[Sca-cooks] Service questions

[Donna Green]

> Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 08:14:53 -0800 (PST)
> From: "Cat ." <tgrcat2001 at yahoo.com>
> To: Cooks List SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Service and Kraut questions from Gwen
> Cat
> 
> Greetings from the Outlands,
> 
> 2) At a recent gathering I was asked for sources that
> included or focused on the period (no preference on location
> or time) table settings. ?Now I have lots of recipe books,
> but this gentle is not interested in cooking the food, but
> wants to learn about re-creating the service portion of a
> feast or banquet.
> 
> Thanks for any and all leads and suggestions.
> 
> In service
> Gwen Cat

I've skipped the saurkraut questions, but do have a response regarding service. 

There are a group of truly nutty people here in the West (I'm one of the nuts) who have for the past several years worked on a project we modestly refer to as the Perfectly Period Feast. Our third one will happen in less than a month (oh no, so much work to do still). 

The object of the PPF's is to do the service and material culture of a feast, as well as the food, all from a specific time and place. The first one was 1480's England, the second was 1420's Catalonia and the third is to be 1580's Ferrara. 

A website has recently been constructed on this project and it is growing bit by bit. Some of the information we've used in regard to service is already on the site which is http://www.perfectlyperiodfeast.org

Obviously these projects are limited by what period serving manuals we have access to. I would note that the instigator of the PPF movement, Mistress Crystal of the Westermark, had figured out all the service details for the first one before P. Brears lovely book came out. 

There are rumbling of the PPF movement spreading to An Tir and CAID, especially after the presentation on what we've done and how we've done it that was given at last year's West Coast Culinary Symposium.

My lord, Master Ivar, has likened the PPF Movement to the Appollo Program ... all sorts of unforeseen benefits trickle out into the larger SCA community. So, eventhough we've only formally done three PPF's they have generally raised the bar for a variety of food and service related aspects of how things are done 'round here.

Juana Isabella
West