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taverns-msg – 9/17/12

 

SCA and period taverns. Serving food.

 

NOTE: See also the files: games-msg, games-cards-msg, beer-msg, cider-msg, wine-msg, Tavern-Feast-art, ale-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this time. If information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

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From: zkessin at shell1.tiac.net (Zach Kessin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Running A Tavern

Date: 11 Apr 97 13:02:44 GMT

 

Andrea Benton <abenton at acesag.auburn.edu> writes:

>I have a question for those who have ever done such a thing. We are

>interested in running a Tavern, with an event we have planned for the

>fall.

 

>So anyone with any stories to tell, good or bad, I would be welcome to

>hear them.

 

>leona

 

Check out the web site for Le Poulet Gauche,

http://world.std.com/~cti/lepg.html

 

More info that you probably wanted.

 

--William Atwood

Carolingia

 

 

From: joylana at aol.com (Joylana)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Running A Tavern

Date: 16 Apr 1997 03:46:12 GMT

 

   I ran a small tavern at what was suppose to be a medium event that

turned into a Royal Progress.   It was fun (I think) but I definitely was

glad I did a lot of work beforehand.   I had a limited menu: stew,

biscuits, drink (non alcoholic), and desserts.  

 

I bought roasts which I cooked whole and then cut into cubes; had all the

veggies cut up (some were frozen..came in so handy); and also made a

vegetarian stew which was quite hardy.

 

Bisquits were easy with Bisquick or you could do a hearty wheat or rye

bread. I made lemonade, ice tea (herbal and regular), and also had hot

tea and coffee.  We had some mulled cider at one point, also.

I would have loved having some help to take orders and carry the food,

but instead I just opened the dutch-door and had people come to me.  I

hope this helps.  With good planning you can do anything.  Oh, yes,  the

kitchen had a very old stove, a beaten up refridgerator, and one sink.  I

was very tired at the end.

 

I kept the cost very low ($2 for stew, biscuit, and drink; dessert was

extra, ($1 to $2) as I was providing a service to my barony so I met

expenses with just $10 profit.

 

Jolanna

 

 

From: robin.hackett at wadsworth.org (Robin Hackett)

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 13:25:14 -0500

Subject: SC - Outdoor feasts

 

Sir Gunthar wrote:

 

>There's an early period outdoor feast that I've been thinking of where all the

>food is cooked either in the ashes (tubers, clay wrapped meat) and in a big

>kettle (meat and vegetables are boiled in the cauldron, the solids are

>lifted >out for one course and a pottage is made from the broth for

>another.

 

Outdoor feasts are alot of fun! :) Last year at the Gilded Pearl event in

Sterlynge Vale a few of us ran a tavern for lunch and for the experience of

doing so. We started early in the morning making bread and cutting up 25

lbs of onions for the sops. We spitted chickens and made a lombard beef

bruet plus a fried beans & onions recipe from "700 years of English

cooking". With premade pasties and fruit and cheese we were able to offer a

good variety of food. The tavern was open for roughly three hours and each

dish could serve ~50 people. When a dish ran out, it was taken "off the

board". I wasn't in charge of drinks so all I remember is ginger drink and

some sort of cider. It made me appreciate indoor kitchens when it started

to rain!

 

Leri

robin.hackett at wadsworth.org

 

 

Date: Mon, 17 Nov 97 13:38:29 -0500

From: Dottie Elliott <macdj at onr.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Russian Inns

 

When I run a luncheon tavern for food (which I have done twice now), I

generally prepare enough for 50 people for a 150ish person May event. Not

as many folks each lunch (many fighters do not, for instance) and I don't

want to end up with lots of left overs.

 

Clarissa

 

 

Subject: RE: ANST - Traveling INN

Date: Wed, 01 Apr 98 14:01:26 MST

From: "Weiszbrod, Barbara A" <Barbara.Weiszbrod at SW.Boeing.com>

To: "'ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG'" <ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG>

 

Tracy wrote:

> Maybe her foods aren't exactly "period", but I can remember being

> served roast turkey legs at an SCA feast once.

 

I can remmember being served turkey legs at an event too and I was very

dissapointed. At a Feast I want to have foods that are period and not

(as Daniel pointed out) glaringly Ren-Fair.

 

My shire does Black Wolf Tavern at Steppes Warlord and we do not do

period foods there.  It is very difficult to do a tavern well, safely,

and at a profit.  We have made the decission that researching period

foods is just not going to happen.

 

However we do try to do foods that are not glaringly non-period or that

jar us out of the "feel" of a period fair.

 

But none of the answers so far have really addressed the lady's

question. "What would you like to have available to you".

 

I want to be able to buy bottled water at a tavern.  I also like the foods

to not require I get my feast gear.  Other than that something other

than meat is also appreciated (can you tell that I wasn't born in

Ansteorra? No meat?!).

 

Alys Deriveax

aka Aelfric of Alburn

aka Barbara Weiszbrod

aka Shire Bitch

 

 

Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 18:38:39 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - wanted: a marinade for spit roasting an autocrat

 

I would say you have just discovered why the cook does the buying for good

restaurants and why every SCA cook I know does their own buying.

 

I'm very leery of trying to do all meals for two days.  You are talking

about a tremendous amount of work, usually without professional help, with a

hefty price tag.  A quick estimate of the expenses is $10-12 per person to

do it right, which means charging $16-20 per person to recover the expenses

and turn a profit commensurate with the risk.

 

Running a tavern, you have no guarantee of recouping the expenses.  Were I

planning to feed this event, I would run breakfast and lunch out of a tavern

which I would understock so that I would sell out.  I would also check all

of the nearest groceries for stock and prices, in case I had to re-supply.

The tavern cook would run the tavern.

 

Saturday night's feast would be run as a feast.  This is usually the best

format for recouping the expenses.  This would be run by the feast cook.

 

Sunday night, I would get rid of the left-overs through the tavern.

 

Unless I am fronting the money and am willing to take the loss, the tavern

and the feast would be separately planned and budgeted with the group

agreeing to the funding and providing funds up front to do the purchasing (I

usually start with $200 to $300 a couple of months before the event which is

replenished as I turn in the receipts up to the amount budgeted).

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 07:09:02 EDT

From: WOLFMOMSCA <WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com>

Subject: Re: SC - wanted: a marinade for spit roasting an autocrat

 

Marinade suggestion:  Lay on a heavy coating of tar, sprinkle liberally with

feathers of your choosing, impale on rail, singe completely.

