hotel-events-msg – 12/10/16

Holding SCA events in hotels and universities. Reviews. Suggestions.

NOTE: See also these files: demos-msg, evnt-stewards-msg, evnt-stwd-cltn-art, gate-guards-msg, privvies-msg, tokens-msg, event-rev-msg, SCA-Demos-art, reservations-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 23:08:20 -0800
From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <acrouss at gte.net>
Subject: RE: OT? hotel events was SC - FW:[STEPS] Period Food at 12th Night 2000!

hey all from Anne-Marie
Zoe asks:
>I sure will do for you all. btw, is having events in hotels a common thing?
>Or is this mainly an AnTir thing?

In An Tir, anyway, we used to have 12th night at some place, and
traditionally with a feast. Problem was once the event started drawing a
thousand or so bodies, finding a site that could seat that many for court,
and meetings, much less a place to cook for that many.

about 6? years ago, I autocrated the first An Tir 12th night at a hotel. It
was a horrible depressing thing for me...a medieval event in a hotel! hmph!
it didnt help that my friends thought it horribly funny and ran around with
"12th night con" buttons! *sigh*... I had to deal with naked people in the
hottub (peers even) who were stressing out the salesmen on the second
floor, the neo goth wanna be teenages smoking in the lobby so no one
couldget by without running a gauntlet of smoke, the hotel restaurant who
didnt belive me when I said that we'd have 1200 and so only had food for a
couple hundred, the former kindom seneschal who ran up a bar tab in three
figures and then wandered away, causing the hotel manager to have kittens
and call me in a lather (he wandered back...never occured to him that
anyone would mind...), the hotel trainee that double booked half the hotel
for Saturday night...(probably didnt help that I came home from 10 days in
Cozumel to do the event, either...)

but I digress :).

in any case, the model worked, People liked it becuase they could wander
into court and go back to their rooms and party into the night without
having to drive anywhere. I was told that the West has done it this way for
years. Personally, I hate it, its the most unmedieval setting you could
possibly have an event in, and people act goofy at hotels for some reason,
but it is awfully convenient, and I commend Adiantum for asking the hotel
to serve medieval style meals in an effort to put a bit of a medieval
patina on an otherwise very modern event!

(see, I knew I could fit in a food reference :))
- --AM, who's bringing the treats to the Laurel meeting and guess what! is
bringing period food :)


Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 00:16:53 -0800
From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>
Subject: Re: OT? hotel events was SC - FW:[STEPS] Period Food at 12thNight 2000!

Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote:
> hey all from Anne-Marie
> Zoe asks:
> >I sure will do for you all. btw, is having events in hotels a common thing?
> >Or is this mainly an AnTir thing?

Also in the West, I understand.

> in An Tir, anyway, we used to have 12th night at some place, and
> traditionally with a feast. Problem was once the event started drawing a
> thousand or so bodies, finding a site that could seat that many for court,
> and meetings, much less a place to cook for that many.

This is, of course, the problem for many of our events- outdoor too.
Some of the bigger ones are maxing out and going to reservations-only-
for _outdoor_ events. Ahh... the perils of growth!

> about 6? years ago, I autocrated the first An Tir 12th night at a hotel.

I was at that event, with my then SO who's Chiv- I was STOOOOOPID and
was on both outgoing and incoming retinues, had made the step-up
clothes, and when the desk staff told us that they couldn't find our
reservation (which Paul had carefully confirmed several times including
the day before and he had the confirm #s) I had a full melt-down in the
lobby. I'd been on the road for 5 hours, (Paul for 8) and I freaked out
and stared shreiking and wheezing- Paul thought I'd lost it. Oddly, they
found us a room! FAST!

This was, by the way, the famed event at which I had athol brose for the
first time.

Paul and I ended up eating at I think the local Denny's/pancake house a
few blocks away, because the hotel restaurant was always full. He
doesn't eat real food anyway.

What I've discovered from subsequent events is that bringing a cooler
and a box of easily (i.e. no stove) prepared food keeps us out of the
restaurant. An electric teapot helps. Last year we had a cooler full of
yogurt, pasties (chicken and rice, I think), sliced meat, cheese, juice,
milk, etc., and a box with bread and rolls, instant oatmeal, fresh
fruit. (And some brownies, of course!) We ate well, and only went out
for one dinner (in full garb- it was fun!). The gang of teenaged girls
didn't go hungry, we didn't spend alot, and I was in better temper than
I would have been.

