[Sca-cooks] To Garnish and Present Med/Ren Food

[Johnna Holloway]

It's an SCA contest. Ask the person running it what they want to see.
If they want flowers, provide flowers. If they want pastry cut-outs,
do pastry cut-outs. This is an artificial thing that the Society likes 
to see.
I really have problems with the idea that all medieval feast
dishes were garnished. For head table yes! Perhaps? For the 400 diners 
in the
hall eating a two course mess of dishes, would they really have decorated
every dish? Hardly? Strew on some spice and serve it forth!
I have seen more attention paid to garnishing at times than to the important
parts of  recipe, documentation, was the food hot or cold, served with the
right sauces, etc. Pretty counts, especially in contests. I watched one 
entry
receive great marks yet the contestant had placed the small items being 
served
on bay leaves. Now bay leaves are a botanical, and in this kingdom all 
those botanical/herbal
ingredients have to abide by a special botanicals list. Failing to 
comply with those
instructions means that the entry should be dismissed from the contest.
So this entry that failed to comply with the rules slips past because it's
pretty.

Johnnae