 

With luck, this experience won't sour you completely on cooking for SCA

events. You have my sympathy.  I thought the practice of having one person

front the money for a feast was eradicated long ago by changes to the

Exchequer system within the SCA.  I remember the days when it was the only way

to throw an event, but we at least passed the helm at meetings and such so the

burden could be eased somewhat.

 

While I agree that pre-selling feast is a good idea, when you're doing tavern-

style feedings, it's not always practical, nor does pre-selling guarantee no

leftovers. Especially over a long, potentially hot, Memorial Day weekend.

Having done taverns for several years in Ansteorra, I know this to be true.

 

The unsolicited advice:

 

Never, ever allow an autocrat, especially one who has never been a feastcrat,

buy your supplies without your active participation.  We the unwilling, led by

the unknowing....

 

Breakfast should be easy on the cook, unless a separate individual has agreed

to take on the job.  When alone in the hot seat, I use pre-baked sweet breads

(fruit types with side dishes of preserved fruits), breakfast meats (sausage

and bacon are easily restocked when you keep an eye on the serving line),

bread and butter, and fresh fruits in season.  Oatmeal is a quick thing, so a

small pot of it is kept on the back burner for the few, the proud, the

Scottish <veg>.  I can always make more if necessary.  Anything which requires

more than fifteen minutes of stove time is pre-cooked the weekend before the

event and frozen.  Save your sanity and give thanks for modern technology.

 

Lunch can usually be dealt with handily by what we call traveler's feasts.  A

bowl of stew, a baguette of French bread, and thou.  Again, save your sanity

and make your stew the week before the event.  Everyone knows that a good stew

only gets better for having aged a bit.  If you cook it way in advance, freeze

it. If done on Wednesday night, it will be heavenly by Saturday afternoon.

 

Supper is where a feastcrat should focus their efforts and their creativity.

Roasted flesh of some kind, be it fowl or hoofed, is a safe bet.  What doesn't

get sold on Saturday night becomes Sunday's lunch spread, with appropriate

additions of the cook's choice.  A nice salat of greens with a selection of

dressings (both period and modern <I know, ***gasp*** heresy, but... a

spoonful of Hidden Valley makes the salat go away).  Something hearty and

starchlike for the meat-and-taters crowd.  A wondermous dessert, with which

the cook can truly shine and be remembered.

 

It's a tavern/inn/caravanserai.  Sometimes we fail to remember that tavern

food has always been simple and hearty fare.  Even a king passing through

would eat what was available from the kitchen, albeit on better plate and with

as many flourishes as the keeper could manage.  Save the five-remove

fantasmagoric sit-down feast for another event where it is more appropriate.

 

Just my tuppence' worth.

 

Walk in peace,

Wolfmother

 

 

Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 06:53:34 -0500

From: maddie teller-kook <meadhbh at io.com>

Subject: Re: SC - wanted: a marinade for spit roasting an autocrat

 

LrdRas wrote:

>    4. Seperate cooks should be in charge of each meal. For example, the main

> feastocrat does feast, someone else is responsible for lunch and another for

> breakfast.

>    5. NEVER let anyone else buy your food for you.

>    6. IMO, planning the feast as an integral part of the event is much better

> than the inn concept.

>    7. NEVER let anyone else buy your food for you.

 

I think your advise is excellent. I would just add that the lunch and breakfast

coordinators should coordinate with the cook. This will help with food purchasing (everyone consolidates items so there is no redundancy). And, scheduling of time in the kitchen so everyone doesn't need to use the same equipment at the same time.

 

I agree on the concept of the feast vs. the 'Inn' concept. One idea that I have seen used has been the 'faire'.  We set up the different feast foods in booths and handed out coins for the populace to 'purchase' their dinner from the food booths. It was a lot of fun. The amount of 'coin' handed out was enough to purchase at least one of each item.

 

Meadhbh

 

 

Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 16:48:24 -0400

From: Ceridwen <ceridwen at commnections.com>

Subject: Re: SC -taverns/2 day feasts

 

For Trimaris' Tenth Year Anniversary event, I was asked to provide a

Tavern, as the feast hall only seats 150 and we were expecting about

1200 people. It started (in the planning) to be only a feast supplement

on Saturday and Sunday, and by the time we were done planning it was

from crew supper on Thursday until Breakfast Monday, 3 meals a day, open

from 6 am to midnight each day. I had a crew of 3 that I could count on,

as our Barony was involved with the event in many other capacities. The

"kitchen" was a small building (screen house) with a sink! I cooked with

a fire pit, a bbq smoker (8 X 3 feet) and a  two burner gas stove. we

brought along an upright freezer  (12 cu. ft.)and many, many coolers. We

set up a 20x20 pavilion for seating and a 10x15 for serving area. (took

a large U-Haul truck to get everything there and back)    The meat and

dry goods shopping was done ahead of time with price in mind and

pre-portioned if  necessary. (ever see a meat manager at a grocery store

cry?... they advertised whole bottom round cut to order for .99/lb, and

I needed 120 lbs... shaved!) The rest of the shopping was done day by

day at the local grocery.

 

  I got the barony to front the money for the supplies by promising them

the profit if there was any.  We sold advance tickets at $14.00 for the

weekend and also advertised the tavern in the advance flyers in

Talewinds and the Seneshals' mailings for 3 months. On site, meals could

be purchased separately at $1 breakfast, $2 lunch, and $3 dinner. Drinks

were free to all because of the extreme heat. (went through 100 gallons

each of lemonade and iced tea, plus 30 gallons of my Lord's mead -yes,

we carded!) Sold 104 advance tickets, which put us in the black before

we ever got on site. With extra shopping trips for charcoal and produce,

we made a $700 profit for the Barony.  Figured by the amount of food

served that we had about 300 customers a day.  Had the most fun I've

ever had at an event... took me three weeks to recover! Made a few

mistakes, but nothing serious, and was "the" hang-out spot for the

event. I would gladly do it again, with one caveat... the whole Barony

cannot be on the crat crew for the event!!!!!!!    I have done 3 of the

last 4 Trimaris Memorial Tourneys  (Spring Crown Lyst- Memorial Day

weekend each year) as feastcrat, cooking all meals with little

difficulty. Here for Kingdom events your budget is preset by the Kingdom

(currently at $5 per head per day). I serve Travelers feast Friday night

, breakfast, lunch and feast on Saturday and Sunday, and breakfast

Monday out of that with no probs. I am not exclusively a period cook,

although about 80- 90% of my recipes are redactions of period recipes.

