[Sca-cooks] A question of serving

[Terry Decker]

How I handle things depends on the site and the size of the event. 
Normally, I'm dealing with several hundred people, one-third to one-half of 
whom will eat a feast.  I use a hall steward to set up the feast hall, 
organize the entertainment, and control the access.  The head server (or 
perhaps I should use the term head waiter) organizes service to the tables 
including the head table (2-4 noble waiters for the head table, 1 waiter for 
every two tables, and 2-4 waiters serving drinks) and acts as a floater and 
kitchen laison.  Due to the structure of the sites, plating messes is done 
in the kitchen (usually under the supervision of one of my staff) and 
delivered to the waiters at the bar.

When I prepare a feast, I act as feast steward and head cook and I am 
usually trying to produce a specific effect, so I normally take control of 
the logistics of equipment and plating.

Bear

> Last weekend I was the head server for our barony's archery event. And as 
> I sit here waiting for the raspberry pie to bake, I find myself wondering 
> how others handle the serving part of a feast.
>
> This is what I, as head server, feel the job entails:
>
> coordinate with head cook about setup of feast hall
> set up feast hall
> figure out serving paraphenalia, plating order, etc.
> instruct servers
> liaison between the hall and the kitchen
>
> The cook should be done at this point, unless the kitchen staff is helping 
> plate things. We have a volunteer coordinator as a staff position for our 
> events, so that there's one main point of contact for volunteers--in the 
> past, I'd be handling that part of it too.
>
> In this specific case I ended up coordinating the toasts, but only because 
> I got proactive about it.
>
> So how do other people/places handle it?
>
> Margaret FitzWilliam