[Sca-cooks] Cooking contest

grizly grizly at mindspring.com
Thu Aug 3 06:31:40 PDT 2006


-----Original Message-----
<<<<SNIP>>>>
One of the big problems with recognition for cooking as an art is
picking the right venues for getting people to pay attention to it.  If
you cook primarily for your group, that can get you recognized if and
only if the people doing the recognizing reliably travel to those
events. Many kingdoms are big enough that there are places where that
doesn't happen. <<<<SNIP>>>>

If you can get asked to cater for a peerage vigil, you'll get lots of
attention: in many cases, the peers in question will find your food the
only stuff they get a chance to eat peacefully, while waiting in line to
advise the candidate. <<<SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The answer for my personal journey to the Circle included finding ways to
put my craft into CONTEXT.  Fighters go on the tourney field . . .context .
. . . clothing makers put clothes on people to wear . . . context . . .
armorers make armor that people use . . . . context.  In our hobby, the
feast craftspeople are often seen with the same context as school cafeteria
workers, so I looked for other venues.

I prepared meals for visiting royals at our Baronial events, had the very
fine opportunity to prepare a private banquet at an event for a Baroness and
her invited guests (very cool commission).  I did do some A&S stuff here and
there.  I eventually began preparing foods at tourney side over braziers and
coals in media res (in the middle of things) to bring my craft to the bigger
tapestry of the event atmosphere.  I found that the more I connected to the
"real world" aspects of medieaval cooks, the more I enjoyed and truly
understood the craft, and the artistic passion flared for me.  that, in turn
got me still more awareness in the eyes of those who decide such things.
Teaching classes and helping individuals with their projects along the way
also helped a lot with managing my burnout and building word fame.

Sure, I was cooking and brewing for events for 12 years before elevation,
but rather than getting bitten too often by the "bitterness bug", I had a
blast and met some really cool people while building my credibility and
respect level rather incidentally.  Sure, I haven't been able to enjoy the
life of a Laurel so much since elevation as I have started a restaurant and
been elected to public office, but I still have the fond memories and
occasional interactions to keep that part of me going and inspiring my
cooking still now.

niccolo difrancesco




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