SC - Re: [Trimaris] Highnesses, Lownesses, and Period Cooking.

Tue Feb 29 12:48:47 PST 2000

 I'm not the one you blasted, but I am one who responded on this
(Trimaris)list about period food. I cook, though not feasts, and both I and
my wife have been known to help out in the kitchen at events, so I have abit
of knowledge on the subject (I've also been a member off and on for some 25
years) I've been to a LOT of feasts over the years, some good some bad, and
some down right disasterous.
 I have also read the replies from the cooks list about the Princesses
request,  and I had no idea that we had so many prima donna chefs in the
SCA. I'm not talking about those who had reasonable replies and suggestions,
just the burger king/ mcdonalds types. Sure the cooks volunteer to bust
their butts to make a decent feast, and others bust their butts doing other
things at events. None of us get paid, and it sometimes costs us extra, but
so what, we knew that before we volunteered. People pay for feast, and as
such they should have the right to suggest that the food be acceptable to
THEIR palates and tastes. Does the word COMPROMISE ring a bell ?
 I'm a Custom Knifemaker, and if I don't make what people want, they won't
buy it. If you make a period feast that less than half of the people in the
hall can choke down, then why should they pay for it ? Just so the cook
doesn't have a snit? I don't think so.
 Neither I nor the Princesss suggested  purely non-period feasts, and
espacially not bugger king, what was suggested was that we be able to enjoy
the food, whether period or not.  I've had excellent feasts both in the
Midrealm and Trimaris, as well as some really bad ones, I prefer the good to
excellent ones.
 If the cooks in Trimaris, or any other Kingdom cannot take abit of
criticism without having fits, then they are probably not as good as they
think, because none of us are perfect(I've blown a few meals over the years
myself).
 In short, lighten up. There are what some eight hundred or so years worth
of recipes from about fifty different nations/cultures, surely a good cook
can find  a few dozen dishes of a less than fiery nature to serve for a few
feasts.

                                Raibhert Donnachaidh aka Duncan the etc.
                                (not the one IN the Dark Horde)

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Alderton, Philippa <phlip at morganco.net>
To: <trimaris at trimaris.org>
Cc: SCA Cooks <sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 2:26 PM
Subject: [Trimaris] Highnesses, Lownesses, and Period Cooking.

