[Sca-cooks] listing of ingredients...

[Tallan Family]

On Feb 27, 2007, at 6:08 PM, Adele de Maisieres wrote:

> K C Francis wrote:
>
>> Here in the West, it is quite common for the menu distributed at the 
>> feast
>> to have a *complete* list of ingredients for each dish.  And, when 
>> asked
>> (read begged), the cooks always post their recipe sources and 
>> recipies.  I
>> cannot understand why one would NOT want to make it possible for 
>> everyone to
>> safely enjoy what they eat at a feast.
>>
> I don't not post recipes/ingredients because I don't want people to eat
> safely.  I don't want people to use an ingredients list alone to decide
> what they can eat.  I want them to contact me before the feast so that 
> I
> can either do what it takes to ensure that they get a good meal without
> allergy problems or recommend other arrangements.

That works if you have people who feel comfortable asking for special 
treatment. I know several people who are uncomfortable in doing so. 
They don't want to contact the cook and say that they are vegetarian or 
have problems with ingredient x, with the perhaps unstated implication 
that they are looking for alternative dishes to be cooked especially 
for them. What they would prefer, is to be confident that the menu will 
be sufficiently diverse that they can skip a dish or three and still 
get a reasonable meal from the remainder. And generally they can.

Having a menu posted with ingredients allows them to make an informed 
decision. If the information isn't available, they won't be calling the 
cook - they'll be going off board. Maybe the feast would have been 
great for them, but they won't know that (except, perhaps, after the 
fact).

I'm not saying they are right or wrong in this. It's just what they do.

Respectfully,
David Tallan (SCA Thomas)