'Lainie


Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 19:34:01 -0600
From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>
Subject: SC - Period Food at 12th Night 2000

Our Barony used to hold the main 12th night for Meridies as a huge
hotel event.  We always had a wonderful feast, even if we had to rent
a nearby church fellowship kitchen to cook the feast in and transport it
to the hotel.  Only once did we let the hotel do the cooking (to our own
recipes) and like in your experience, way, way undercooked the needed
quantity.  As Baron, I compelled the Reeve to part with some of the gate
cash with the help of my two guards, Guido1 and Guido2, and sent out
for pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken for 500.  It was that or let the
crowd roast the autocrats in the atrium (without sauce).  We now have found
a wonderful winterized camp for the event and it is a lot less stressful.
Though I do miss getting naked in the hot tub.
Have a wonderful Christmas and 12th Night!

Akim Yaroslavich


Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2000 22:40:58 -0800
From: Anne-Marie Rousseau <acrouss at gte.net>
Subject: SC - antir 12th night food postmortem and kudos!

hey all from Anne-Marie
just back from our 12th night. about 6 hrs to the south, we drove home in
rain and wind and even a spot of snow. Ah, I love An Tir in the winter! :)

the organizers did an OUTSTANDING job. it was th best organized 12th night
I've ever been to, including one I autocrated myself! They even got the
hotel restaurant to do medieval food, with reconstructed recipes provided
by Demetrios. I had the Islamic meal (you had to pick a cuisine, no mixing
and matching), rather than the italian or English. I got a lamb stew with
carrots and garbanzo beans, served on cous cous, with some stewed veggies
in vinegar? and a green cheesy spread for the pita bread. Dessert was a
sugar, almond and rosewater candy. Very good! even my meat and potatoes
baron liked his english food. Go figure!

again, major kudos to the organizers, and it warms the cockles of my little
cuisinier heart to see this kind of nice detail on what would have
otherwise been a very modern event in a hotel.

- --AM, who got to speak for the laurelling of her friend Janelyn. yay!


To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 13:53:48 -0400
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.
From: Elizabeth A Heckert <spynnere at juno.com>

On Mon, 15 Oct 2001 11:17:49 -0700 (PDT) Ruth Frey <ruthf at uidaho.edu>
writes:
>	Has anyone had any experience with having an outside
>party prepare food?  Anything in particular to watch for
>or avoid?  I've eaten in this hotel's restaurant before, and
>the food was *very* good, if not terribly Medieval, so they
>are at least competent.

    Ehh-(shudder, shudder, twitch, twitch!)  Bad memories of sekanjabin
flavoured with mint-flavoured pekoe tea.  We said--mint tea, meaning
Celestial Seasonings, they heard (mint) Tea!

   If the staff is willing to use y'all's recipes, I would see if you
could get them to consider coming to a tasting party, so they will have
some idea of what you want.  As with spinning, Moderns have a rather
distorted idea of medieval food, not at all helped by the proliferation
of Ren Faires in the last few years.

   Elizabeth


Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 14:05:39 -0500
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Nicolas Steenhout <vavroom at bmee.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.

Request a meeting with the chef.  Don't settle for the catering
coordinator, meet with the executive chef.  If you have dishes you want
them to make, bring recipes.  Talk to the guy/gal.  Likely, s/he'll get a
kick out of doing something special and out of the ordinary, with enough
notice, they can plan purchasing, work plan, etc.  I doubt that you'd be
able to actually have someone in the kitchen helping, likely it's a Union
shop (most hotels are).

Don't hesitate to outline every requirement you have.  Will you have dishes
that are free of certain ingredients (mushroom, garlic, onion, peanuts,
whatever).  Will you have vegetarian dishes in your courses?  Define what
you want/need/expect.

That would be my suggestion.

Muiredach mac Loloig
Rokkehealden Shire


Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 15:33:55 -0400
From: Tara Sersen Boroson <tsersen at nni.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.

Ooh, interesting question!  I've never been to a feast done this way,
though I've heard of them; So, I can't give you tried and true advice.
But, this is what comes to mind.

Take them the recipes *well* in advance, and ask them to prepare a
sample meal for you.  If it's a large menu, you can have them do only
the more unusual or complicated items.  They shouldn't balk at that -
it's a common demand for wedding catering.  Most caterers won't charge
you for it, though some may charge you a normal meal price.

