First feasts was Re: SC - Diet Blues

[Marcus Antaya]

Good Gentles of the List:
> Actually, I just have a question. Is there anything, any reason at all,
> any experience you've had, that can logically (and successfully) lead to
> the conclusion that bad food has anything to do with whether or not it
> is period?

You are correct...I have had very little experiences that were good with
period feasts.
Every time I have a "super period" feast, it turns out to be so esoteric
that nobody seems to be able to eat it. It has indeed prejudiced me to that
fact and I apologize.


> It sounds as if you've produced a perfectly fine meal and made a lot of
> people happy, and this cannot but be a good thing. No problem there, and
> I congratulate you most sincerely. Suppose, on the other hand, there had
> been problems and, god forbid, you turned out a lousy meal. Would the
> age of the recipes have made any difference or made it any less lousy?
>
> Bad food is bad. Good food is good. Bad cooks produce bad food no matter
> what recipes they are working from, and good cooks can produce good food
> from recipes centuries old, family recipes, or from the latest magazine.

I hazard to partially disagree with you on that one.
I agree good cooks can make good food, but I know some very good cooks who
have made recipies that were just horrible.  All in the name of period.
However, you are correct for the most part.

> Funny... there are extensive instructions in Le Menagier de Paris on how
> to avoid burning pea soup, and what to do about it... sorry, I just had
> to mention that... but then, real, live experienced friends are at least
> as valuable as ones which have been dead for centuries.

True...I didn't know about the Menagier, I'm very new on this list.
However, truly good chefs who happen to be friends make life ever so much
easier.

> By all means, it's always a pleasure to hear of such a success. Don't
> get me wrong, I don't mean to be critical of your choice, I just think
> you're being a little (okay, not a little) unfair to suggest that period
> food is somehow inherently not as good as modern food. I remember my
> first feast receiving a similar reaction for a menu that was not
> particularly based on period sources, but which wasn't blatantly modern.
> I also remember receiving an even better reaction after my second feast,
> which was based almost entirely on period sources.

Ok, I also concede I'm letting my prejudice run away with me.  I hacked on
the period thing, because I'm not a good enough cook yet to be able to pull
off the stuff I'm not intimately familiar with, ie redacted recipies, but I
was asked from any number of people if my feast was documentable, and it was
really starting to get irritating.  I apologize to the list members if I
offended anyone.

> Me, I'm sick and tired of houppelandes. And I'm really tired of garb
> fascisti trying to make me wear historical clothing at events, in order
> to create the illusion that we're medieval people...

Me too....grin.

Gyric