[Sca-cooks] Medieval restaurant, a few more thoughts... (and an introduction)

[Nicolas Steenhout]

Greetings!

I was just pointed in the direction of this mailing list, and as I was
browsing the archive, came accross the thread about opening a restaurant
with a medieval theme.  I do have a few ideas about this, and feel
compelled to present them.  But first, a brief introduction of who I am :-)

I am a chef by trade, trained in classical French cooking, with nearly 14
years in the trade (on top of my formal apprenticeship)  I haven't been
working in the food industry since I fell 60' off a cliff and broke my back
(now using a wheelchair).  I have worked in several different types of
establishement, spending the majority of my food related carreer in fine
dining restaurants.  I worked on three different continents, 6 different
countries.  I did work in holiday camps for kids (feeding 450 children, 3
times a day, on wood burning ovens), on a live aboard 65' sailship, in a
bistro, and a couple inns, etc.

I am a baby in the SCA, having been around only a couple months.  I have
"taken" to it whole heartedly though, as it is something that has always
interested me, I just never realized there was such a thing as the SCA.

I must say, I am not overly familiar with medieval cooking, though I
suspect my knowledge of it is superior than that of the common mundane
folk.  I did a research paper while in school on the topic of "Cooking in
Nouvelle-France before the English occupation", which admitedly is much
after the timeline the SCA concerns itself with.

That being said...  On the topic of restaurants...

I hate being a party pooper, and I must point out a few things...  First,
my understanding is that restaurants didn't exist at that time, which, if
you're interested in keeping it real, defeats the purpose :-) (that's not a
real argument, just a vague passing thought)

The real issue to think about is that of funding.  Given that 50% of
restaurants that open, go broke within a year, banks tend to be extremely
reluctant to loan money for restaurants or foodservice operations.  It is
often said in the industry that  restaurant will loose money the first
year, perhaps break even the second or third year, and start making money
between the 3rd and 5th year.  This means you have to have enough money
behind you to be able to hold for about 2, 3 years.

If you have no experience in the food service industry, chances are banks
will not even look at your proposal, unless you can secure an experienced
manager.

Deciding on an actual menu comes only later, much later in the
process...  Having a few ideas as to style is obviously important to
developing your business plan.

Alas!  Restaurants, in the end, really aren't about food!  This of course
is a bit of a sarcastic look at my own industry, yet, the vast majority of
people (in North America anyway) going to restaurants do so more for
organic fuel (getting food in your body) without much thinking about what
they eat (fast foods), or do so for the experience (theme restaurants etc.).

It is interesting that a lot of restaurants with *great* food fail, because
the people who opened it can cook your socks off, yet didn't understand
that cooking in a restaurant involves many, many different things than
cooking at home, or even preparing Feast once in a while.

Anyway, I could go on and on on this topic.  I did not mean to be negative
and put down the thought...  Just thinking that a dose of reality is
important before going carried away in plans that could spell disaster :-/

Feel free to contact me in private if you want to discuss this some more :-)

Muiredach seòlta mac Loloig
aka
Nicolas Steenhout
"You must deal with me as I think of myself" J. Hockenberry