To see this year's menu , visit :

http://commnections.com/rurik/tmtfeast.htm

 

 

Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 08:05:05 -0700

From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <acrouss at gte.net>

Subject: Re: SC - What's cooking at the Tabard?

 

howdy all from Anne-Marie

 

"Lainie asks:

>       A question came up the other day in my Chaucer seminar- and

>everyone looked at me because they know I'm into medieval food- but I

>really didn't have a decent answer- and the question was:

>       What did they serve at the Tabard Inn?

>       My best guess was sausage, cheese, bread, ale, wine, maybe pies.

>Does anyone else have ideas about tavern food?

 

According to the travel journals of Alexander Neckham in Paris, taverns

would often cook whatever foodstuffs the travelers brought with them

(picked up in the market just around the corner, say), for a small fee. He

talks about buying a chicken, having the goodwife cook it, and after dining

on it, he stuffs the leftovers in his wallet to eat on the road.

 

Margery Kemp describes carefully how she had to provision herself for her

journeys to the holy land, even on shipboard.

 

I'm wondering how medieval the concept of a tavern where you can buy a full

meal is? Or even if there's a hunk of meat you can buy a slab off of, how

common was it to have more than one choice available? I know the

"restaurant" is a fairly modern concept...

 

- --AM

 

 

Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 12:27:40 +0100

From: "Oughton, Karin (GEIS, Tirlan)" <Karin.Oughton at geis.ge.com>

Subject: RE: SC - What's cooking at the Tabard?

 

I think it is in PA Hammonds "food and feast in medieval England", that it

has extensive descriptions of what would now be described as 'greasy joe

cafes ', stalls which provided the ability to buy pies etc for food.

Although the restaurant idea - being able to order to a table from a wide

range is quite new, the buy a standard takeaway over the counter is quite

old!

 

k.

 

 

Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 21:25:09 EDT

From: LrdRas at aol.com

Subject: Re: SC - What's cooking at the Tabard?

 

Karin.Oughton at geis.ge.com writes:

<< I think it is in PA Hammonds "food and feast in medieval England", that  it

has extensive descriptions of what would now be described as 'greasy joe

cafes ', stalls w >>

 

Correct but these were not  'Inns'. There is a description in Le Managier

which says  that if you find your self in an inn find yourself some meat

broth and add spices and then eggs for a soup. I suspect that from this

description inns, at least in the 14th century were not noted for an

abundance of food.

 

Ras

 

 

Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 22:33:32 -0400

From: snowfire at mail.snet.net

Subject: Re: SC - What's cooking at the Tabard?

 

Some more info on taverns.  Although again, I don't know how old these tavern

practices are (my mother remembers this from when she was a child).  There

was a tavern open early for the early morning workers in the port in the

nearest town to my home village in Wales (Swansea).  They'd have several

different meats available there for the workers, - a beef roast, a leg of

lamb, and some black sausage, as well as pies and crusty bread.  "Everything

was on the counter and covered with tea towels....  They'd slice off what you

wanted, and you'd eat it with a big thick chunk of the bread.  The pies were

pork pies, steak and kidney pies, and veal and ham pie".

 

BTW re: the Veal and Ham Pie.

 

Here's what I know about it.  The pie was made in a loaf tin. The pastry

crust was made with a hot vs cold water pastry method.  After rolling the

pastry out, a bottom/side crust was cut and placed into the tin.  Then a

layer of the chopped up veal and ham mixture was put in the bottom and

pressed down firmly. A row of hard boiled eggs was added, end to end, "like a

train" and more of the meat mixture was added around and covering the eggs,

and up to almost the top of the dish. the filling was pressed down firmly,

the top crust was added, sealed around the edges etc., brushed with beaten

egg and the pie was baked.  To serve, it was cooled, turned out upside down,

and sliced like a loaf of bread.

 

Does anyone have an actual recipe with a proper ingredient list etc. for this

type of pie I wonder?  It seems to be in the same family as a pork pie.

 

Elysant

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 11:42:50 CEST

From: "Christina van Tets" <cjvt at hotmail.com>

Subject: SC - leeks, tavern food and galingale

 

<snip of leek info>

 

As to tavern food, I would look at one or two pictures - Brueghel for

preference (that lovely one which shows bowls served from a barn door

carried horizontally is my favourite - if you can't get hold of a copy of

the real picture, it's spoofed in Asterix in Belgium).  Didn't someone some

months back mention a practice of serving bowls of various items for a set

price to make things easier in taverns? Was that documented, or just a

guess?

 

Cairistiona

 

 

Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 21:50:44 EDT

From: LrdRas at aol.com

Subject: Re: SC - Cooking at Faire

 

chicagojo at rni.net writes:

<< Has anyone done a food booth? I must admit I wonder the logistics of it. Do

any of the major wars have period or periodish  food booths?

Estrella had one that had hand held tarts and stuffs, they seemed pretty

periodish and was pretty good too.  What about Pennsic or Gulf Wars?

Just curious,

Zoe >>

 

Our shire had a food booth at the Lewisburg Arts Festival for several years.

We started out selling homemade soft pretzels and strawberry lemonade. After

a year , we added ginger bread and cardomon cookies. That launched us into a

food booth that was built by our own THL Gille and shiskabobs were added then

spinach pasties. We didn't need any special licence in PA to run it for a day

and we always did well monetarily with it, SFAIK. Perhaps Gille could fill in

on the details that I have overlooked or am unaware of.

 

So far as Pennsic is concerned, the food merchant business there is pretty

much tied into  just a few merchants. The logistics of feeding a potential

group of several thousand people everyday for a week or so are staggering so

those that are set up are mostly professionals. My favorite eatery is the

emergency squads food tent. Decent food at very reasonable prices. There is

an Italian ice booth, a steak hogie place, an Chinese booth, a Middle eastern

set-up and apizza place. Also on the list is a bread bowl booth, my favorite

place is The Battlefield Bakery which sells completely authentic period pies,

tarts, and other tasty morsels. It is a wee bit pricey but a definite 'gotta

eat there at least once a Pennsic' place. Wonderful food by wonderful and

knowledgeble cooks. :-)

 

Ras

 

 

Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 07:05:25 EDT

From: WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com

Subject: Re: SC - Cooking at Faire

 

<< Has anyone done a food booth? I must admit I wonder the logistics of it >>

 

I was the morning cook for the Triskele Tavern one year at Pennsic.  The

logistics weren't my job (thank ALL the gods), but we kept the problems to a

minimum in a couple of ways.  First off, the menu was limited.  We did

breakfast to order (for which we earned the odd appellation of St. Denny's).

Lunch was usually something they could carry around with them (like sausage

sandwiches with melted Swiss cheese and a dill pickle spear).  Dinner was

usually a pot meal of some sort, including spaghetti, boiled dinner (that's

ham & cabbage for y'all who don't live in New England), chili. etc.

 

The biggest problem about running a booth on the Food Court is sanitation.

Cleanliness is absolutely necessary, and difficult to achieve in the

primitive conditions at Pennsic, so you cook food that doesn't require a

whole bunch of separate pots & pans.  Saves on the scullery needs.  One of

the things we discovered about our menu was that folks would wander in at

noon, one, even two o'clock, wanting breakfast.  I had a confab with the boss

about three days into War and we basically did away with lunch and served

breakfast until 3:00 in the afternoon.  This simplified our lives and made us

a very popular place.  The fighters loved us because they could get a hot

breakfast, made to order, AFTER they'd fought for a couple of hours and were

ready to actually put real food in their engines, and they didn't have to

walk all the way back to their camps.  Breakfast was basically two eggs, done

the way you wanted, some bacon or sausage, toast, coffee/tea, and my patented

hashbrowns for a crowd.  The night shift at the Tavern had the responsiblity

of cutting and pre-boiling about 50 pounds of potatoes per night.  When I

came in at 0600, the boss had the coofeemakers up and running, and all I had

to do was put together the hashbrowns and start grilling meats.  We had two

regular house-type stoves with ovens, but the tops had been converted to

griddles. I did hashbrowns in one of those big cast iron deep dish baking

pans laid across two burners.   We opened at 0700, and the steady stream

began.

 

My only complaint about doing this particular job at Pennsic was the fact

that for two weeks, no matter how many showers I had or how many times I

washed my hair, I always smelled like breakfast.  It's not exactly my

favorite scent, y'know?  But the boss took care of me pretty well.  Lady

Jane, his lovely wife, made sure she got my laundry from me when she was

going off-site to do theirs, I never wanted for food, and I had something

constructive to do for the entire war.  And I did meet some of the most

marvelous personages as they staggered into the Tavern, coffee mugs in hand,

bleary-eyed. All in all, it was a very good year.

 

Wolfmother

 

 

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 16:00:25 -0400

From: Warren & Meredith Harmon <ravenleaf at juno.com>

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Medieval Bombards - An Explanation

 

>Bombards ... are Medieval, leather pitchers or jugs. ...  Far superior to

>ceramic, as they don't break if you drop them.

 

Weeellll, depends on what you are looking for.  The bombards I've seen

are usually lined with wax, because leather alone has a tendency to leak.

Sometimes that wax is a pain in the tookus, especially during cleaning.

 

>They also won't kill someone

>if you hit them upside the head with it in a tavern brawl.

 

Giggle! Depends on what type of mug you use!  An English "brawler", a

mug of a particular shape, was intended for just that purpose: when

English taverns outlawed glasses because drunk patrons were using them as

"street knives", the patrons started bringing thicker pottery mugs that

could withstand the double duty.  If you ever see me at an event, my

regular mug just happens to be a brawler...no connection, though...  ;-)

I've had it for two years of really heavy abuse at events *and* Ren

faires, and there's only one chip in it.

 

-Caro

 

 

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 08:57:54 -0800

From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>

Subject: SC - Back to the Cookhouse!

 

Remember a couple of months ago when we were discussing having a booth

at Pennsic, and how part of our wanders included the plaint 'but we

can't find info on period food booths!' Well, I found some last night!

 

_Norman London_ by William FitzStephen, trans. Frank Stenton (full cite

at the end of the post).

 

pg. 52-

 

"...Moreover there is in London upon the river's bank, amid the wine

that is sold from ships and wine-cellars, a public cookshop. There

daily, according to the season, you may find viands, dishes roast,

fried, and boiled, fish great and small, the coarser flesh for the poor,

the more delicate for the rich, such as venison and birds both big and

little. If friends, weary with travel, should of a sudden come to any of

the citizens, and it is not thier pleasure to wait fasting till fresh

food is bought and cooked and "till servants bring water for hands and

bread" they hasten to the river bank, and there all things desirable are

ready to their hand. However great the infinitude of knights or

foreigners that enter the city or about to leave it, at whatever hour of

night or day, that the former may not last too long nor the latter

depart without their dinner, they turn aside thither, if it so please

them, and refresh themselves, each after his own manner. Those who

dseire to fare delicately, need not search to find sturgeon or

"Guinea-fowl" or "Ionian francolin", since all the dainties that are

found there are set forth before their eyes. Now this is a public

cookshop, appropriate to a city and pertaining to the art of civic life.

Hence that saying which we read in the _Gorgias_ of Plato, to wit, that

the art of cookery is a counterfeit of medicine and a flattery of the

fourth part of the art of civic life."

 

 

Now I want to know what is 'Ionian francolin' and can we cook it in a

Coleman!

 

'Lainie

 

Citation:

 

*CALL #       DA680 .F58 1990.

TITLE        Descriptio nobilissimae civitatis Londoniae. English.

TITLE        Norman London / William Fitz Stephen. Norman London : an essay /

              by Sir Frank Stenton ; introduction by F. Donald Logan.

AUTHOR       Fitzstephen, William, d. 1190?

PUBLISHER    New York : Italica Press, 1990.

DESCRIPTION xv, 109 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

NOTES        Originally published in 1934 as Historical Association leaflets

              nos. 93, 94.

NOTES        Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-96) and index.

ALT AUTHOR   Stenton, F. M. (Frank Merry), 1880-1967. Norman London.

SUBJECT      London (England) -- History -- To 1500 -- Sources.

SUBJECT      Great Britain -- History -- Norman period, 1066-1154.

SUBJECT      Normans -- England -- London -- History -- Sources.

 

 

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:46:54 US/Eastern

From: harper at idt.net

Subject: Re: SC - Back to the Cookhouse!

 

> Now I want to know what is 'Ionian francolin'

 

A francolin is a bird related to quails and partridges.  I don't know which

species "Ionian" would be, but presumably one which is (or was) found in

Greece. Francolins are mentioned in "The Birds" by Aristophanes, and are

listed by Enrique de Villena in his carving manual as a bird eaten in Spain.

 

> and can we cook it in a Coleman!

 

I'm sure you could.

 

> 'Lainie

 

Brighid

 

 

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:14:11 -0600

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Back to the Cookhouse!

 

A francolin is any bird of the genus Francolinus.  They are related to and

look similar to partridges and quails.  Found in Eurasia and Africa.  I

would say "Ionian francolin" roughly translates to "Turkish partridge," as

Ionia is a Greek Province on the coast of Asia Minor.

 

Bear

 

> Now I want to know what is 'Ionian francolin' and can we cook it in a

> Coleman!

>

> 'Lainie

 

 

Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 12:22:37 -0500

From: "Michael Gunter" <countgunthar at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Running an Inn???

 

>I will be running an Inn for lunch and dinner during a

>single day at the War of the Lilies this year.  I have

>only done feasts before - never any Inn's.  So, I have

>a bunch of questions.

 

I've run taverns before for long weekend events and it is

both a lot of work and a lot of fun.

We started a discussion similar to this after Pennsic from

a conversation I had with Cariadoc and Elizabeth at the

potluck. I think a further discussion is very warranted.

 

>I will have a large (commercial-sized) grill available to

>cook on.  It may be hot and humid, or it may be cool

>and rainy.  What is best served under these conditions?

 

Sausages are always a good bet. Also meat pies or pasties

(although I don't believe pasties are documentably period)

are good choices and can be made ahead. They are good at

ambient temps. If you get a Coleman oven that really helps

as well.

 

Are you going for period dishes or general perioid foods?

 

Grilled chicken, portabellas, pots of stew, vegetarian pasties,

fruit pies or tarts, stir-fry, flavored ices, shish-kebabs,

pickles, "plowman's lunches" (cheese, fruit, bread, maybe

a bit of meat in a napkin), wafers on a griddle, hanony,

lotsa stuff.

 

>I will be hauling the food in that morning.  What can

>be made ahead and easily stored?  What has to be

>made on site?

 

Many things can be made ahead. Shish-kebabs can be marinated

and frozen, pies and tarts can be made ahead, stew can be

frozen, pickle vegetables or eggs, cukskynoles can be frozen.

 

Hanony is as easy as scrambling eggs, wafers are like

pancakes. Plowman's lunches are cut and assembled quickly.

 

>What kind of prices would you pay for a lunch?

 

Have various dishes. Going from 50 cents for fruit or pickles

to up to $5 for shish-kebabs or larger dishes. It depends

on how much food you wish to provide. Basically if the dish

will fill a person $3 - $5 is reasonable.

 

>For an evening meal?

 

It could be identical to lunch or you could have dinner

specials with rice or additions for around $6 - $7. That's

the average cost for most food stands at the major Wars.

Basically figure out how much the dish costs to make and

then add around 10% - 20% profit margin. That is if you are

basically covering costs of food and other expenses like space,

napkins, dishes, time, etc...  For a profit making enterprise

you can up it to 25% or even higher if you feel the market

will bear the cost.

 

>Kateryn

 

Gunthar

 

 

Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 07:37:17 -0400

From: "Siegfried Heydrich" <baronsig at peganet.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Running an Inn???

 

   My household has been doing a tavern for the last couple of reigns, and

are doing quite well. I was approached by the KS last year, who asked that I

consider selling food & drink to the populace, as all the others who had

been doing this had gone away . . .

   We did so, and overachieved just a tad. We've done 3 coro/crowns, and

now have a 20" x 40' pavilion, a full set of prep / serving tables that are

stained, varnished, and painted with the House badge, tables & seating for

40+, tasteful & discreet lighting, lots of tiki torches that use LP cans and

also burn citronella cartridges, lots o' decorations, and a field kitchen

trailer.

   This is a 6' x 12' (in its current incarnation - this is a work truly in

progress) trailer with a 36"x30"x18" smoker / oven, a 3 burner gas stove w/

oven, fold down utility sink, plumbing, permanent gas lines, set up for

power, etc. It has all the pots, pans, knives, trays, etc, that I need. I

can serve 500 a day easily out of this puppy. And each time we use it, it

gets modified and improved. It's largely been built by my protÈgÈ, who is a

retired marine, VW mechanic and computer tech, who builds cars to order. You

should've seen the VW dump truck . . .

   We've been selling rats on a stick, kebabs, grilled sausages,

frankfurters, sekanjabin & sodas, but the salads and lighter foods just

didn't sell. People down here are unrepentant carnivores, and want fat &

protein. We're thinking about simplifying breakfast - last time we did eggs,

choice of meats, hash browns, toast and coffee, which was too hectic. Scotch

eggs, oat cakes with marmalade, and strong coffee with a pinch of salt - the

breakfast of champions! I figure we'll sell 'em in a brown paper bag and

open a drive thru for the fighters on the way to the field . . .

 

   Sieggy

 

 

Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 15:57:40 -0700

From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Running an Inn???

 

>Sausages are always a good bet. Also meat pies or pasties

>(although I don't believe pasties are documentably period)

>are good choices and can be made ahead. They are good at

>ambient temps.

 

Better, place individual pies or pasties on the grill, out of the direct

line of the flames, and they will warm nicely. On a wood fired grill,

customers may appreciate the items having been wrapped in foil so as to

avoid the smoky taste.  If the grill is large enough, have a dutch oven to

one side to hold heated pies/pasties warm until needed. Thinking as I type,

you could even heat them within the dutch oven, again, to avoid smoking

them.

 

Bonne

 

 

From: "Siegfried Heydrich" <baronsig at peganet.com>

To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 11:33:19 -0400

Subject: [Sca-cooks] serving breakfasts

 

    Putting out leftovers is an excellent way for the feastcrat to simply

make sure that food doesn't go to waste. Throwing out food is a major

bugaboo for me . . . If the 'crats are serving all meals, then it's great

for stretching your budget, though sunday breakfast isn't a big mover

(unless it's a 4 day event), as most people usually don't stop throwing up

before 8 . . .

 

   Breakfast isn't a high profit item for us; it's very labor and equipment

intensive, and the potential for wastage / spoilage is high. But since we

set up the tavern as a service to the Kingdom (all the other food vendors

went away for a variety of reasons, and we were asked to pick up the slack),

we serve it simply because someone has to.