> Lance T. Udell wrote:
>
> >Have you read the words as I have???   The request was to ensure that
> >there were more normal foods intermingled with period dishes.
>
> At first reading, it appeared that the Lady was disgruntled with all
period
> foods. Forgive us, if as dedicated, serious Cooks, we found in this one
> posting, all our hard work over the last couple of years, appeared to have
> gone down the drain.
>
> > Our pallates have developed over the centuries.
>
> No they haven't- if anything, our palates have become less sensitive,
since
> they aren't as necessary to our daily lives and survival, as anyone can
> tell, from the vast numbers of folk who live on fast food, constructed of
> salt and sugar, and with less flavor and nutritional content than the
paper
> or plastic they come wrapped in.
>
> What has changed is our cultural preferences, which have gone heavily to
> what were expensive substances in the MA, specificly salt and sugar- after
> all, why bother with enjoying the subtle interplay of those seasonings, if
> you can mainline straight sugar or salt? And as for cultural differences,
so
> the Romans used verjuice and garum, instead of ketchup and mustard. A
> properly cooked meal, by a competent cook, will taste good no matter WHAT
> they put in it, and none of those condiments should prove necessary.
>
> >It was not her intent to
> >bar period foods, just to assure that some more modern dishes made it
> >out amongst them.
>
> And what, may I ask, does She feel are more modern foods? French fries?
> Tang, in a state known for its orange production? Those aren't foods,
those
> are poisons disguised with artificial flavors to imitate real food. While
> She's at it, will she be sponsoring an A&S Faire for best nylon/dacron
garb?
>
> The trouble is, that you, and She, seem to think that Medieval Food is a
> bunch of weird stuff served with weirder sauces. It isn't, though until
you
> study the subject, you might not know that. As Cooks, I'll admit that we
> sometimes play with the more exotic recipes, but trust me, the brains and
> tongue in Hollandaise sauce I made for last Pennsic's Cook's Potluck, is
> certainly no weirder than what goes into your nice, safe, sound hamburger.
> Not only do I know what diet the animal was fed, but I know what species
it
> was, which you don't- or do I need to give you the names of the fast food
> places who pulled out of the horse slaughterhouse with a full load?
>
> Are you aware that pasta and cheese, and buttered noodles, ham, bacon,
> herbal teas and tisanes, roast meats (who, non-vegan, doesn't like a good
> beef or veal roast?), white pizza, sausages, are all period foods? And are
> you aware that the modern hot dog is even less choice cuts of meat than
> hamburger, and includes embalming fluid for a preservative?
>
> > I insist upon you speaking with her about this before
> >you continue with this dishonorable gossip.
>
> Wait a minute. What's dishonorable about reading the unkind words the Lady
> wrote, being hurt, and discussing the matter amongst our equally hurt, but
> sometimes less volatile, friends? We were having a private discussion,
> airing our opinions until someone decided to post them to your List, at
> which point you decided to react all in a huff, with name calling. And who
> are you, to insist that I, or anyone else, do anything?
>
> > My views on this are
> >irrelevent, save that I will not hear gossip about my Crown Princess
> >without offering challenge.
>
> Fine. Challenge me- see if I care one way or another. I, and all Period
> Cooks, have been defamed by the Lady's ill considered remarks. The only
> reason that you, and She, are forgiven, is because I realize that not only
> are you most likely unaware of the truth of Medieval Cooking, but you are
> being given the benefit of the doubt because I realize that you may have
> suffered from some poor examples of the Art. I still cringe, when I think
of
> the feast where the Cook served bread baked with sand in it, to imitate,
as
> he thought, stone ground wheat, and I'm well known on the Cook's List for
my
> opinion of what I refer to as "The Deadly Chicken" - Roast (actually
baked,)
> whole chicken, undercooked, and served lukewarm, congealing in its own
> grease...... If that were real period food, I'd say "Yeuchhhhh" too.
>
> What many people don't understand is that Period Cuisine can be well done,
> just as any cuisine can be, or it can be badly done. The problem with the
> food is not the cuisine, it's the cook. Are you going to tell me that
canned
> Chef Boyardee Spaghetti O's is representitive of real Italian cuisine,
when
> compared to even a chain like Olive Garden? Granted, we all have our
moments
> when we want our comfort foods- more for the memories, than for the
flavors,
> though, if truth be known- you did NOT see me pigging out on that PBJ last
> week- but if you're at all openminded, you'll recognize that different is
> not necessarily bad, unless it's badly done. If you aren't openminded, go
> eat at McDonalds- see if I care.
>
>  I do not care if you HATE her, but you will
> >give respect to her office and station and approach her one to one with
> >your concearns.
>
> Sorry, if I'm going to respect someone, they're going to earn that
respect,
> and nobody is going to tell me to respect someone, when the only contact
> they have made with me, is to be extremely insulting to an Art I love.
Now,
> I'm willing to forgive an error of judgement- we're all human, and we all
> make those errors. Possibly Her Highness might have been better served if
> she'd read the hand-out, "What Every Peer Should Know," taken it to heart,
> and instead of coming forth as (among other things) a Laurel, holding
forth
> on less authenticity, but rather encouraging folk to cook better tasting,
> simpler feasts, she might not have hurt and angered so many people. Has
> anyone heard the phrase, "Sugar catches more flies than vinegar"? We all
> have egos, and we all tend to try to go the extra mile for Royalty, if
only
> by making something (perhaps misguidedly) a bit more exotic. Could she not
> have said, "I love well-cooked period food, with simple presentations, and
> sauces on the side", for example?
>
> >Do not send me any replies to this list, you can reach
> >me at the websites listed below.
>
> Sorry about that, mate, but you're not going to get away with blasting me
or
> us on a public List, and then sneaking away so no-one knows you were...
> mistaken. Besides, I have better things to do than sort through a bunch of
> websites looking for a person who lacks the Honor to admit to his own
email
> address.
>
> Phlip
>
> Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.
>
> phlip at morganco.net
>
> Philippa Farrour
> Caer Frig
> Southeastern Ohio
>
> "All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between
a
> poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus
>
> "Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
> Scotland, the men." -- Johnson
>
> "And where else will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous
>
>
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