[Sca-cooks] feast centered event

[Terry Decker]

>I was thinking of having a cook or set of cooks each do a "segment"
>(what is the correct term?  I've heard that neither course nor remove
>are accurate terms for "a set of dishes") with a head cook to coordinate
>everyone.  How have you selected dishes?  Three possibilities that come
>to mind are:  a tour through time with each segment being a different
>time period; a world tour with each segment being a different
>geographical location; recreate a documented period feast.
>

Actually "course" is the proper term here since you are talking about a
group of dishes for everyone.  You could use the term, "mess," but the
context for serving a large group is more modern.  Within period, "messe"
more commonly meant a group of dishes serving 2 to about 8 people.

My personal preference these days is to prepare a meal from a source or
sources from a specific time and place (the last one was Elizabethean with
the recipes ranging from Tudor to Jacobean).

What can actually be done will depend on the quality of the cooks, the
kitchen, and whether or not the people attending the event are willing to
pay the freight.  I've found that $7-8 is about the most Ansteorrans will
pay for a feast.  That means your planning will be limited to $5-6 per
paying customer, reserving the additional $2 for comps, cost overruns and
lack of attendence.

I usually don't partake of the feast unless I have some idea of the quality
of the cook and the menu has been assembled from period sources.

>Someone suggested to me that spring would be a good time to do this
>because of the availablility of fresh herbs and produce.  Someone else
>thought summer would be good because it's hot (southeastern Texas) and
>an indoor, air-conditioned event would be welcolmed then.  Comments?
>
>Thanks!
>--Perronnelle

Hot and muggy.  I think they would bite.  Feast events work best when the
weather is at its worst.

Bear