 

    We charge $4 for a basic 'murcan breakfast - scrambled eggs (though

we'll do them to order if circumstances allow), a choice of bacon, sausage,

or corned beef hash, home fries, toast with butter & jelly, and the nectar

of the sacred bean. We generally pile on the carbs, as most SCAdians have

mongo appetites. We make a profit, but not all that great.

 

    If you want to do a breakfast tavern, make sure the power you'll be

pulling won't trip the breakers (they're usually inaccessible), and that the

people who are supposed to be working it don't get too blasted the night

before. One real problem is getting your workers out of the sack . . .

 

    If the site kitchen is available, use it, but make sure you get out of

there before the feastcrat starts up. Make sure it's clean before you leave,

or you'll never hear the end of it. If you have to use your own equipment,

make really sure it all works ahead of time!! (whoo, boy . . .) The best

advice I can give is to plan well, and be prepared to wing it when something

goes wrong. And it will . . .

 

    Sieggy

 

 

From: Jamie Lennon <jlennon at ssl.umd.edu>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Taverns

Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 12:44:47 -0500

Organization: University of Maryland Space Systems Laboratory

 

David Friedman wrote:

> I was thinking specifically of a tavern, not a feast. I think taverns

> are more common in modern fantasy novels than in period accounts.

 

More common, true, although I've scrounged a few late period examples of taverns -

in an attempt to educate fans of aforesaid modern fantasy, in fact!

 

None were in the area under discussion (Scandanavia), though.

 

- The Tabard in Chepeside serves as a gathering place for an assortment of

characters, rude and refined, in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" (late 14th cen) Just like in a bad fantasy RPG, they all meet in the tavern, have dinner, and sleep there.

 

- Don Quixote stays in a number of roadside taverns/inns in La Mancha in Cervantes' late 16th-cen work.  These seemed more like fortified stables than anything else, with guests being expected to supply their own beds.  Food, if served, was of dubious quality. (How much these characteristics were exaggerated for comic effect is up for grabs).

 

-And there's plenty of Elizabethan literature about the hazards of taverns,

ordinaries, inns, and so on.  They were prime places for card sharks, dice cheats, and other unsavory types to hang out.

 

I'm quite interested in adding to the list, if anyone is aware of any other period references to taverns.

 

-Teleri

 

 

From: rwilley at isi.com (richard e. willey)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Taverns

Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 22:52:18 GMT

 

>I'm quite interested in adding to the list, if anyone is aware of any other

>period references to taverns.

 

Not quite the same as a tavern, but the Turkish "caravanserai" served

many of the same purposes.

 

Hrothgar

 

 

From: mittle at panix.com (Arval d'Espas Nord)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Taverns

Date: 13 Dec 2001 14:51:27 -0500

Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC

 

> I'm quite interested in adding to the list, if anyone is aware of any other

> period references to taverns.

 

Shakespeare's Henry IV, of course, where Prince Hal hangs out with Falstaff

and company in a tavern.

 

I believe at least one of the medieval Robin Hood stories involves a

tavern.  (Several of the modern stories do, but _most_ of the modern

stories were thoroughly re-written in the 17th-20th centuries.)

======================================================================

Arval d'Espas Nord                                        mittle at panix.com

 

 

From: clevin at ripco.com (Craig Levin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Taverns

Date: 14 Dec 2001 17:20:15 GMT

Organization: Ripco Internet, Chicago

 

Chretien de Troyes' _Knight of the Cart_ has Sir Lancelot heading

incognito into a tavern as a poor knight who wants to participate

in a tournament. While doing so, he hangs out a shield. A herald,

who seems to have blown his tabard and pants on dice, happens by

afterwards, and, not recognizing the arms on the shield, heads

inside to see whose arms they are. He comes upon Sir Lancelot,

who lets him know that he's in disguise, the arms are also a

ruse, and not to tell anybody that Sir Lancelot will be in the

tournament. The herald agrees, heads out, and lets people know

that the odds have changed on who will possibly win the

tournament, but doesn't name names.

 

Pedro (who avoids dice, in accordance with the promise he made

when he took up the post of Storvik Pursuivant)

--

http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/index.html

clevin at rci.ripco.com

Craig Levin                             Librarians Rule Oook!

 

 

Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 23:32:33 -0500

From: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] bread documentation

To: SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks <SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Cadoc asked:

> Hey, I am looking for books specifically on medieval food artisans,

> mostly bread, but can be practically anything.  I'm looking more

> into documentation on the places food was made and the how.

 

A couple of books from my library which might be of interest:

>>> 

Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World

Bennett, Judith M.

ISBN: 0-19-512650-5

Oxford University

 

Women brewed and sold most of the ale drunk in medieval England, but

after 1350, men slowly took over the trade. By 1600, most brewers in

London, as well as in many towns and villages, were male, not female.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources, such as literary and artistic

materials, court records, accounts, and administrative orders, this

book describes how brewsters (that is, female brewers) slowly left the

trade. She tells a story of commercial growth, gild formation, changing

technologies, innovative regulations, and finally, enduring ideas that

linked brewsters with drunkenness and disorder. Examining this instance

of seemingly dramatic change in women's status, Bennett argues that it

included significant elements of continuity. Women might not have

brewed in 1600 as often as they had in 1300, but they still worked

predominantly in low-status, low-skilled, and poorly remunerated tasks.

This book uses the experiences of brewsters to rewrite the history of

women's work during the rise of capitalism.

<<< 

 

Inns, Ales and Drinking Customs of Old England

Hackwood, Frederick W.

ISBN: 1-85170-069-2

Texas Bookman

 

Restaurateurs and Innkeepers (Work Througout History Series)

Franck, Irene M.

ISBN: 0-8160-1451-5

Work throughout history series

Facts on File, Inc.

 

Stefan

--------

THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra

   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas

 

 

Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 19:38:14 -0400

From: Patrick Levesque <pleves1 at po-box.mcgill.ca>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Interesting link: 17th century Inns

To: "Cooks wthin the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>"

      <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>, "EKCooksGuild at yahoogroups.com"

      <EKCooksGuild at yahoogroups.com>

 

http://www.ifrance.com/seuaj/auberges.htm

 

Text on the location, building disposition, market value, as well as

furniture and kitchen implement inventories of two 17th century French

Inns

 

The text is in French, however.

