for 
another groups event, 'til I read further down your post.

>
>Now, right now I certainly don't consider _myself_ ready to run a feast--
>I'd need LOTS more practice with period cooking and sit-down meals, since
>all my experience with SCA meal planning, preparation and serving has been
>dayboards. However, I kinda would like to consider it a goal to cook an
>SCA feast.

Have you latched onto a feast cook as their deputy for an event?

Another way to get yourself moved into the (unofficial) list of people who 
can cook an event might be to cook an unofficial feast.  Perhaps a special 
meal for a household?

>But I get the impression that most groups object violently to having
>someone from outside the group cook a feast. Some groups even seem to
>impose other requirements

The objection must be local.  Perhaps it can be overcome.  My first feast 
was for the canton next door.

The seneschal did impose a requirement that I was to try to be someone's 
deputy cook ASAP, but she also required the autocrat be a deputy first, so I 
didn't take it personally.  There wasn't a deputy position available, but I 
did spend the day in the kitchen for the next several events, observing and 
learning and finding time to discuss it later with the seneschal and 
autocrat and my deputy.

I took it upon myself to attend as many of their canton meetings as 
possible--getting to know a wider range of people and sharing the feast 
information with the members. By two months before the event, everyone in 
that canton knew the basic menu and had samples of several of the dishes. I 
wanted the other canton members to feel I was one of them so I'd improve my 
chances at having enough kitchen help. For the same reason, I also shared 
the menu and some taste testing with my own canton.

Also about two months before the event, I had a taste-testing dinner for the 
autocrat, seneschal, exchequer, my deputy (who was of their canton) and any 
significant others at which I served one 'tableful' of the menu and had my 
accounting estimates ready.  This served to reassure them that I knew what I 
was up to and allowed all the event/canton officers to have a nice, detailed 
meeting before the prep time went into the final rush phase.

Lady Bonne

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