[Sca-cooks] weird idea... medieval restaurant

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hello, Vladimir!

Speaking as someone who has sold at least some medieval dishes as part
of the menus of moderately large, modern restaurants, I would never try
to spike any idea of this nature out of hand, nor discourage "young
whippersnappers" (whatever _they_ may be) from embarking on interesting
new projects. However, a point or two might be worth considering.

XvLoverCrimvX at aol.com wrote:
>
> Actually, you have read my mind. I'm am still in high school but I had this
> idea about opening several medieval restaurants and exposing the SCA to the
> general public when I get out of culinary school. Already I have started
> researching medieval food. And the menu would be in Old English with modern
> translation below it (I would also include the source and where you can get
> it if you wanted the book).

I would highly recommend a separate bibliography and footnotes on the
back of the menu for those who (and they _will_ be out there) would
object to mandatory doses of edjumukayshun. Dish names in Middle English
might be fun. Old English is Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic language somewhat
resembling modern Norse (Norwegians can generally read Beowulf in its
original language with no problem), and we don't know a huge amount
about what the Anglo-Saxons ate. At least, not as much as we can figure
about the Anglo-Normans.

> I'd also have my own sort of alcohol drink
> distillary as well as selling non alcoholic medieval drinks in supermarkets.
> It would be like a chain of elegant, medieval style restaurants all over the
> country.

Well, I'm from a professional background that teaches that "elegant" and
"chain" are never to appear in the same sentence, but if you can pull it
off, more power to you. Can you name a chain of truly elegant
restaurants? Unless you're talking about two or more restaurants owned
by the same person and perhaps with similar or related names, but run by
different people and perhaps with different menus, the criteria that
make for successful chain restaurants tend to discourage the achievement
of true quality. A good example would be the original Stouffer brothers'
"recipe kitchens", where a chain of (originally) hotels all had the same
menu and the same recipes, and the cooks (who weren't necessarily the
most skilled) had to follow the recipes to the letter and even plate the
food according to diagrams posted on the walls. A system like this does
indeed prevent product quality from sinking below a certain minimum
standard, but because it provides for little or no on-the-job training
for cooks in basic culinary skills outside of their tight job
descriptions, and because they're discouraged from trying methods that
might actually be better than what management has come up with, it makes
it hard to rise _above_ certain minimum standards of quality, too.

> I'd also have music and a ballroom if anyone wanted to dance. And
> all of my staff would be in cookery garb. I've already have plans for opening
> medieval restaurants....I just need to go to culinary school. Ah,t wo more
> years till I graduate!!!

We'll be waiting ;  ), and good luck to you! In the mean time, here are
some things to think about:

1. What is the correct servers' response to requests for ketchup on your
carefully crafted medieval meal?

2. Will you serve coffee and tea as a nod to modern expectations? Or for
another reason?

3. Will you assume people will have and employ certain minimum standards
for table manners of a modern sort, or will you try to briefly explain
proper table behavior to your guests, using, say, the Babee's Book? How
will you deal with people who assume medieval people threw food, vomited
at or near the table, ate from their neighbors' bosom, etc., and who
feel entry in your place of business is license for this behavior?

4. Can you envision anything the local health department might take
issue with?

Please understand I mention these only as questions you'll probably need
to have answered by the time this project becomes a reality, and because
I suspect that good answers to these before the fact will help.

Adamantius, who has sold cuskynole and cuminade de poissons in New York
City restaurants, among other things
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com