SC - Re: Allergies in General

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/4/00 12:59:35 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
agincort at raex.com writes:

<<  I personally would vote for it being a mandate. >>

So far as I know it is an SCA mandate to post the COMPLETE ingredients list 
at the Troll and outside the kitchen door in the hall. I think this was 
passed last year early on. I am not sure about this though. In our shire all 
the cooks provide a complete ingredients list including the clipped 
ingredients list that are printed on any commercial products used at both 
Troll and in the Hall. If it isn't listed, it isn't in the dish, period. No 
'secret' ingredients are ever used and variety assures that everyone can go 
away feeling sated.

BTW, in the 16 years I have been cooking SCA period feasts only twice has 
anyone made me aware of an allergy related problem before the event. 

On at least one occasion I was physically attacked by a Jewish lady in the 
kitchen after she had eaten 2 huge bowls of a bear stew (period-like> created 
in my very early years, my first ever time as Kitchen Steward in fact). 
Despite the dish clearly being labeled as 'Bear Stew' on the menu and despite 
the ingredients list noting that the meat of a rattlesnake and a rabbit 
(rattlesnake not period to Europe, SFAIK, but what did I know back then?) had 
been also included, she expressed amazement that such a thing was actually 
served since it was against her religion to eat those animals. She said 'No 
one would ever REALLY serve such a thing!). Little did she know. It was 
amazing how quickly she got a clue that the menus and  recipes were not done 
for entertainment value. :-)

Ras