SC - Period serving practices

[Siegfried Heydrich]

Margali asked/said
Subject: Re: SC - Is period cooking "different" from the other arts?


> This would be perfect to recreate an imperial roman era dinner in the
> classic manner, the 9 people on triclinia and the whole shebang!
> margali
> [and where are you located?...]
>
> >>>
> A balmy summer eve would be a good time to eat out doors, and set the
> tents up in a u shape with separate sections being different themes. All
> themes would have high table set for Royalty, who could choose how much,
> of what and when to eat.
> Entertainment is themed to each area. People book for a particular
> section.
>

Good Lady,
I am in Innilgard (Adelaide, South Australia) in Lochac (Australia) in West
Kingdom.  My name is Esla of Ifeld and I currently serve Innilgard as its
Territorial Baroness.  My husband and baron is Osgot of Corfe.  we have been
in the SCA for nearly 14 years now, and have cooked since day 1.

I agree it sounds like a good excuse for a Roman Feast, in fact we did :-).
 We had a full on Roman Feast here some 2 years back.  We set our (then)
Seneschal up as the Wealthy Lady giving the feast.

We could not replicate the triclina, but everyone had to eat in the reclined
position on rugs and cushions with very low tables set in a u shape.
Everyone had to dress Roman, or their persona's interpretation of Roman.
(and there was some pretty impressive costumes produced) One member is a
theatre technician so he borrowed some theatrical sets for a small donation,
including 'ruined' columns and a huge guilded lion.  it was held on the big
grassed yard attached to a church hall we often use, so we had both a
suitable setting and a kitchen.

We also had a slave auction as a group fundraise.  people nominated at
booking if they were coming as Roman guests, guests' designated slaves (for
which there was a BYO fee) or slaves for the block.  Slaves paid a different
fee and ate a different menu.  Even the kitchen had to bid for extra slaves
or risk doing the washing up ourselves.  Guests who didn't bring or buy a
slave took their chance of not being served everything.

  We did a menu out of Apicius, Including three sorts of sausages, seafood
patties, asparagus, and a heap of other things
We roasted a whole pig, with sausages in its belly, that was disembowelled
at high table (partial success, will do better with the deer at Festival
this year) and I did dormice on skewers, endored, from pork mince, with pork
rind tails, silvered almond leg bones and walnut brains. These became the
dare food because I talked about raising dormice in jars for months before
the event and enough people believed me.

it was a small, closely themed feast, with the stated aim of being a
fundraiser.  Everyone had lots of fun and we got to go play in the kitchen,
which at the moment is rare (usually only when the group does Principality
events because we can then leave High Table and Court to Their Highnesses)