[MR] From a SCA Cook

[logan at ebonwoulfe.com]

tirzah, please re-read our letter.  it specifically calls to attention the few groups that we have learned have actual financial policies that demand payment from the few (usually no more than 6) guests at high table.  in it we ask those groups to examine their reasoning for such policies.  given that the foods are already purchased it takes nothing more than a slight change in portioning (if that wasnt already taken into account.  the average serving (average, not being the giant sizes normally seen at sca feasts) size of an item is 1/2 cup.  most feast average 100 - 125 seats.  at the 100 seat size to reportion for 6 more people (again if this wasnt already figured into the amounts of foods purchased) the math breaks down to .043 of a single tablespoon.  barely over one teaspoon from each plate that leaves the kitchen.  something nobody would notice yet it makes such a difference in the feel and hospitality of the event and those hosting it.  

keeping this all in perspective your claim that expecting guests be treated as guests is rude.  we simply feel that asking those who have closed the books to reopen them at the last minute (most guests are invited before court (5ish) to simply stuff a few more dollars into the pot is rude.  not to mention hounding someone, dressed for court and supper, to dig out a few more dollars because they have been honored and asked to sit at feast (some of whom didnt sign up for feast because they cant afford it or simply dont want it, many others that already paid for feast so their money is in anyway)is rude and not the sign of a host.  again, because the food is already there (and there will be more than those 6 servings thrown out anyway).

also, no threats were made to anyone.  stating that we find a policy that demands payment from people that are honored as guests (purely profit driven) to not be attractive to us isnt a threat.  we do, afterall, have a right to go to which events appeal to us the most.  each event on the calendar offers its own flair and attraction.  we pick and choose which events to attend based on those attractions.  we all weigh events with activites that we dont care for less than we do events that offer us more of what appeals to us.  each and every one of us does this.  this is no different.  we find it distasteful and will choose to attend events that convey the generous nature of the sca that we enjoy and choose not to attend events that seem determined on profit over all else.  the most disappointing thing i ever personally witnessed was a local business meeting which exploded into frenzied applause after the profit of the last event was announced.  not when the number of a&s entries was announced, not when the attendance of the classes were announced, not when the number of fighters in the list was announced.  but the money.

so groups with policies that demand payment from guests at high table can certainly keep them in place.  if they feel that its important enough to go after a few dollars from those honored in such a way then so be it.  we can, as can anyone else, choose to put our attention towards the events that appeal to us more.  nothing else.  some groups wish to collect another $30 or $40 dollars in profit and other groups will simply grab that teaspoon out and see to it that those honored with a seat at high table can enjoy that expierence without having to make change.  

i hope you understand our position on this.  we would be happy to answer any questions you might have.  as a chef i appreciate your love of providing the root of life, food, to others.  there is little in life so fulfilling as seeing smiling people enjoying the foods you have prepared for them as im sure you know.

regards
logan


Greetings unto the populace,


 For those who do not know me, my name is Lady Tirzah MacCrudden and I tend
to cook feasts as often as I can justify because it gives me the opportunity
to cook feasts for my friends (and I consider most of the people who attend
events to be my friend, even if I have not met them yet.)


 Perhaps I am unique in the way I price my feasts for SCA purposes but, as
my friend Orla says, I can make a penny cry. Despite being able to always
keep within budget I, in all my years of cooking for SCA feasts, have never
included the 8 seats at high table in my calculations of how much I can
spend. If I do something special for High Table, it comes out of my pocket.
If I were to go over budget it would come from my own pocket. Likewise, in
general, I supply such supplies as oil, spices, salt, pepper and sugar from
my own kitchen so as to spend more money on the actual main ingredients
served. I do these things so that my friends can have the best possible
feast I can give them; I do them because when I volunteer to cook a feast I
am not just donating my time and my experience, but from my own purse too.


 It would seem like I should be agreeing whole-heartedly with Their
Highness's letter in the August Acorn, so why do I have such a extremely
negative reaction to it?


 If I may quote from the letter for clarity and for those who have not seen
it:


 "On another note please know that We are deeply saddened to learn that some
group's financial policies include provisions for charging Our guests at Our
high table. This is simply rude and We find it unacceptable. Profit should
never replace the mark of a good host. As such We will not attend events
that have such a policy in place and urge any group with such a policy to
really sit down and examine their reasoning for it. We would encourage you
all to reconsider such policies and to embrace the joys of being generous
hosts and allowing those invited guests to be treated as such."


 Courtesy and honor are reflected in doing things without being told or
asked to do it. Were Their Highness' to have simply asked for groups to
ensure that High Table guests not be charged, without the threat of "We will
not attend events" that do, it could have been a gentle request and
reminder, instead of a Royal Demand. Worse, I feel that this demand impinges
on my honor and stands in the way of allowing people to do the courteous
thing. If I may quote from someone who's words so well sum up my belief on
the abuse of hospitality, an issue of this year's Pennsic Independent this
year held an article by Emily Postal, 'The Road to Ruination (or how to
wreck Pennsic in three easy steps),' "Treating hospitality as an obligation,
and not as a gift, even when custom or tradition obligates us to give it." I
feel that this demand from their Highness's does exactly this, turning
something that we do from our hearts into an obligation, rendering it
meaningless. Something that I used to do for the love of my friends and
Kingdom has been rendered to ash in my mouth.


 In simple words, I have been made to feel rude and discourteous by those
who should be defending my honor, not impugning it.


 From a hurt and saddened feast cook, who gives much for her Kingdom.


 The Honorable Lady Tirzah MacCrudden
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