[Sca-cooks] Showmanship-was:Pennsic Iron Chef Results

[Mark.S Harris]

Finnebhir commented:
> debra.dunbar at aspenpubl.com writes:
> << I'm sure some Abbott got into a bragging match with another over whose
> cook was the best?  I find it hard to believe that cooking competitions
> aren't "period".
>  Wrynne
>   >>
> I remember reading somewhere a lo-n-g time ago that food was a way to show
> off one's wealth. Obviously, I would think, that the better chefs were used
> to show off their talents to impress other nobility who were visiting. So
> yeah, someone would probably  say "See what a grand cook I have! I'll bet
> your cooks and scullery maids couldn't do half this well." Sorry to be
> making
> suppositions, but human nature is definitely into one-ups-manship.

While I will definitely agree on this idea that "one-up-manship" is
not new and was definitely done in period, as there are plenty of
examples, from armor, to castles, to clothing, to food, that is
different from any formalized competition with preset rules.

Unlike modern ball games or auto races, tournaments did not have
single, overall winner. While there could have been such winners
in things like horse races, I think the concept is more of a modern
one than a period one.

However, there still may be a place in the SCA for such things, after
all our A&S contests have the same shortcomings.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net