SC - Weird but cool kitchen gadgets

[Stephanie Drake]

This method of serving is referred to as a messe, basically a group of
dishes to shared among a fixed number of people.  A messe was commonly
served to 2, 3 or 4 people.

Most of my feasts have been served en messe for 4 or 8 people, but I am
considering trying to do service for a messe of 2 to provide better portion
control at the table level.  I am thinking about using waiters under the
command of the marshal of the hall to serve and a smaller group of waiters
under the almoner to clear.

I thnk my major problem will be re-educating the servers into a more
historically accurate type of service.

Bear


> > >     I've done that and I find that serving family style 
> simplifies the hell
> > > out of life. If you're using servers, it just means that 
> they have to dash &
> > > drop rather than to stand there and dispense. If you've 
> PC'd your portions
> > > ahead of time, it's easier for the guests, too. None of 
> this 'pass the
> > > plate' stuff. 
> > Not to be pedantic or anything (on Cooks' List? Nah!) but 
> is there any
> > evidence that it was done this way in period?
> 
> It's hard to tell. Certainly, there must have been dishes 
> where one served
> oneself from a common dish, at least in the period of the 
> manners manuals,
> since one is told to do or not do something when dipping from 
> the common
> dish.
> 
> -- 
> Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise