[Sca-cooks] OT: how NOT to run a feast

[Kirsten Houseknecht]

Where do you cook, Selene?  sounds like i should eat there.....
you have some nice advice. i kept it in the clipped origonal (below my
sig)...... i have been party to enough disasters to know that sometimes
things will go wrong no matter WHAT.... butwhen you have a pattern. ..its
bad.

of course, in the SCA our cooks routinely pull of feasts on budgets that
would make any event planner cringe...so its not like we cant do anything
right, eh?
Kirsten
kirsten at fabricdragon.com
http://www.fabricdragon.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Fox-Davis" <selene at earthlink.net>

> Kirsten Houseknecht wrote:
>
> > 1.  the cook managed to completely offend and alienate their helpers...
or
> > the cook and their helpers are not communicating.
> >
> > anyone who actually helps with the food prep (cooking the eggs, baking
the
> > bread, whatever) is a treasure beyond price, and should be treated with
> > great thanks and respect
>
> You got that right babe!  We just got through a major hassle with the
Kingdom
> officers about keeping up our household tradition of "Those who work do
not
> pay," not even the half-price fee that some cheapskates in our kingdom
have
> instituted.  Mind you, it's not as free a ride as all that.  We interview
our
> helpers and servers pretty carefully so that we don't engage anyone who
might be
> likely to gobble and shirk.  There is at least one cook who won't be asked
back
> after an incident three years ago when he let one dish burn and thought he
could
> conceal it and put it out anyway without my noticing.  I don't ask much,
> competence and honesty?
>
> > 3. there was almost no protein at the dayboard. just carbs.
> >> Not guilty.   We're on low-carb these days and come from families with
various
> kinds of picky eaters.  There =will= be something for everyone!   I can
see why
> it gets that way, bread and cookies are cheap relative to
resource-intensive
> meats and cheeses.
> > > 6. quality control was an issue.
> >
> > some tables foods were cooked through.  ours was not.  in a cheese and
> > noodle dish i believe the cheese was meant to be melted... at some
point...
> > even if it was actually chilly when it was brought to the table.  at a
> > different feast the fish was nearly raw.......and it was NOT Sashimi
>
> There is really no excuse for this.  Late supper is preferable to food
poisoning
> every time.
> > > 8. every dish had at least one of the same ingredient
> >> I got hip to that when I started accomodating allergies.  With the
sensitivities
> of some of my friends and our ruling nobles, it is a real challenge
sometimes.
> Baroness A can't drink cow's milk, Countess B will die if she eats almond
milk.
> We will occasionally cook a small portion seperately, but mostly we rely
on a
> sufficiently diverse menu to allow the sensitive to just refrain from one
or two
> dishes and still have them get enough to eat.  No "hidden meat" in
anything in
> our barony particularly, our beloved baroness is vegetarian and some other
> members keep somewhat Kosher.  If it is not an obvious meat dish like a
roast,
> it won't have any, and no lard in the pastry without warnings.
> > > 10.  lack of communication
> >>
> Amen, sister!  I probably bore my help with redundancy but that's better
than
> their not knowing stuff.  I also print out menus, order of /c/o/m/b/a/t/
> service, recipes and everything else.  These get posted in several places,
in
> the event that I get hit by a flying meatball and have to retire from the
> /b/a/t/t/l/e/z/o/n/e/ kitchen.
>
> My other dictum:  BE PREPARED!
>
> This coming Twelfth Night, I'm mentally preparing for NOTHING in the
kitchen
> working and some alternate plans involving camp stoves and ice chests.  We
live
> close enough to the site to make this practical, as long as we have fresh
> propane & ice.  Maybe I'm Alice's White Knight but I'm very determined to
make
> this come off as our best feast ever, til the next one!
>
> DO bring a BBQ lighter [in case you need to light a pilot light in a
strange
> kitchen], tool box [in case you need to actually FIX the stove or
something],
> first aid kit [emphasis on cut and burn wounds].  Pot holders and oven
mitts,
> lots of'em.  Aprons for all the kitchen staff, preferably matching.  Keeps
goo
> off the garb, disguises mundane work clothes, and a uniform look makes
people
> feel like a team.  My apron pockets contain:  instant-read meat
thermometer, a
> clean tasting spoon, measuring spoons, Swiss Army knife, mini-flashlight,
as
> well as the aforementioned printed out lists.
>
> Selene Colfox
> [Kirsten & other new listies:  I use my whole name here because there is
another
> Selene on this list.  Who'da thunkit?]
> selene at earthlink.net
>