What's in (an SCA event) lunch?

The Enemy!!!




Most SCA events I've gone to which included a feast also have a lunch available.  Now, let's be realistic for a moment.  (I know, bear with me, please...).  Few people are going to break out their feast gear for lunch.  Lunch is an afterthought, perhaps a delicious afterthought, but it's really more of a convenience to the assembled Gentles than an actual embellishment to the event.  If people are going to experience "The Dream" in conjunction with food, it's going to wait for Feast, which is several courses, and usually has some "schtick" to add to the experience. 

So lunch becomes an afterthought, a chance to break the mid-day hunger that doesn't require going to the local Scottish place (McDonald's.. haha!  Get it?) in garb, and so on.  For the group hosting the event itself, lunch can be an extra bit of work, as their cooks are usually involved in the (sometimes daunting) task of preparing Feast. Because it is sometimes a bit of an afterthought, and it needs to be convenient (and affordable!), lunches sometimes are a wee smidge lacklustre in their offerings. And, worse, they are sometimes exceedingly *modern* in their execution. Having done a dozen or so lunches now, I recognize the delicate economic balancing act which lunches require. People are not seeking "culinary excitement", they want something to eat to tide them over til feast (or until the event is over and they can head to a local restaurant).  

Many, many groups farm out lunch, and for smaller groups like my Shire (affectionately known as "The Good Eats Shire" by some... we do so like to cook, in case it wasn't readily apparent!), lunch can be a great opportunity to be part of a larger event, and even make a little money!  It can also be the cause of a lot of stress and frustration, for both those serving and those eating.  Food Should Be Fun!  How? Well, let's find out!

There are three main areas to consider when planning a lunch.

1.  Cost.  Cost includes the food, the dishes you're going to serve the food in, and the cost of any gear you need to transport/prepare the food.  With most lunches running right around $5 per plate, the fare you offer is not likely to include rare and exotic ingredients.  (I don't consider fennel exotic.  Saffron, yes.)  How are you going to make food that tastes good, but doesn't anger your exchequer?  Don't forget you'll want to try out any new recipes in advance.  Nothing creates stress like a new recipe you've never made before which fails at the last minute, just as patrons are lining up to hand over their money for your lunch... 

Styrofoam is glaringly modern, but disposable bamboo bowls and plates are about 800 times as pricey (yes, literally), and keeping 100+ wooden or stoneware bowls in inventory can be expensive, a storage challenge, and potentially a sanitary nightmare, as you have to sanitize the bowls before and after the lunch! (KITCHEN MARSHAL NOTE #1:  Sanitary issues are Important Things!  Don't ignore them!) So, given that the average lunch is about $5 per plate, that doesn't really give the lunch steward a lot of wiggle room in profit, and I can attest to an 800% increase in costs being untenable.  (As much as I wish it were not an issue, especially for a smaller group like us, losing money is considered "a bad thing" and my exchequer glares at me when it happens!) 

Do you have the crock pots, stock pots, ladles, pitchers, or other gear you need to prepare and serve the food you've planned for lunch?  Depending on the menu, your needs will change, sometimes radically.  A winter lunch might include several choices of hot foods.  Crock pots are excellent for this purpose, keeping food warm while you serve it (my lord and I own six crock pots between us plus a large roaster which doubles as a hot food serving station, not to mention the Shire's crock pot.)  A summer lunch might include dishes which simply need to be kept in dishes which are immersed in bowls of ice to maintain temperature.  (KITCHEN MARSHAL NOTE #2:  Proper Food Temperature Matters!  Unsure of what temp you should keep foods at?  Click here for one excellent resource! ) 

2.  Space.  Where will you be serving lunch?  Do you have a lunch counter?  Long tables where you can sprawl out?  A concession window?  Will you have access to the kitchen for prep and clean-up?  These will impact the way lunch is handled, and should be discussed with the group hosting the event when arrangements are made initially.   While it may not seem like it to those who are not in the kitchen, Feast Stewards tend to get a wee smidge crazed around 1pm, and you may need to delicately negotiate access to the dish washing station.  I recommend hiring mercenaries to facilitate this process (I'm kidding... sort of.).  You really do not want to have bacteria growing on your serving dishes for hours as they stew in the trunk of your vehicle, do you?  That being said, I've been in enough feast kitchens to have a little empathy for those who are racing towards the feast finish line, and you'd be well served to designate one or two "official dish washers", and have the rest of your lunch staff move things as quickly as possible out of the way, and then vacate the premises.  The sooner you're out of the feast staff's hair, the less likely you'll be to need those mercenaries!

Members of the Afonlyn Cook's Guild serving lunch.  Note the aprons (stencilled with the Afonlyn populace badge) and caps.  The aprons were Server Gifts from a previous event, and caps were made at dedicated A&S nights as garb projects for both men and women.

3.  MOST IMPORTANT --- The Food!  Nothing frustrates me more than going to an event and planning on getting lunch there, only to find food which would be better suited for an elementary school cafeteria.  Seriously?  Pizza Hut?  Chicken Soup fresh out of the can?  Wal-Mart white bread!?  Granted, my kids are slightly skewed in their perception of what makes up "good food," but I've stopped buying lunch at events much of the time, because I got tired of hearing the sad whisper of, "Mommy, this soup has no flavour," accompanied by the sadder eyes of a child who expects food to be edible and has been let down (The Emergency Flavour Chest was created to deal with this issue at feast... it's a small wooden chest which has little containers of various spices and herbs, just in case!).

Now, this is a lunch.  I recognize that.  I don't think people expect (or desire) Haute Cuisine at lunch.  The Royals are likely off in The Royalty Room eating a separate meal prepared for them, so you're not trying to impress the crown (although I freely admit I lust after the job of Royalty Lunch Liaison...)  As the group serving the mid-day meal, you're competing with McDonald's-type offerings, not a full service restaurant.  That being said, there's no reason you can't offer a nod to the medieval atmosphere while providing food people will enjoy eating.  Taking into consideration the budget available to you, and the time of year, and the space you have available, lunch can be an extra bit of "medieval experience" to maintain "The Dream" while fitting into everybody's budget. 

There are a plethora of period recipes for quick and easy dishes which can be adapted to lunch menus.  Especially with the growing number of vegetarians in our ranks, "Lenten" recipes often can be a source of inspiration, and they are readily available.  Maybe theme your lunch to match the event. (If you do this, make sure you preview the feast menu, or contact the feast steward, to make sure you're not duplicating something they're offering.. that's bad manners!)  Perhaps a nod to the season is in order.  Spring events mean fresh fruit is affordable, and people are ready for lighter fare, after the long dark season of hearty stews and soups, after all!  One of my favourite ways of pulling a menu together is to play with the heraldic concepts of colours.  The Midrealm has easy colours to match to the food... red and green?  Easy-Peasy!  And delicious, too!

Your lunch menu doesn't have to be worthy of elevation to the Laurels.  It's amazing how with just a little extra effort, however, you can enhance the event with your offerings, and allow your guests to maintain the illusion of "The Dream", while still turning a profit.  Also, lunches are an excellent opportunity for smaller groups to get experience serving meals.  Afonlyn is a very small shire.  We're slowly adding to our gear, and working on improving our presentation.  Recently we added 40+ small silver trays for patrons to carry their lunches on, with positive reviews!  We're planning on making tablecloths and hot pads to improve the look of our lunches.  It's a never-ending goal of improvement, but we are passionate about sharing good food with people.  You might say it's a "hunger" of sorts. :)

The menu from a recent lunch Afonlyn served.  On the reverse, an ingredient list was made available. (That's what the fine print says on the bottom!)