SC - La Varenne

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Balthazar of Blackmoor wrote:
>However; I have to wonder where the
>dividing line is between being a good host, and being
>a good guest, and whether one should take precedence
>or priority over the other.

Good point.

>Consider:  The host (cook) is certainly responsible for
>informing his guests of any potentially hazardous ingredients
>in his food.  At this point, all other things being equal, it
>seems that the responsibility or decision to eat (or
>not) should then pass on to the guest.  The diners
>have been informed of the ingredients, they know their
>own allergies or psychological addictions.  Is it not
>up to them to make the final call?

People's food "issues" is a subject that is not infrequently 
discussed on the list. People with real medical problems generally 
know what to do to keep themselves safe.

Some of the biggest pains, so i have heard on this list, are people 
who just don't like something and try to keep it off the menu, 
claiming allergies or medical problems, when it is merely a matter of 
taste. There have been some rather "amusing" stories shared here.

>And, should a cook
>truly concern himself with putting alcohol in his food
>simply because there is a (comparitively) small
>segment of the population who would have a problem
>with it?  That is my question.  Should the cook be
>"concerned"?  It is my belief that the cook is
>responsible, above all else, for putting delicious,
>well prepared meals in front of his audience.  If the
>recipe calls for wine or rum, and the cook omits it
>for fear of sending one guest on a three day bender...
>well, you get my point.  That guest should know
>better.  And certainly DOES know his allergies or
>limitations better than the cook.

I was concerned. I think courtesy works both ways. I'm not just 
trying to make a delicious, well-prepared meal. I want to make one 
that the populace can eat. And delicious is relative - i like hot 
spicy food, but i tone down my Thai dishes, etc. when serving people 
whose food tastes are not like mine - and put hot sauce on the table 
for those who want it.

First, i created a menu with vegetarians and Kosher diners in mind, 
even though the feature of the meal was PORK. This affected how i 
cooked most of my non-meat dishes, substituting good vegetable broth 
for the Medieval Good Broth that would have contained meat. Cooked 
dishes that called for wine had wine in them. I had to be concerned 
about the requirements of the site. Because the site was dry, i made 
faulx ypocras - hypocras of purple and white grape juice flavored 
with authentic spices, based on suggestions from several SCA-Cooks 
listees and the spice combinations from several period sources. 
Improper behavior and we could loose it, and it's a great site, so i 
wouldn't want that to happen.

Second, i posted the tentative menu to the West Kingdom e-list, 
requesting anyone with serious food issues to contact me. No one did.

Third, i also created a version of the menu to be printed and 
distributed to the diners. It was annotated, listing what dishes 
contained meat, pork, dairy, nuts, and alcohol, as wells what my 
sources were. The autocrat chose not to print it out as i originally 
wrote it.

And finally, i posted a list of the ingredients near the window 
between the kitchen and the dining room. Not too many people seemed 
to notice it. Anyone coming to the kitchen for info, i answered 
courteously - the most questions seemed to come from the Royal table. 
Next time, i'll have a herald announce the presence of the list to 
the assembled diners at the beginning of the feast.

I have all the info on my website. Still awaiting more comments from 
folks on this list on the web version before i "go public with it".
http://witch.drak.net/lilinah/menu.html

Let me know how it looks, how it reads, etc. BTW, i don't capitalize 
"i" in informal settings, such as the web or on e-lists, except at 
the beginning of a sentence. Personal choice. But if there are other 
misspellings or typos, please let me know what they are so i can 
correct them.

Anahita al-shazhiyya