[Sca-cooks] My experience with the Savory Tosted Cheese contest

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> Unfortunately, this is all too true. This pretty much sums up my
> experience with the Savory Tosted Cheese contest that the Barony of
> Bryn Gwlad put on at their Candlemas event this past weekend, although >
it has less to do with authenticity police and more with rudeness and
> diplomacy. After a move and a year or two of a very busy work schedule,
> my regular SCA participation had dropped fairly low, but I was
> gradually getting more active. Now, I am reconsidering the time I spend
> in the SCA and wondering if there really is a place for me in the
> Society. I have already decided to limit my participation at local SCA
> events. At least my volunteer efforts. Maybe I'll become one of the
> folks that just pays the gate fees and attends.

Stefan relax. Your experience shows more about the quality of the person who
was so rude, than it does about either the SCA or your redaction. Certainly
you've been around long enough to ignore the idiots ;-)

I'll tell you a story, of my entering the Great Chili Contest.

In SE Ohio, in general, theyt tend to celebrate various holidays,
particularly in Zanesville, which is a town trying to rehabilitate itself
into the 21st century. One 4th of July, in addition to the parades and the
fireworks, they were opening a new public park area, and as part of the
deal, they decided to have, among other things a pie contest, and a chili
contest. I decided to enter, not because I expected to win, but rather
because I was so bloody tired of their boring, bland "chili soup".

It took me 3 days to make. I soaked several different kinds of beans
(shaddap, Adamantius) and boiled them up, thinly sliced and sauteed the beef
and venison with onions and garlic, added the chiles and my chile powder
blend and the tomatoes and the red wine, mixed it in with the beans, and
then simmered it for a couple hours, chilled it overnight, simmered it next
day for a couple hours, chilled it again overnight, and heated it up, mixed
in some fresh chopped onions and put it in a thermos for the contest, and
took it down.

Didn't do to badly, on the face of it- got third place, but considering
there were only 3 entries ;-)

I knew it was going to be very different from the standard, and I knew my
judgement was going to be in trouble, when the guy running it brought a
couple of high school girls over, homecoming princesses, or something, and
said they were going to be the judges. The winner was the standard SE Ohio
beans-n-hamburger-n-tomato sauce w/a dash of chili powder and a bit of onion
powder.

Was I upset? No. For one thing, the reporter from the paper spent more time
discussing my entry than he did the two "winning" entries, and for another
thing, the expression on the girls' faces when they tasted actually spicy
chili was priceless ;-)

Sometimes, Stefan, rather than worrying about what other people think, it's
more important to worry about what YOU think, and what YOU do. If they
wanted to give a prize to some yutz whose idea of a period redaction is
adding chutney and puff pastry to STC, let them. For that matter, I don't
care if they serve the stuff over ice cream- it doesn't matter. What does
matter is that you did what you felt was the right thing, for the right
reasons, and, from the looks of your redaction, did it well.

The only place I can fault you is for not sending the lady an email. even
late at night- if you try and don't get through, you're in the moral
ascendance, more so than if you don't try.

((((((STEFAN!!!!!!))))))

Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 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....



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