Make sure they have written instructions for anything you expect in
terms of service that may be different from normal wedding or conference
type catering.

If you have any requests from feast attendees for allergy
considerations, make sure they go to the chef in writing.  Make sure
that he and his staff understand that these are *allergies* and not
preferences, and to handle all food accordingly.

As Muiredach said, they probably won't allow one of your people into the
kitchen to actually *help*.  Even if they're not union, insurance
restrictions can get wierd.  But, they might allow someone in to
supervise and act as a resource if any staff member has questions.  It's
worth asking.  At the very least, make sure you assign a point person
who is familiar with all the recipes who can be grabbed from the crowd
and badgered if there are any questions or problems.

-Magdalena


Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:30:04 -0500
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Nicolas Steenhout <vavroom at bmee.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.

>At the very least, make sure you assign a point person
>who is familiar with all the recipes who can be grabbed from the crowd
>and badgered if there are any questions or problems.

Good point.  Do remember, however, that most of the food will have been
prepped the day before, well before anyone shows up.

Muiredach mac Loloig
Rokkehealden Shire


Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 18:20:02 -0400
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.

Ruth Frey wrote:>
>         Has anyone had any experience with having an outside
> party prepare food?  Anything in particular to watch for
> or avoid?
-------------------------------------
You might want to carefully check the contracts
on the actual catering. How many to serve at what price?
Cut-off dates? Do you collect the checks or do people
book directly? What happens if the storm of the century
just occurs on that same weekend? Do they care about
the noise factor of a medieval feast with noise going
on next door to a wedding or anniversary party? These
aren't food concerns, but they can certainly add to the
event concerns. (Make sure that everyone knows not to
bring food in )

Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway


From: "Karen O" <kareno at lewistown.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 17:56:05 -0600
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.

> Greetings!  It's beginning to look like our local group will be hosting a
large event at a hotel/confrence center <>  They *do* require that all food
be prepared by them <> but {are}quite open-minded about having us provide
recipes and some more exotic ingredients (galangal, etc.).<

        One of our Coronations was like this  -- the Chef was very
interested and had attended a couple of the local  cooks guild meetings, to
be as "accurate" as he could. Not too bad.  Bring recipes, be enthusiastic,
let them see the "fun" of the Challenge,  {and all of the other more
practical suggestions}.

    What really surprised/impressed the hotel staff was the announcement to
"ready for Feast".  Clearing  the room that's been set up for Court &
change it to eating arrangements, and HUNDREDS of guests are clearing out
the chairs, and pulling down/setting up tables;  efficiently &
well-organized.  The catering staff was in a tizzy coz they thought the
changeover {by their own personnel} would take an hour . . . . .

    Caointiarn


To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 19:45:41 -0400
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.
From: Morgana Abbey <morgana.abbey at juno.com>

In this part of the world, most large sites have those bloody catering
contracts.  Some caters are really cool, love the recipes, want to play
(one did a happy dance over the medieval view of salad).  The
others--ugh.  Beware the "institutional" cooks.

If these people are really jazzed, you should be fine.

Morgan LeCoeur


From: "Hrolf Douglasson" <Hrolf at btinternet.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 08:16:27 +0100

Our wedding was like this and was a great sucssess.
We got the catering manager hooked with period menus and reeled in the chef
with spices he couldn't get hold of normally.
a 2oz bag of saffron was bribary enough to do the saffron bread and we said
he could keep the left overs.
they even got hold of bread trenchers to use.
we kept a hand on the tiller during the planning stages and had a sample
menu for a treat one evening. It was there first themed wedding and now they
do lots!!!

We also appointed a point man to deal with any problems coming out of the
kitchen.
There was only 1....they forgot to send someone out to carve the suckling pig.
They even added a remove course when the ladies left their seats for the
tables to be re-arranged for dancing.

Vara


To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 06:57:43 -0400
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Catering question.
From: Elizabeth A Heckert <spynnere at juno.com>

On Tue, 16 Oct 2001 09:02:12 -0400 Elaine Koogler
<ekoogler at chesapeake.net> writes:
>I haven't personally dealt with it, but know that several events were
>held at the Red Lion Inn in Blacksburg, VA with their staff fixing the
>feast.  Generally, it was pretty good, but non-period things kep
>creeping in (like tomatoes in the salad), so you might want to keep a
>close eye on just what they're doing!

     That's where the dreaded (and nasty!) sekajabin came from, Kiri!  It
was un-memorable, apart from the glitches, neither very good, nor
improperly cooked.  We were youngsters, and it was the only way Black
Diamond could host the really big kingdom events at that time.

