Food and the SCA

When I started playing in the SCA - I didn't know what I wanted to focus on (if anything). At first socializing, and spectating were my primary involvement. There's so much to do that it took awhile for me to come into my own. Eventually I fell upon a cooking adventure and it's been a love of mine ever since.

A plate from my first dayboard - April 2015

Two years ago I planned my first dayboard with the help of some friends. It was EKU in the Barony of Endewearde. It was a great learning experience, and very very scary for a first attempt. The site location had been changed with less than 24 hours notice, and the cooking space went from a large kitchen - to a nook in a hallway with 6 outlets.

That being said, we all pulled together and the event went off without a hitch. It was fun for everyone involved and at the end of the day a complete success. After that, there is very little that could scare me from cooking.

Food is love to me. It means sitting down with friends and family and enjoying time together. Eating together. Sharing an experience, and making memories. Even when I'm cooking it's a sharing experience. I get to cook with some great people. We share a passion about food and run little tastes of things we're making back and forth across a kitchen.  Or we'll discuss recipes we tried or had come across in our research. It's love, and it means something to me. It has helped mold my experience within the SCA.

The appetizers from Hafla 2017

Over the weekend I got to cook at one of my favorite events, Hafla. It's a Middle Eastern themed
event with dancing, music, and delicious food. I got to cook with my friend, Aleksei and it was a great time. We shared recipes, cooked together, and despite my accidentally biting him - I'd say we had a good time. He was feeding me lamb and I got his finger on accident... I didn't hurt him! There'll be an upcoming blog post on that soon (Hafla - not my biting Aleksei).

I've learned a lot of recipes over the years, and have met a lot of great people. I'm still amazed at what food can do for any kind of relationship. It helps close gaps that might have been there before. Sitting down with a total stranger who, like yourself has never had stuffed dates, or rabbit before. You now have that. You tried it together, and hopefully became acquaintances or friends because of it. Or maybe you went to a cookery class and met someone else on the same journey you are. It's such a great experience on so many levels, and I only plan to share the love.