SC - A quick question

ruadh ruadh at home.com
Thu Apr 26 06:31:02 PDT 2001


In truth, other than the very rare buffet-style service, every feast I've ever
been to in Atlantia (and we're going back a long way here, folks) has been
served family style.  Either servers deliver the dishes to each table (each dish
containing the approximate amount equivalent to servings for each at the table)
or, as I mentioned in another message, one person from each table retrieves the
dishes for each course.  In feasts where there are more than one course, usually
the folks at a table will share the duty of retrieving the food.  It has always
seemed to work out well.  I don't think I've ever been at a feast where someone
at the table took more than their fair share.  But then maybe I've been lucky.

The only trick to this is to make absolutely sure you know how many tables there
are.  I've served feasts where I kept getting varying numbers on how many tables
there were...a real pain.  The other thing, unless your group has an enormous
quantity of serving gear, as the contents of dishes are eaten, somehow you need
to get the dishes back to be reused.  Usually someone from the kitchen will
circulate through the hall looking for empties.  Often, however, the people at
the table will return dishes as they empty them.

Kiri

margali wrote:

> IIRC, some time ago I read that there was an incident at a fancy
> feast that a table was rendered sort of piqued because a young
> gentleman [novice priest maybe?] who was very nervous at being
> seated at table with some notable [an abbot?] that he was too shy
> to ask for the serving dishes from down the table and only ate
> from those close to him, which were of some particular dainty -
> and the rest of the table didn't get their portion of the foods.
> Probably 15-20 years ago so my memory probably comes from some
> thoroughly disreputable book ;-) Since [if the story is correct]
> family style was regarded as common, enough that this particular
> incident was remembered in somebody's memories, it might seem to
> be seen that family style was fairly popular at large feasts
> [maybe it could have been one of those ineffable british guild
> feasts  possibly?]
>
> -margali
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> The Quote Starts Here:
> Siegfried Heydrich wrote:
> >
> >     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.
>
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