[Sca-cooks] Re: Documentation "Fun"

[Stefan li Rous]

Adamantius explained:
  <<< For example, I was asked to be in a subtlety competition by my  
Queen
some years ago. She knows I'm a good cook, but simply doesn't
understand the concept of a cook that has little or no interest in
subtleties. I agreed, and produced a fairly simple subtlety, a cake
in the shape of a ship, from a 17th century English recipe. To me,
the challenge was to make it work in that shape, to produce a cake
pan in the right shape that wouldn't leak, one that would fit in my
oven, and come apart so the cake could be easily removed. Secondly, I
wanted to make a really good cake from a historical recipe, and I
left it to my competitors to decide for themselves what their goals
were and to go crazy in the decorative arts. I also completed my
decoration on site in the middle of a 12th Night laurelling vigil
while people discussed various A&S issues with me (I was the Kingdom
MoAS at the time).>>>

Did/do you perhaps have written documentation for this? Pictures?  
Which recipe did you use? How did you make your mold?

<<< As I recall, the competition was won by someone who had purchased a
large proportion of presented foods ready-made. The people who came
in second and third had worked hard to produce beautiful displays,
and I was thrilled to see them get a chance to showcase their skills.
I guess I came in fourth out of four, which was fine with me, and if
I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing. >>>

Yes, most of our A&S contests, like many museum displays, seem to be  
aimed at "pretty" rather than showing what life was really like. Much  
of the armor on display and swords, are decorator/prize pieces and  
not something meant to really be used. Of course, it is often because  
of their value and showiness that they were preserved and not melted  
down or modified into something else when fashion changed or they  
wore out. Unfortunately, in my mind, our SCA A&S displays tend to be  
aimed at things that look pretty rather than those that show how  
medieval people actually lived.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****