[Sca-cooks] 100 minutes dayboard/feast report from behind the scenes and your opinions solicited(long)

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> Phlip,
>    I'm so sorry I missed you. I heard reports of your
> mighty forge from my husband and children, but I was
> also quite occupied during the day with kitchen
> things.

A good event is like that- there's so much interesting stuff to do, that
those of us doing it hafta WORK to get bored ;-)

>    I'm also sorry to hear no one took care of your
> need for food and drink. I'll see to it that next year
> such things are not overlooked.I know you did amazing
> work in Arctic conditions.

Well, actually, you misunderstood me ;-)

 One of the nicer things that happened was that people were quite willing to
get messages from hither to yon, so when I got hungry, and asked a Lady to
tell Vincenzo, my crashspace Host (and dear friend) who was working on Feast
in the kitchen, that I was hungry, not only did the message get to him, but
another kind lady brought me out a tray of food, soup included, and checked
back to make sure I had enough. It worked.

> Some day I'll look up what
> 45 degree temperatures with winds steady in the 20 MPH
> range gusting to 50 mph does, but it is certainly a
> test of the design of medieval garb. I was incredulous
> to find that a 13th century linen/flannel/cotton twill
> dress with a good wool cloak certainly does the job
> for keeping you warm. But I saw fur skins on the
> shoulders of people's cloaks and saw it was good. Now
> back to food:

Well, I cheated. I knew it was going to be...vigorous, so I wore a leather
welding jacket over layered garb, and a forge apron, and toasted my hands
over the charcoal. Had the people I was playing with thinking I had asbestos
hands, because I was picking up live coals, and tossing them back into the
firepot- Hel, I was just keeping my fingers warm ;-)

And, you really can't leave a fire which is capable of (and did) turn a
railroad spike into ashes under those conditions. I had to, a couple times,
to hit the restroom, but I was very careful to make sure a responsible
person stayed there and watched things, and knew where all the safety stuff
was, and how/when to use it.

>
> For about a gallon of beef noodle soup:

>SNIP<

Thank you very much, as I said, it really hit the spot. It was intensely
flavorful, without being over-salted- probably the best beef-noodle soup
I've ever had.

>    We finally got the food out about 30 minutes
> latestampededungry gentles stampeeded the food. Crys
> of delight and glee from the people taking the food
> made me feel better about its presentation. Next year
> I bring tablecloths, signs, and serving utensils,
> which I scrounged as I could. Our shire's policy about
> plates is 'your problem'. I hope next year we can
> offer more than paper towels to those without plates.

Well, that happens. I heard several comments about how good it was, and how
nice it looked- I was just sorry I couldn't see it ;-) You did a great job,
and I hope you're feeling proud of yourself ;-)

> So, dear list, please give me your impressions of the
> feast. I did not see any of it, nor did I taste much
> because of an oversight by my group. They did not
> leave room for me at our table, so I sat in the ready
> room next to the kitchen, nibbling on whatever fell my
> way, not being able to see or hear anything. Perhaps
> next year someone will be kind enough to save a seat
> so I could grab a few bites and try to experience
> what's going on outside. And your opinions of what you
> liked, what you didn't like and what you want in
> general would be greatly appreciated. And don't worry
> about feelings: I want to take lessons from this (you
> know, the burned and learned stuff).
>
> So: cooks! Lay on!
>
>             --Marion

Jeeze- I'd wish I'd known- we had room at our table, because two of our
intended tablemates chose to sit with their friends at the next table,
although we shared food and servers back and forth.

As a Feast, I've had better, and most certainly worse. IMO, the two things
that could have been improved were the timeliness of the courses (not the
kitchen's fault- High Table wanted entertainment between courses) and, IMO,
the lamb was badly overcooked, although very tasty, with the stuffing it
had. Of course, I'd have preferred a period menu, but the Cook did a good
job, at least, of avoiding being obviously modern, other than the green
beans (which I'll easily forgive, since I love them). Certainly, it was not
up to the standards I have come to expect from members of this List, but it
was by no means a shabby attempt. For the most part, very tasty,
well-cooked, well-balanced, and well done.

Phlip

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....