    Elizabeth (Black Diamonder from 'the depths of time')


Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 14:46:21 -0500
From: "Lonnie D. Harvel" <ldh at ece.gatech.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Vigil in a Hotel
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Usually, when a hotel says "no hot food" they mean that you cannot serve
hot food. So you will have no need for heating anything.

Whatever...

This past April I hosted the Con-Suite for Costume Con for about 4 days.
The welcome room had a microwave, so we used theirs as needed. Wal-mart
has cheap microwaves for $59, they take a while to heat something. Food
was kept hot in either my commercial chafing dish (of which I only have
one) or in the disposable ones I picked up at Sam's Club. You can get
half-pans with the disposable chafing sets, so you can put two warm
dishes in each. Each night when we went full swing, I had my commercia
round one and two disposable ones with one divided in half. This allowed
me to have four warm items at a time. We averaged about 100 folks an
evening.

Aoghann

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

> As i've already posted to this list, i'm preparing food for a Laurel
> Vigil which will be held during our Kingdom Twelfth Night (on Friday
> before all the courts, plays, competitions and displays). Our Twelfth
> Nights are often held in hotels, so there will be no on-site cooking.
>
> In fact, it turns out that i'm cooking for Vigils for *two* Laurels
> who are sharing the food and welcome room. The hotel has said "no hot
> food" - so i am having this visual image of filling up a bath tub with
> steaming water and warming food in plastic baggies. I have a new crock
> pot and will probably borrow another one or two for warm beverages.
>
> As i've posted to the list, it's Andalusian/Arabic and Spanish, but
> since i've gotten the "go ahead" from the second to make her food, i
> may toss in some English recipes, since she is interested in both
> Outre Mer and English culture. I'll probably make a cheese tart or
> two, since most of the Spanish that is suitable for making finger
> food, and for serving in a hotel bedroom, is sweet, and i want to have
> a balance of sweet and savory. Hmm-mmm, maybe i'll serve some cheesy
> goo in a crock pot to keep it gooey...
>
> Keeping food cool isn't a big problem as we can bring in coolers. But
> heating food is tricky.
>
> Anyone have any other suggestions for warming food in a hotel room
> besides crock pots and the bath tub? I don't own a microwave (and
> neither does one of the Laurels) and furthermore, i don't know if they
> use too much current to use safely in a hotel room...
>
> Anahita


Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 11:46:22 -0800
From: Susan Fox-Davis <selene at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Vigil in a Hotel
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Anahita asks:
> Anyone have any other suggestions for warming food in a hotel room
> besides crock pots and the bath tub? I don't own a microwave (and
> neither does one of the Laurels) and furthermore, i don't know if they
> use too much current to use safely in a hotel room...

Toaster ovens.  "Hot Water Heaters" for anything pourable.  I have even
used bread machines, and won't that drive the vigilantes crazy?

To bring from home:  anything that keeps food cold will keep it hot,
just don't make anything hot enough to melt plastic.

Other than that:  what do you really =need= to serve hot, rather than
room temperature?

Selene


Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 15:39:42 -0500
From: Wildecelery at aol.com
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Hotel room food heating
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

A "hot pot" with a large tin can...

When I first moved to Vt, the house we were purchasing fell  
through...instead of a week or two in a B&B ( the only hotel near my  
work) we ended up at 2 months..

  I had my old college hot-pot...so I inverted a wide, empty, clean tin  
can (I believe it was from fruit) in the hot pot.  When the hot pot was  
mostly filled with water and turned on, the can acted as a  
"burner"...this allowed me to make soup, scrmbled eggs, and a few  
other things...not idea...but it worked.

-Ardenia


Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 16:03:12 -0500
From: Gaylin Walli <iasmin at comcast.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Food in a hotel room
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

On Friday, December 3, 2004, at 03:08  PM,
sca-cooks-request at ansteorra.org wrote:

> Keeping food cool isn't a big problem as we can bring in coolers. But
> heating food is tricky.

Not that tricky if you have the coolers, actually. boiling hot water in
the "cooler" keeps the cooler as hot as a low temp oven when it works
properly. Caterers use this trick frequently. The keys are getting a
GREAT cooler to do the job, finding boiling hot water, and not opening
the cooler at all, even "just to check to make sure things are ok."

