[Sca-cooks] Feast costs/budgets

[Sharron Albert]

>PKSARGE at aol.com wrote:
>
>>On another but related topic. The first feast I did on my own I had done all
>>the research, planning and most of the purchasing (using up most of the
>  >budget) when I was informed, the weekend before the event, that I 
>was also expected

Up in Oertha (Alaska), the head cooks for our twice-yearly coronets 
are expected to coordinate a brunch on Saturday, a feast for Saturday 
dinner, and a breakfast/brunch on Sunday. Brunch is usually 
soup/stews and bread and fingerfoods. Especially in the winter, the 
fighters need something warm after tourney and they come inside 
(unless it below -15F, they usually fight outdoors).

Dinner is a regular feast, of varying periodness and courses, 
according to who is cook. Sometimes the numbers are reservations 
only, sometimes feast included in the event fee (with offboard for 
those who know they're not feasting). Breakfast is usually warmed-up 
feast leftovers, liquids and maybe muffins/breads. We might get 
breakfast, but it's not fancy, at least in midwinter. Midsummer, 
breakfast Saturday and Sunday is often a donations-accepted 
fundraiser for the principality, cooked by Pied Powder Inn members 
and friends, which includes pancakes and fixin's, juice/coffee, 
sausage (often homemade from moose), bacon. I've never donated less 
than $5 and that was over the event fees.

But when you consider people routinely drive nearly 400 miles to go 
to coronet (or fly from Outside or the Juneau area), it helps if you 
don't have to drag camping/cooking gear with you. And we obviously do 
not camp outside in the January tourney. I certainly appreciate that 
I, as a single older woman, don't have to worry about the food issue.

And, our feasts seldom reach 100 people, although we come close more 
often than we used to. And having up to a 100 people scatter for 
lunches and dinners really breaks up the mood of the events.

Different areas and climates, different customs. We started coronet 
feasts nearly 30 years ago, before we were a principality and our 
numbers might have reached 50 people at the event.

YIS,

Morgana yr Oerfa