SC - Is period cooking "different" from the other arts?

[Stefan li Rous]

Mordonna the Cook said:
> The only thing I see different is that sometimes Society money is used for 
> the up front purchasing of materials.  This kind of "sponsorship" is not 
> often offered in the other arts, except that Calligraphers who are making 
> official scrolls may have their supplies paid for by the Society funds.  

Well, I can offer another example.

I do pewter casting using the period technique of using molds carved out
of soapstone. The main reason I took this craft up was to do site tokens.
I was getting tired of the multitude of site tokens made of bits of yarn
or leather that were indistinguishable from each other and that six months
later I couldn't remember which event I had gotten them at. They typically
cost 15 cents to 25 cents in pewter to make. While it would be nice to be
able to provide them for free, this adds up for a 200 to 300 person event.
What I do however, is provide a set price that is at cost or a little
below and then buy back any tokens that aren't used. These can be melted
down again, although you never get back 100 percent because of processing
losses.

Unfortunately, I sometimes lose out to the cheaper bits of leather or
string. And my barony, at least, has recently been doing without the
site tokens at all. Autocrats choice I guess.

There was one fair-type event where I wandered the fair selling the
tokens rather than those at the event getting them at the door.

Along those lines, I've often wondered why there must be just one
big feast at an SCA event. Why not have the one big feast, be it
whatever, and have a second, perhaps more expensive feast, of period
foods for those interested in this. But the logistics of having only
one kitchen may rule this out. But I think it is worth considering.
Free-enterprise and all that.
- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
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