On Cooking for SCA Events

When the question of cooking for a feast comes up, there are a number of different concerns to be addressed by the potential cook. Am I ready to take on a project this large? Should I go with period recipes, or make food that I'm sure everyone will eat? What do I do about vegetarian s, and our new knight who is allergic to onions, salt and wheat? Can I ask my friends to help me work, and still have them like me the next day? Will I survive this experience with my sanity intact? This article is an attempt to address these concerns, and to help feast cooks everywhere to have better organized, more enjoyable feasts - and feasts that they have fun cooking!

"To Prepare a Most Honorable Feast" (translated from Maistre Chiquart), "To Make a Feast," "An Islamic Dinner," "A Dinner at Pennsic," "A Jeweler's Bibliography," "Books on Metalworking," and "Period Jewelery You Can Make."

This lecture on planning a feast is intended for the person who is planning their first large feast for 50 or more people. It will hopefully guide you through the process and give you confidence that you are doing all you can do to make this a truly medieval feast experience for your feasters.

An SCA class and discussion moderated by Jadwiga Zajaczkowa.

Many factors go in to producing a Medieval Feast. Decisions must be made on to what type of feast it is: budget, theme, menu and overall resources. By looking at the individual components , the Feast Manager will be able to decide the best course of action.

How do you get happy, totally stuffed diners at the end of the night from a period feast that came in at or under budget and doesn't end up half in the garbage?

Advice for running a feast at an SCA event. (Much of the advice is specific to Politarcho polis, but a lot of it is universall y applicable .)

Modern Humours is a group for the discussion of topics concerning historical reenactmen t by those with food allergies or sensitivit ies. It is intended as a forum for anyone that is interested in cooking or eating food from various historical time periods reenacted at fairs, demonstrat ions, and events, in ways that are friendly to those with modern food challenges or “modern humours”.


Discus s ions will highlight the challenges of cooking historical ly accurate foods and to assist those with food issues to find ways to participat e in a safe manner. We will share recipes, discuss particular issues common to those with food sensitivit ies, and the specific challenges faced when trying to fit in to an historical setting.

How far should a cook preparing a meal for a hundred or more people go to accommodate the five or six who cannot or will not eat meat? And, perhaps more important, how can we all manage to be polite to each other about the whole thing?

Handout from a class on how to eat more medievally at events. With a little forethought, it's not as hard as it may seem. Shares tips & tricks on encampment cooking and meal planning for camping events.

The doughty SCA chef should plan and prepare a period-style feast, using foods found in period and recipes that are derived from period sources. When possible, period cooking methods and presentation of dishes should be incorporated. The feast menu may (and should in my mind) come from a single time and place, and all recipes and foods should be documentable to that time and place. However, certain allowances for our mundaneness must be made. A balanced menu that is nutritionally sound, sanitary methods of preservation and preparation, a shorter serving time, fewer kitchen helpers, a smaller budget, and so on. The SCA chef spans the best of two worlds -- a caterer with historical research skills. If this is something that interests you, read on.

Your group is planning an event. You want it to be spectacular, of course; you want it to be memorable, naturally; and you don't want to bankrupt the group, either. It has been done, it can be done, and with the help of these suggestions you can do it- for less than you ever imagined possible. All you need is a few extra books, a little more time, and a brief excursion into a medieval cook's mindset.

We are not trying to create a family meal, but a medieval experience .

Open discussion in the areas of medieval food and feasts. Discussion is NOT limited to historically documented recipes; this list is for both the historic cook AND the ambiance cook.

Suggestions for volunteers who would like to assist with the preparation or serving of an SCA feast.

I'd helped with feast cooking before, but I had never been responsibl e for the cooking before, and the experience proved most educationa l. I thought that it would be a good thing for me to record some observatio ns on that event, and on other events for which I've assisted with the cooking, for the possible edificatio n of those who may find themselves in a similar position.

How to prepare a feast taking into consideration documentation, cohesion and presentation. Others have written how to put on a feast, purchase food in bulk, cook for hundreds, as well as details of kitchen sanitation. I would like the cook to consider the preparation from several other points of view: documentation, cohesion, and presentation. A feast may be tasty and the food may be plentiful but feasters can feel "incomplete," not quite knowing what is missing.

Steps in planning and preparing.