SC - black food

[Nisha Martin]

Master Llew (I think) wrote

>  Remember, cooking is a plastic art. There is never a spicing error
> as long as that particular cook has decided that the dish is to
> their liking.

I must take issue with this view.

I would suggest that at an SCA feast (and I emphasise that I am 
speaking in the general sense, not referring to the feast that initially 
started this thread), it is a spicing error if the feasters in general find 
the spicing unpalatable, regardless of whether the cook likes the 
result. In such a context, the cook is preparing a dish for the 
feasters, not for themself.

It seems to me that one reason that the populace of some places 
may be reluctant to eat period food is that they don't trust their 
cooks to provide a meal that is to their taste. If the populace _does_ 
trust the cooks, they are more likely to at least sample whatever is 
put in front of them. Such trust relies on the cook considering more 
than just their own tastes.

One of my favourite moments as a cook was when someone told me 
that they'd looked askance at the menus droits I served, but tasted 
them because they trusted me to serve good food, and found that 
they quite liked the dish.

Edward Long-hair
Southron Gaard, Caid