[Sca-cooks] Required courses for RUM degrees

[Elaine Koogler]

Is this something you'll start in the SCA...I assume so, since it seems 
to involve SCA stuff. If so, will it be SCA-wide or will it be specific 
to Meridies? If the former, where and how would we get the classes you 
mention...and, as is the case with our University in Atlantia, will 
teaching a class give you credit for taking the class? And, if you plan 
to have it SCA-wide, how can you be sure that the classes are accurate, 
scholarly, etc?

I have forwarded your message to my hubby, who has done some vintning 
and brewing and served as Atlantia's second Brewmaster.

Kiri

Christine Seelye-King wrote:

>Greetings to all those within this e-realm interested in the Culinary
>Sciences,
>(My apologies for those of you receiving this more than once),
>	I am working on setting up degrees within the School of Culinary Sciences.
>I am trying to figure out how many classes should be required, how many of
>them should be mandatory vs. electives, and what those mandatory classes
>should be.
>Here is the breakdown I have so far:
>
>Students enrolled in the School of Culinary Sciences may receive any of the
>following degrees based on their choice of studies:
>(1) Scholar of Medieval Foods & Food Pathways- classes centering on the
>study of SCA Period food, availability, trade routes, regional differences
>(2) Scholar of Medieval Feasting - classes centering on SCA Period Food
>Preparation, Feasting and Fasting, Period Techniques, SCA Feastcratting,
>etc.
>(3) Scholar of Botanical Studies - classes centering on SCA Period use of
>Herbal Medicine, Period Herbals, Gardens and Gardening, should include some
>practicums
>(4) Scholar of Brewing and Vintning
>
>So Degree #1 would be for the person who studied the foods and the history,
>but not necessarily the preparation side of things.  Required courses could
>include Feast Appreciation, a class on spices and seasonings, a class on the
>spice trade such as the Silk Road or Urban Spice Merchants, a class on the
>introduction of various foods to European cultures throughout our time
>period; electives on specific foods, guilds, agriculture, etc.  Electives
>could specialize on certain foods, guilds, regions, dietary requirements,
>the Humoral Theory, etc.
>
>Degree #2 could include the person who is intereted in studying the dining
>habits of period, and can include the cook who actively re-creates those
>foods.  Required - Feast Appreciation, SCA Feastcratting (a class or one [1]
>feast cooked), Service Methods/Banquet Officers, electives on Feast and Fast
>Days/Holiday Observances, technique classes/workshops on specific topics
>such as subtleties, sauces, butchering, sugar creations (sugar plate,
>marzipan, etc.), Effective Hall Stewarding, etc.  Note - this is not a
>degree for how many feasts you cook.  (Just because you have cooked a feast,
>doesn't mean you know the difference between period and non-period food).
>The SCA Feastcratting class or actually cooking a feast is only good for one
>credit toward this degree.  Additional specialization in this area can be
>pursued with classes such as Budgeting and Planning, Basic Feast Planning,
>Redaction, Scaling Up, etc.
>
>Degree #3 includes those pursuing the use of herbs in period, History of
>Medicine, agriculture, gardeners/horticulturists, and perhaps even animal
>husbandry, although that gets away from Botanics and into other areas
>depending on what's being bred - horses wouldn't be included (they can get a
>degree from the Equestrian College), but Beekeeping might - especially if
>study work is tied into the surrounding fields the bees gather pollen from.
>So Required courses might include History of Herbals, Period Garden Design,
>(I could use suggestions for other required Herbal courses), electives could
>go into the use of various herbs, period medical practices using herbs, the
>study of the Humoral Theory (this could also be done with degrees #1 & 2),
>period farming/crops, Honey produced from clover fields as compared to
>wildflower, etc.
>
>Degree #4 is out of my area of expertise, and is not being worked on at this
>time.  I'd love suggestions for what the brewers out there would consider
>good required courses as well as elective ideas.
>
>What I'd like is for folks to tell me what they think should absolutely be
>required for a certain degree.  If you specialize in Herbs and were going to
>certify that Lord Y had a working knowledge of herbs in period (not to
>practice with, but could be able to write a paper or present a class with
>appropriate references and enough knowledge to be a reliable source), what
>would you want to make sure he had at least been exposed to? (Keeping in
>mind the classes are usually 1 hour).
>Thanks for any input, feel free to respond to me privately if you wish -
>kingstaste at mindspring.com
>Thanks,
>Mistress Christianna MacGrain,
>Dean of the School of Culinary Sciences,
>Royal University of Meridies
>
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>
>  
>

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Learning is a lifetime journey…growing older merely adds experience to 
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					-- C.E. Lawrence