Personally, I like the chafing dish route, whether it's disposable or
catering-worthy. But I'm really lucky in that regard. I have one of my
own and access to 4 more plus 3 roasting ovens. Spoiled? Absolutely. I
remember having a hotplate and being *darned* grateful. :) :)

Iasmin


Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2004 22:35:54 -0500
From: Micaylah <dy018 at freenet.carleton.ca>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Food in a hotel room
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Not that tricky if you have the coolers, actually. Boiling hot water in
> the "cooler" keeps the cooler as hot as a low temp oven when it works
> properly. Caterers use this trick frequently. The keys are getting a
> GREAT cooler to do the job, finding boiling hot water, and not opening
> the cooler at all, even "just to check to make sure things are ok."

Another way to keep food hot in coolers is to line to cooler with foil and
pack the dishes with thick wads of newspaper (putting newspaper on the
floor under the foil). Or if its just chickens say, line it with foil.
Place cooked chickens in and close. I don't tend to keep chicken too long
like this but a good hour or so is fine.

Micaylah


Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2004 01:02:04 -0500
From: <kingstaste at mindspring.com>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Food in a hotel room
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

>>>
Another way to keep food hot in coolers is to line to cooler with foil and
pack the dishes with thick wads of newspaper (putting newspaper on the
floor under the foil). Or if its just chickens say, line it with foil.
Place cooked chickens in and close. I don't tend to keep chicken too 
long like this but a good hour or so is fine.

Micaylah
<<<

We have used bricks for this. Wrap a brick (one with holes rather than a
solid one that might burst) in foil and heat in an oven, grill or campfire.
Place the bricks in the bottom of a cooler, then place food containers on
top.  You can put a piece of cardboard in to totally separate the bricks
from the food if you like.  This method will keep a cooler at approved temps
for holding hot foods for a couple of hours.

Christianna


Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:27:10 EST
From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Seeking recipes for College group
To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

wildecelery at aol.com writes:
<<Our local college SCA crew is hoping to host and event in  March. Like
most college campuses, their food service agency gets 1st dibs. They have
agreed to prepare a menu based on medieval guidelines and/or recipes, and to do a "teaser" meal for the whole campus the night before.>>

Sounds like fun.  We had that situation with a church where we were holding
Coronation.  They insisted their people had to cook the food.  When they saw
the recipes, they decided that we could cook the food as long as their staff
was in the kitchen to supervise.  So we stuck them in server's tabards and
made them useful.

<<Ideas/Suggestions/Actual  recipes , please?>>

My thought, to avoid wierding out both the  kitchen staff and the rest  of
the school, is to go with mostly familiar things and one or two slightly more
exotic things.  So maybe something familiar like Macrows or, for slightly  more
exotic, Losyns; sausages with mustard or a beef dish with a medieval sauce
on the side; maybe a chicken soup/stew type dish; salat; perhaps another
veggie,  maybe De Nola's spinach; and a sweet pie or period applesauce.  Mostly
familiar foods but with a different taste/texture than they are used to.

Brangwayna Morgan


Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 16:16:20 -0600
From: "Kathleen A Roberts" <karobert at unm.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sign of the Times perhaps --Dinner at Crown	-
	cancelled
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

yeppers, i rarely attend 'catered' feasts unless it looks 
like someone made an effort.

several years ago, UNM food services did an italian 
coronation feast for the event held there.  everything 
felt pretty institutional even with lots of banners, but 
all those round tables with white cloths...

one of our college guys gave them some period recipes, and 
they tried to get as close as possible to them. the food 
was good, and from what i am told, fairly accurate except 
for the consistency of the dessert.  at least they tried.

cailte


Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 00:43:18 -0400
From: Avelyn Grene <avelyn at greneboke.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sign of the Times perhaps --Dinner at Crown	-
	cancelled
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Having very recently worked in a hotel/conference center/catering 
facility similar to the one where Crown is being held, I see both sides 
of the problem.

Finding an easily accessible site in the Cincinnati area, that can hold 
4-600 people, and all of the different activities  we hold for our 
Spring Crown (which includes Kingdom A&S) is certainly not an easy task, 
and sites that can accommodate this are few and far between, and 
generally limited to fairgrounds (which require a whole lot more  work 
and planning) and conference centers (at least from what I have seen in 
this area).  From an SCAdian point of view, this is one of the easiest 
ways to ensure that everything should work out the way you need it to, 
as you have basically hired a site to do everything for you.

