SC - questions

[Jeff Gedney]

> >  obviously modern food. If a reasonable attempt at mediaeval clothing 
> >  is required, I believe we should expect the same standard for the 
> >  food.

> This sounds good, but then we have to ask "who's idea of "reasonable" are we 
> talking about?"  

Why the group being served, of course!!

> I have done very, very reasonable attempts at medieval food 
> in the past, but would be willing to bet they would not fly on this list, 
> since none of them are "documentable".  

Balthazar, I know that you are a bit tender in this area, but I think 
you are overstating this by a wide margin. I, for one, and all other 
posts I have read, have never questioned what you serve, just 
whether you can call it "period".
You can serve what you like. That was never the issue on this list.
As long as the feasters are full and happy at the end of the feast, 
I say: "Well done"

Just as I consider it acceptable for a new person to wear a turtleneck, 
jeans and a "quickie" Hotel towel "tabard" at a first event, I dont hold 
new feast cooks to the same standards as I would be inclined to hold 
established feast cooks.

However, as a cook gains experience and learns more period recipes
I would expect that cook to include more of what they learn in the
feasts they cook, and I personally would be dissapointed in a completely
non period feast for a cooks 7th or 8th feast.  Just the same as I would 
be dissapointed in seeing the feast goer still in the hotel towel tabard 
after a couple of years. 
One has to think whether the person is really giving the SCA a fair and
appropriate endeavor, or if their skills, impressive as they may be, 
shouldn't be directed somewhere more suited to their presentation.

A feast cook who makes gorgeous modern French food regularly might 
get a better audience in a society devoted to modern French culture.

It might just be better for the cook to go elsewhere if the middle ages 
is not what they want to "do", since that is what WE do.

But if it just that they don't know better and are willing to learn, I will, of 
course, help them as much as my limited abilities will allow, and direct 
them to resources where they can rise to the limit of their abilities. 

> Does 'reasonable' mean they have to 
> be extracted from the current body of extant texts?  
> If so, that doesn;t 
> sound reasonable, it sounds 'authentic'.  

Yep, I agree completely.  (surprised? you wouldn't be if you actually 
go back and reread my posts on this subject )

It is not "reasonable" to expect every meal to be completely, 
documentably period. 

It is "reasonable" to expect that the feast cook will at least _try_ to make 
food with a medieval feel or flair to it. 

To cook late Modern American  food at a feast is just not 'reasonable'.

but that is just my opinion.

> There are folks on this list who 
> will demand more than some are willing or able to give.  

I doubt that anyone on this list would do that.
I have yet to hear anyone advocate that all feasts _must_ be completely
and documentably 'period'.  

What has been said is:
1) would it be nice if more correctly period food were served

2) it is not that nice to throw modern food at feasters in a medieval 
society, it distracts form the atmosphere they are otherwise working very 
hard to recreate.

and 
3) you cant take a modern recipe, and call it a period recipe, juast because 
it has the same ingredients as a period recipe. Even if it is a modern adaption 
of a period recipe. That is like saying that a doughnut is is a French pastry
because some French pastry happens to share the same ingredients.

that is all we have said, that we have disagreed with you on, my good
Balthazar. 

Let us see what you have for menus... 
If the foods has a nice medieval feel to it, great!
If it is blatantly nonperiod, my only question is "why cook it for the SCA"?

In either case nobody here will stop you, or even can stop you, from 
cooking whatever you want for a feast.  
That is entirely between you , the autocrat, and the diners.


As long as the feasters are full and happy, that is ALL that counts.

brandu