[Sca-cooks] MisRepresenting the Outlands

[Cat .]

> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 07:35:59 -0800 (PST)
> From: V O <voztemp at yahoo.com>
> To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] MisRepresenting the Outlands was snails....
> Message-ID: <508803.65905.qm at web110816.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
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>> 
> 
> You are also one of the cooks with a reputation for?food?that people will eat.? 
>
> Look around, now, how many new cooks are there, and who is going to give them a 
>
> chance to do a feast with out a known cook backing them.? Aldyth is correct in 

> the fact we have gotten very insular, there are only a few cooks that anybody 
>is 
>
> willing to take a chance on, and those cooks tend to keep it to what they 
>know.? 
>
> ?When you cook, I know it is going to be German.? 


Blanket statements may be misleading .  While I am very fond of doing German 
feasts because it give me the opportunity to translate and re-create a couple of 
new recipes from Rumpolt and put them on the menu, I would deny being a one 
trick pony.  For instance, the lunch at 12th night 10 was half Japanese in honor 
of Furukusu-sensei's elevation, (and the other half was his other persona, but 
cant recall the country.  Sadly I am not at home, so I dont have my files, but I 
know I was asked to do an English (or was it Italian) feast to go with a theme, 
and did.  


> 
> 
> Did you notice what happened at 12th night?? As soon as feast was served the 
> room cleared out and left maybe 100-120 people.? And after that, everybody 
>left, 
>
> poof, gone.?
<snip>

Sadly I was sick as a dog at 12th night.  I was able to be there for about 2 
hours before having to take myself and my fever home again, and even those 2 
hours are foggy at best.

> 
> The last 12th night I cooked was for 280 people, not including the freebies and 
>
> that was small compared to the normal at that time of?300-350.? When I helped 
> Hannah plan the food for this one I had to fight to make her?believe that she 
> should plan to cook for 120 to 150.? And that included the freebies of the 
>Crown 
>
> and B&B's.?? By December 18th we had?less than?20 reservations to feast, that 
>is 
>
> 3 weeks before the even!? Did we even sell out at the door?? I never heard.? 
> When was the last time we had a 12th night feast that sells more than 150-170?? 
>
> 8-10 years?? 

Yes my point was that the people of the Outlands do not make reservations, even 
though they will eat tasty and unusual period food.

> 
> 
> There is a sense of apathy about feasts.? I have heard rumblings of we should 
> just do away with them at events.? I can't imagine doing an all day feast,?as 
> there are in other Kingdoms.? We would be laughed out of the planning meeting, 

> and loose our asses on the costs, because no-one but a few willing, hardy souls 
>
> would be willing to pay for it and show up.? Especially if we didn't have 
> something like a hard-suit, fighter something running with it.? 
> 
> 
> Come out of the Kitchen Gwen, and look around.? We have a problem and it needs 

> to be addressed.? 

Thank you for your suggestion Mistress.

> 
> I like Aldyth's idea of introducing foods at A&S's, and the others here who 
>have 
>
> suggested starting small and having tasteing?tables at events.? That at least 
> would be a step to get the attitude of "period" food is bad, out of peoples 
> minds.? 

I am glad you like the idea of tasting tables.  Iif you looked around at the 
above mentioned  12th nIght you would have seen that  Caerthes Cooks Guild had a 
tasting table set up.  Even having been sick I recall the table featured Saffron 
eggs from Mistress Hauviettes cook book, I know Lord Tahir made a middle eastern 
Meatball, I brought a vinegar beef dish from Rumpolt (and I know there was much 
more, but having been sick I have little memory of the event and less of the 
table, and I dont think anyone took a picture.)   We we provided a handout with 
the recipes, so that if folks nibbled and liked what they tasted they could take 
the information home with them  I know at least one person appreciated that 
handout and thanked me for it (and yes I do remember that much.)

In Service
Catrin von Berlin

> 
> 
> Mirianna
> 
>