[Sca-cooks] Re: Very carefully not panicking...

[P. A. Stonnell]

At 01:18 PM 23/09/02 -0700, you wrote:
>While I agree with Adamantius about mundane
>chefs,
>I don't agree within the SCA context.  As Head
>Cook, your food should be all you need to worry
>about, but as Head Cook you also have the SCA
>motto to bear in mind "We leave a site cleaner
>than we find it."  It has happened to me on
>several occasions that my cleanup crew forgot to
>show up and do their jobs.  Since I was in
>charge, I dismissed my cooks and did the cleanup
>duties myself.  Anyone who volunteered to help I
>gratefully accepted, but I wasn't going to
>require such from anyone.  So my kitchens were
>always left spotless, even if it personally
>exhausted me to do it.
>
>Huette
>

Been there, done that (not, fortunately when I was head cook,
but other times, as part of the cooking team, I have stayed
on to help the head cook clean).  But even as head cook,
I did spot cleaning, packed things up at the end, (I know
what I brought, so I pack it) and since I was the first person
there in the morning, I know how it looked when we arrived, so
was there for the last look around and oops, missed a spot, inspection.

Last year, we kind of anoyed the hall (in a good way), there we
were, busy little bees, cleaning up after ourselves, and the hall's
cleaning crew were waiting for us to leave so they could clean! No one
had told us that part of renting the hall was them cleaning.  Finally, this
little hord of Italian Cathlic Ladies (it was a church hall) started
shooing us out, and we're going "But we haven't finishing cleaning up!" all
the way out of the door.

I'm going to feel funny this year, I have been part of our Banquete for the
past 7 or 8 years, pre-cooking, being in the kitchen during the day, or as
part
of the kitchen during the feast (except for the one year I was in charge of
the
Butlery).  But this year, I'm taking a break.  I'm not even going to be eating
the feast, I'm going off-board with a group of friends.  The theme this
year is
14-15th cent. Italian and we are all tired of Mediterian food at the feast
(the last
6 out of 7 banquets have been focused on the Mediterian) so we are going to do
early 17th cent. England, hopefuly with all period reciepes (if I can
restain one
lady who always wants to do potatoes and goes "But they had potatoes then").

Isobel