 

Petru

 

 

Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:20:42 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] inns, taverns and food

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

I have to point out that this book was originally published in 1909

or 1910, so the information and research dates from that era.

 

Johnnae

 

Stefan li Rous wrote:

 

> I can't find my copy right now, but folks interested in this might try

> to find this book:

> Inns, Ales and Drinking Customs of Old England

> Hackwood, Frederick W.

> ISBN: 1-85170-069-2

> Texas Bookman

> 1996

 

 

Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 16:59:27 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] inns, taverns and food

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

What I meant by pointing out that Hackwood is old

is just that. It's almost a century old.

 

There's over 100 that turn up in a search on using

terms England tavern history. 1000 works turn up

under England and tavern. Inn(tavern) is most often seen

by the way in terms of LCSHeadings.

 

The English alehouse :a social history, 1200-1830 /

Peter Clark   1983

English Book Book xiv, 353 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

London ; New York : Longman, ; ISBN: 0582508355 (pbk.)

 

The English inn, past and present; a review of its history and social

life, A E Richardson, Sir;  Harold Donaldson Eberlein 1968, 1925

English Book Book xi, 307 p. illus., maps, plans. 26 cm.

New York, B. Blom, {this is another older title}

 

Taverns and tokens of Pepys' London /George Berry;  Samuel Pepys

1978 English Book Book 144 p. :ill. ; 25 cm.

London : Seaby, ; ISBN: 090065242X :

 

Inns and alehouses of Abingdon, 1550-1978 / Jacqueline Smith;  John B

Carter 1989 2nd ed.

English Book Book 128 p. : ill., maps ; 22 cm.

Abingdon [Oxfordshire, England] : J. Smith, J. Carter, ; ISBN:

0950768014

 

The licensees of the inns, taverns and beerhouses of Banbury,

Oxfordshire : from the fifteenth century to today /

Author: Wood, Vera, 1931-

Publication: Oxford : Oxfordshire Family History Society, 1998

 

The Innholders :a history of the Worshipful Company of Innholders /

Stephen Coote 2002

English Book Book 277 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), maps, ports. (some col.)

; 24 cm. Cirencester : Collectors' Books, ; ISBN: 0946604223

 

This was a thesis done in 1942--

Inns and taverns and English literature, 1558-1642 / Vivian Sutton

1987, 1942. UMI offers it.

 

There are also numerous papers too. There's been a lot done on this

topic.

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 10:32:52 -0500

From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A college class... on Coffee

To: Cooks within the CA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Someone said

 

>>> I think there may be a cultural tradition for hot drinks in period,

>>> but not associated with a caffeine ruh, so...

 

Someone replied

 

>> The alehouse replaced the tabernae later in period (more likely

>> was just another incurrence of the same style of business, not

>> a direct descendant) and

>> then the coffeehouse was a branch off of that same tree when

>> coffee arrived on the scene in the 1600's.

 

_Coffee and coffeehouses : the origins of a social beverage in the

Medieval Near East_ by Ralph S. Hattox

 

talks extensively about the whole coffeehouse thing in the Middle East

and how the Muslim theologians said it was alright to drink coffee if

you didn't drink it in the same fashion as one would drink wine-- that

is, if coffee was a beverage used to improve concentration for

meditation and prayer, it was all right, but drinking coffee socially,

especially in coffee houses, was like drinking wine and therefore wrong.

 

There's some interesting stuff about the development of Taverns in a

book I just ILL'd... here's a section I've already transcribed into my

blog:

 

From Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard W. Unger

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2004):

 

   "In fourteenth-century Hamburg, the town formalized the connections

between brewery and tavern, ordering that beer could be served for the

public only in the house where it was brewed. Such extreme restrictions

were rare. Tavern keepers who were not brewers were often poor and had

to get credit from their supplier. Tied by debt to a certain brewer, they

also became tied as the seller of that brewer's beer. Since taverns were

contining institutions and often in convenient locations, next to

markets or on harbors, they became places to meet and to do business.

Tavern keepers were generally legally free businessmen and

businesswomen, often invested with certain public functions includng

the collection of tolls and of taxes, and not just on beer. In Poland,

law courts and even moneyers operated, on occasion, in taverns. Polish

tavern keepers enjoyed higher status as a result of the varied functions

of their institution. Tavern keepers usually operated on what amounted

to a license from a lord who let the tavern operate on payment of a fee.

Outside of Poland, taverns may not have played such a prominent role in

the local and regional economy, but taverns were, at least by the

thirteenth century, a common part of life in much of northern and

eastern Europe. By the thirteenth century, Polish taverns, as their

numbers increased and the economy developed, became more like taverns in

England and the Low Countries, existing less as centers of business and

administration and more as meeting places for the amusement of farmers

and peasants." p.51

--

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net

 

 

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 11:18:07 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Ale was A college class... on Coffee

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Actually there's a woman's history aspect here--

Check out Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a

Changing World by Judith Bennett.

Women brewed and sold most of the ale drunk in medieval England, but

after 1350, men slowly took over the trade. By 1600, most brewers in

London--as well as in many towns and villages--were male, not female.

Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England investigates this transition, asking

how, when, and why brewing ceased to be a women's trade and became a

trade of men.

 

Johnnae

 

Bill Fisher wrote:

 

> snipped

> In the case of the alehouse, it is probably a matter of economics.

> 1.  You make ale

> 2.  People like your ale.

> 3.  Ale is a pain to ship

> 4.  having a place where you can sell your ale and people can

> drink it there, mans you don't have to ship it

> 5.  having social meetings there as well means people drink more ale.

> The alehouses evolved into the public house later, or pub.

> Cadoc

 

 

Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 12:00:31 -0700

From: elisabetta at klotz.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Luncheon Question (Martha Oser)

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

> I know that many of you have done dayboards in a period style, but have

> actual lunch taverns ever been offered?  What dishes worked and  

> what didn't?

> -Helena Sibylla

 

When you ask for "tavern" foods, is this foods you eat with your hands, or

actual foods eaten in the taverns and by the lower classes?

 

We have a tavern event every year, I cooked it the years it had a Scottish theme

and a Persian/Syrian theme. (the place and time change, but it is always a

tavern with simple fare).

 

Scottish: I made small meat pies, soups, larger pies (steak and mushroom,

chicken, leek and cheese) and Scotch eggs (hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage

and deep fried).

