[Sca-cooks] FWD: November 2004 MK Cook's Challenge
Gaylin Walli
iasmin at comcast.net
Tue Nov 23 16:18:50 PST 2004
A short while back, the Middle Kingdom Cook's list began a monthly
challenge at the beginning of each month that was introduced to spur
conversation, get people thinking on their feet, and provide a bit of
amusement to the readers in general. Each month's challenge has been
different to date and as list maintainer, I'm the one who sends them
out (people usually send me their challenge ideas privately and I mix
and match or steal them whole cloth with credit and then send them out).
This past month's challenge was particularly interesting and a few of
the MK Cook's members suggested to me privately that I should send the
challenge to the SCA Cook's list to stimulate further discussion about
the topic. I forward it to you now in this email in hopes that you
enjoy it, in hopes that it stimulates conversation, and in hopes that
everyone can learn a bit from the ensuing conversation.
Cheers,
Iasmin
Iasmin de Cordoba, iasmin at comcast.net
---------
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004
To: MKcooks
Subject: November 2004 MK Cook's Challenge
In light of the recent discussions about non-SCA conventions and
"feasts" I thought we'd issue our monthly challenge with some of the
discussed facotrs in mind. Here's this month's cooking challenge:
The Scenario
The local choral ensemble at the community college has won top honors
at a major international competition with their recent performance of
period madrigal-like songs. In celebration, they wish to host a "dinner
theatre" of sorts, inviting a number of local and foreign dignitaries.
The theatre department has volunteered to decorate (and seem pretty
good at it), but the food is something that still needs taking care of.
Your local group has been approached to volunteer time to produce the
food for the proposed dinner. No restrictions have been set on the
dishes or foods that can be served, though the choral leader was
curious if a boar's head or something similarly impressive from the
oral traditions could be incorporated. Everyone very much wants a feast
that is "as medieval as possible, to celebrate such a grand occasion."
The Facts
The local school system is a poor one, situtated in a rural area of the
American south. The population of the local community college consists
large of scholarship students who have worked extremely hard to obtain
a college degree, and as a result the college as a whole has very
little money to spend on extracurricular activities. What the
award-winning choral group has accomplished is outstanding for that
fact alone, but it means that in terms of a feast, the money available
is limited. You have exactly 4.25$ US to spend per person. The college
expects that about 100 people will sign up for attending the feast and
more will *want* to sign up as a way of supporting such a magnificent
effort.
The Challenge
What do you cook? The money is slim, but the theme is grand and
celebratory. Your group has agreed to do that feast if only because it
is the perfect way for the SCA to give a little something back to the
community that has supported them for so long. How do you manage the
opulence they hope for on such a limited budget? What ideas do you
have? What assumptions do you make?
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