Title: practice-fsts-msg
Subject: Using test or practice feasts.
Author: Edited by Mark Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: practice, test, feast, SCA, preperation, trial, cook

practice-fsts-msg - 2/14/01

Comments on using test or practice feasts to prepare for regular SCA event feasts. Who gets invited. Who pays for the practice feast.

NOTE: See also the files: feasts-msg, headcooks-msg, kitchen-clean-msg, p-feasts-msg, Run-a-Feast-art, high-table-msg, Fst-Menus-art, feast-serving-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 13:56:40 -0500
From: Wajdi <wajdi at home.com>
Subject: Re: SC - budgeting question

> Intergroup anthropology question related to feast budgeting: For those of
> you who do a 'test run' of your feast menu ahead of time, do you pay for
> the supplies for that test run out of your own pocket, does it come out of
> the feast budget, do you get other funding from the event budget, or do
> you fund it some other way?
>  --
> Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise       jenne at tulgey.browser.net

(wajdi puts on reeve hat)  What it boils down to is who gets
served at the testing.  If its open to the general populace of
the group, then group funds may be used.  If its only open to an
invited few, then private funds should be used.  It could be
argued that the general populace would indeed benefit from the
testing of recipes, but I don't think the IRS would see it that
way.  General feast funds should not, in my opinion, be used, as
if it is determined, for any reason, that a certain recipe not be
used at feast, then that portion of the populace paying for feast
would not benefit from that particular recipe, only those persons
involved in the testing of it.

wajdi

Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 12:31:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: SC - budgeting question

- --- Jenne Heise <jenne at mail.browser.net> wrote:
> Intergroup anthropology question related to feast budgeting: For those of
> you who do a 'test run' of your feast menu ahead of time, do you pay for
> the supplies for that test run out of your own pocket, does it come out of
> the feast budget, do you get other funding from the event budget, or do
> you fund it some other way?
>  -- 
> Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	     

For big banquets, I always do multiple test runs. 
Since I usually have a years notice, I start by
assembling my cooks.  I usually ask several cooks that
I have worked with before, so that I can have a core
of experienced cooks who I know will show up and work.
 I then take volunteers and try to balance the rest of
the crew with varying levels of experience.

Approx. 9 months before, we will meet and brainstorm
and decide our theme, what challenges we wish to meet,
etc.  I then assign everyone specific areas of
research.  We then meet again several months later
with all our research and one or two dishs to share
with the rest.  We go over everything we have done and
taste everything and make some preliminary decisions. 
We meet again one month later and work on the first
course, cooking it together to see how it goes
together both tastewise and kitchenwise.  However, we
make only enough for the people cooking.  The next
month we do the second course, etc.  When all has been
settled and agreed upon, we then do the whole feast at
once for ourselves and our spouses/families as our
trial run.  This usually is about two or three months
before the event.  After that, I schedule work days to
do the actually prep cooking for the banquet to do as
much as we can before the banquet day. 

To answer your questions.  No, I don't add these
expenses to the budget.  I only budget for actual
feast expenses.  If any cook can't afford to make
their dish/dishs for these tests, I usually will
reimburse them out of my pocket.  These trials usually
lead to successful banquets and are lots of fun. They
also give a lot of confidence to less experienced
cooks, so the day of the banquet is less stressful. 
After having made a recipe two or three times in
different situations, it helps gives you insights into
how the recipe might work in quantity, although there
are always unforseen variables.  

Huette
Kingdom of Caid

Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 12:15:57 PDT
From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: SC - budgeting question

For me, it worked both ways.  My first feast I needed to learn a new 
technique and I wasn't sure of what the instrcutions said, so my family had 
a lot of similarly prepared chicken in the months before my feast.  When I 
did a test run of the feast, with the autocrat and other event VIPs and 
their spouses as my guests, I paid for the basic food, but some special 
ingredients and materials I saved the receipts for.  When it turned out that 
I hadn't used my whole budget, I included those receipts with the others.  
It was maybe $10 and I wouldn't have cried to miss it had I been over 
budget.  The autocrat and canton officers had told me I could include feast 
test food if I wanted, but the purchase hadn't increased my grocery bill 
that week by anything noticeable, I considered it a party and my family did 
eat the leftovers another night, so I didn't.

My second feast involved much less home testing, and a few times I brought 
tastes to canton meetings, but no formal practice feast such as the first 
time.

Bonne

<the end>

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