 

Persian/Syrian: I forget the names, but there was a hard-boiled egg wrapped in

rice and beef (cooked in the oven), a lemon chicken with pasta (and spices)

(this was a kid favorite), a fish in garlic and bitter orange sauce, a hot

lentil dish, Turkish coffee and yummy nuts balls for dessert.

 

The dayboard this year at Mudthaw was all meatpies (the dayboard cooks only

wanted foods you could eat with your hands). There was a beef, a spinach and

cheese and an apple version; all were made with pizza dough and fit in your

hand. These were very well received and very tasty.

 

I have found that small pies work very well, as well as things like scotch eggs.

I did miss one event that had shish-ka-bobs and everyone was raving about them

(people like food on a stick).

 

Elisabetta

 

 

From: "Ghita Amati" <Ghita_Amati at peoplepc.com>

Date: April 15, 2008 10:23:17 AM CDT

To: <trimaris-temp at yahoogroups.com>

Subject: [tri-temp] Re: The Salty Tusk Tavern Returns at TMT

 

Just some suggestions...

 

There are a few vegans in the SCA crowd.....

 

Some people are allergic to artifical sweetners, if you use them to make tea, lemonade, punch, or anything, PLEASE label it...

 

Ground cushions sound absolutly great to me, Id prefer it to a chair anyday...but not everyone thinks like me. (thank god)

 

ghita~

 

 

From: "Shannon Gately" <RandomMongol at gmail.com>

Date: April 16, 2008 7:12:02 AM CDT

To: trimaris-temp at yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [tri-temp] The Salty Tusk Tavern Returns at TMT

 

There is nothing wrong with the suggestions that have come up. They

are just suggestions/opinions. I am sure Scott is wise enough to know

what he can and cannot do and still remain a cost effective option to

the populace.

 

Scott, I suggest unsweet tea all around and let others sweeten to

their own personal taste. Otherwise the tea will frequently be too

sweet or not sweet enough. There is no way to have everyone agree on

how sweet tea should be.

 

IF it is affordable, you might offer lemon wedges or lemon juice for

people to add to tea. Again, that is a "to taste" preference.

 

As for those requesting sweetners of one type but not the other,

consider bringing your own. A couple of packets of "Sweetner XYZ"

will take up very little space in your pouch. You don't carry a

pouch? Tuck them in a sock or bra. Now everyone has the sweetner

they prefer. Problem solved.

 

Trying to cater to your own preferences yourself guarantees your

personal satisfaction AND will allow Scott to concentrate on the

larger requests.

 

Scott, have you considered BBQ beef sandwiches? I have NO idea if

this could be done affordably...cooking is most definitely NOT my

arena. I know they sell some pre-made stuff. Or if labor is not a

problem (fork shredding once completely cooked) maybe you could get

roasts (or whatever type of beef is usually used) fairly inexpensive.

I just know that bbq sandwiches are usually crowd pleasers.

 

At TMT I would definitely suggest plenty of fresh fruit. That event

is historically remarkably hot.

 

Also as has been discussed here in the past, wherever possible you

might want to put your table legs in plastic cups of water. The ants

do not usually cross that type of border.

 

Just a few thoughts...

 

 

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:51:36 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Myth of Spoiled Meat

 

For cook shops see the following

Start out with Carlin and Rosenthal's

Food and Eating in Medieval Europe.

Hambledon Press, 1998. The papers of interest in it

are the following:

 

Martha Carlin's "Fast Food and Urban Living Standards

in Medieval England."

 

Margaret Murphey's "Feeding Medieval Cities:

Some Historical Approaches."

 

Both have great bibliographies.

 

Also see:

Feeding A City: York which is the Leeds Conference

on foods in York. Published by Prospect Books in 2000

and edited by Eileen White.

 

Two others to look at:

London Eats Out. 500 Years of Capital Dining.

London: Museum of London and Philip Wilson Publishers, 1999.

 

and

 

Londoners' larder : English cuisine from Chaucer to the present /

Annette Hope. 1990

 

Of those two, Hope is the better book.

 

Johnnae llyn Lewis

 

 

From: Cisco Cividanes <engtrktwo at gmail.com>

Date: August 16, 2010 10:38:23 PM CDT

To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] General event question

 

I have never decided a on an event based on feast. However, the

Quality of a previous year's feast does affect my decision to order

feast the following year.

 

Taverns are nice, prices in advance are nice.  And if the prices look

good, I usually budget to eat there. An all-day, one-time  rate is

convenient, but at the same time I also appreciate the option of just

getting a bite here or there. In general, I will pay fair rates for

good food.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but bottomless drink offers are always

a hit with me. (especially if they are climate appropriate: Iced in

the summer, and warm/hot in the winter). I haven't actually seen too

many of them, but those that I did I took part in.

 

As an aside, if you want to decent return investment, snag the site

herald in the morning, and offer to feed him (or her) if they will

advertise for your tavern. I can't tell you how many free meals that's

gotten me as a herald,  and most taverns that did that usually

commented about a noticeable increase in business as the word got out.

 

Ivo Blackhawk

 

 

Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2011 10:20:44 +0200

From: Ana Vald?s <agora158 at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] period tavern foods

 

Gruel was eaten in taverns, roasted meat in all forms, broth with turnips

and cabbage, ale of course, sausages, pies, onions in all forms, carrots,

fish, boiled or roasted, bread, eggs. Chaucer or Rabelais or Bocaccio are

good sources for it.

 

Ana

 

 

Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:15:56 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] period tavern foods

 

Of course there is this paper:

 

Carlin, Martha. "Fast food and Urban Living Standards

in Medieval England."

 

appears in the volume:

Food and Eating in Medieval England,

edited by Martha Carlin and Joel T. Rosenthal. London: The

Hambledon Press, 1998. ISBN: 1-85285-148-1.

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:00:38 -0400

From: "Philip Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] period tavern foods

 

On Mon, 2011-09-05 at 23:52 -0500, Stefan li Rous wrote:

<<< Giano's air dried sausages look like they might be a good choice for a  

tavern foods.

 

Stefan >>>

 

Yes. The recipe Giano quoted referred to these sausages being good for a

salad, as I recall. High Plat's recipe for Polonian Sawsedge (which,

indications are, is an Englishman's take on Polska Kielbasa) states that

it is good for a sallet, or to make one relish a cup of wine.

 

NOTE: See the Florilegium sausages-msg file for Giano's air dried sausage recipe. - Stefan]

 

Adamantius

 

<the end>



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Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org