SC - Bidding for Feast

[Olwen the Odd]

Bonne, I was with you till I got to here.  Yes, I agree that people will 
overbuy but I know that when you double or triple (or more) a recipe you do 
not double, etc the amount of eggs, salt and spices necessarily.  And yes, 
it does take less when using fresh herbs to get the same amount of flavor as 
dried.
>Over and over I saw people buying too much of the really cheap spices and
>dried herbs instead of stopping to add up the amounts on the recipes and
>realizing that the total amount needed is not that much.  a total of 62
>teaspons sounds like a lot, but it isn't really much more than a cup and a
>half--which weighs very little so bulk buying would have provides fresher
>spices/herbs and of a better quality too.  (We were lucky to have multiple
>sources of bulk spices in Windmasters' Hill, as well as fresh herbs.  It
>always pained me to see heavy use of dried herbs in a dish that would be
>better with fresh.)

Apparently your Barony does not keep certain items on hand in the custody of 
the Steward.  We have cleaning items, towels, spices, bleach, tablecloths, 
and some cookware and serving items.  Seperately, certain items are owned by 
the Bright Hills Cooks Guild which are occasionally on loan but that is not 
a given as some of our serving and cooking ware is handmade pottery items 
and we hate when someone else breaks them.  Then we also have too many cooks 
with WAY too much personal equipment that is duly marked and lent out if 
asked.  Fortunatly the Steward here is also a member of the Cooks Guild and 
one of the owners of the WAY too much personal stuff AND has a three story 
barn!

At the end of a feast if we find we have some unused leftover items we 
either store them for the next event or sell them off at cost.  Many folks 
here have lots of stuff labeled "Barony item" in their freezers.

Olwen

>I don't think it unreasonable for the cook to purchase cleaning supplies 
>for
>the kitchen itself, and expect leftovers to be used for site clean-up next
>morning. (the autocrat should have their own stock of some items). For 
>feast
>of less than 100, the kitchen should have one large bottle of dish soap, a
>couple or three bottles of all purpose cleaner, a bar of soap for
>hand-cleaning, a new package of 'shop rags' to be used as towels and
>multi-pack of paper towels: $25 at most. (and save the towels for the next
>feast!) I take my bottle of bleach for pre-cleaning as so little is really
>needed. If the site proves to be lacking in brooms, mops, buckets, I bring
>my own and call for others to help on that count.  I also usually purchase 
>a
>package of hairbands and a package of food-handling gloves.
>
>As it happens, I have had to purchase disposable foil cooking containers 
>for
>both feasts, and certain plastic serving pieces.  ('gold' and 'silver' 
>bowls
>and disposable serving forks/spoons).  As much as possible, I washed and
>saved the serving pieces for future use.
>
>For packaging leftovers, I purchase one large roll of plastic wrap, one
>large roll of heavy duty foil, a box of gallon sized zip-locs, and a box of
>small zip-locks and saved the unused items for future SCA use.
>
>A good source of these items is from the one or two feasts prior to your
>own.  Ask each cook before hand for the leftovers of any non-perishable 
>food
>(that you can actually use), cleaning supplies, serving and packaging
>supplies, for use at your SCA feast. Take an empty laundry basket or
>rubbermaid container with you and be around and helpful during the clean up
>phases. This is easier if you are already on the calendar, but if you have
>been helpful enough, the cook probably will be glad to contribute.  And if
>in your own group, I would think EXPECT to pass on the unused items.
>
>
>Bonne

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