This does come with drawbacks (food wise):

Catering/Conference side (at least from my limited experience in Ohio):
-Catering centers of this type have preplanned menu options at preset 
prices, ranging from about $20-40, for dinners from anything to simple 
chicken and veggie buffets, to 4 course served duo shrimp and fillet 
dinners.  These are generally for business groups (who get a bulk 
discount a lot of the time) or weddings.  We are just strange people 
that wear funny clothes and asked for dinner to be included.
-Most catering facilities are unbending in their menus, etc.  Unless you 
have an "in" with the facility (work there, are friends with the chef, 
what have you), you are unlikely to have any influence on what is 
served.  There are many reasons for this, which many of us can come up 
with pretty easily.  Unfamiliarity of recipes, food costs, labor costs, 
etc.  The food we make is foreign to them and generally more tedious 
that the standard dinners they provide.

-The issue of bringing in food.  Facilities do not forbid outside food 
just to be annoying.  True, they don't really want to have to deal with 
our snack bags and juice boxes, and they would much rather we buy their 
food,  but the real reason is that it is usually illegal to bring 
outside food in to public serving areas (please note this does not 
include private hotel rooms - you can order all the pizza you want).  
Food service licenses only cover the food bought or prepared by the 
facility.  If the health inspector was to pop his head in and see a 
lunch tavern, or a homemade lunch, they would be in a world of trouble 
and lose their license.  Unfortunately this extends to snacks and things 
as well.  (Please keep in mind these rules may not apply to all states 
boards of health)

As far as Doc's suggestion on creating menus for catering facilities to 
use:  The likelihood of a randomly picked catering facility actually 
allowing such a thing is slim, but this does not mean that it is a 
project not worth doing.  There are a number of people who have "ins" 
with such facilities, ones which may be willing to quietly bend the 
rules and cook the menus, and for those places, it would be awesome to 
have a menu ready to hand to them.  Many of the chefs at some of these 
places are foodies as well and would love the opportunity to dabble in 
something new provided they can do it (the chefs where I worked were 
some of the biggest food geeks I've ever met and were/are in constant 
support of my research and cooking).  The trick is just finding the 
right venue that can get away with bending the rules a bit.

I hope that made sense - I am usually asleep by now...

Avelyn

On 5/23/08, *chawkswrth at aol.com* <chawkswrth at aol.com> wrote:
    Here, it is a bit of both. We have only had one Event that I know of
    where the vendor insisted that their cooks do the cooking and the
    menu planning. It did not go well. They did not plan enough food and
    there were other issues.?
-- 
Lady Avelyn Grene
Apprentice to Master Edouard Halidai
Chronicler and Historian for Barony Flaming Gryphon

The Commonplace Boke of Lady Avelyn Grene
www.greneboke.com


Date: Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:17:00 -0800
From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at jeffnet.org>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] 12th Nights

Johnnae wrote:
<<< Various 12th Nights are being held in the coming two weeks.

So what people planning or being served this year? >>>

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
<<< West Kingdom has never had a feast as long as i've been in the SCA, 
since Twelfth Night is usually held in a hotel. >>>

I've been in for 20 years, and I think that An Tir 12th Night went to a 
'con' format 17 or 18 years ago. Last feast I remember was about '91, 
maybe '92 (it was in Lion's Gate, if anyone remembers). A few years 
after that there was a 'buffet feast', but it was held several floors 
off of where the court site was, and it was done *during court*, which 
meant that if you wanted to eat, you had to leave court. A couple of the 
Chiv were especially unhappy about this.

So we've had our 12th Night in hotels for some time. We end up having to 
use a conference center, because we flat out can't have the event 
otherwise. Finding an outdoor site for 1500-2000 people is hard enough, 
but finding a site for 1500 _indoors_ is quite another matter! We 
usually completely book the main hotel within moments of the copy 
hitting the web page, and hotels around fill up quickly. They may or may 
not be convenient, however. And dragging yourself around from hotel to 
hotel in the rain while wearing 12th Night garb is less than fun.

Any dancing happens Friday night.

Frankly, I don't like the fact that 12th Night has gone so far off of 
what it had been, but I don't see any way it could have been avoided. 
When you make it a Kingdom event and stick a coronation and peerage 
meetings in the middle of it, there's little time for anything else.

(In the interest of full disclosure, no, I'm not going to 12th Night 
this weekend. I can't afford the travel and hotel, and I HATE that site.)

'Lainie

<the end>
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