The (Former) East Kingdom Cooks' Guild

Contents

History of the East Kingdom Cooks' Guild
Countess Brekke Franksdottir

Sable, on a Chalice Argent, a Cross Patinee Gules. These arms were first filed in January of 1974, and are the arms of the East Kingdom Cooks' Guild, of which I, Brekke Franksdottir, was the second Guildmistress. I drifted away from the SCA in AS X to raise a family, and Bishop Geoffrey, I believe, took over as working Guildmaster. After that time, the Guild has fallen into disuse since the Kingdom has grown too large for a "working" guild such as was originally envisioned.

This was the second East Kingdom Cooks' Guild. (I had heard legends of another, earlier Guild, but never saw any records thereof.) Lady Barbara du Lac was this one's first head. She left the SCA, along with her blacksmith husband, to pursue interests more dear to themselves, and I continued with the Guild, writing its charter, which was presented to Their Majesties Asbjorn and Eloise in AS IX on August 11 for their signature.

CHARTER of the COOK'S GUILD

In order that the art of cookery be furthered in this realm, we ask His Majesty Asbjorn Gustavsson Rød and Her Majesty Eloise of Rød that they let be founded this day the Guild of Cookes of the Eastern Kingdom. The duties of this guild shall be as follows:

  1. to develop and disseminate Medieval recipes from original sources
  2. to study Medieval cooking methods and attempt in so far as possible to reproduce these methods
  3. to inform the general populace about eating and serving utensils and manners
  4. to manage feasts using authentic recipes, serving methods, and eating utensils.

Lest there be disorder in the Guild, the following ranks and their qualifications are here established:

Member
A Member need have no qualifications other than interest in cooking and cleanup.
Apprentice
To become an Apprentice of the Guild, a person must show a desire to learn about authenticity in Medieval recipes and kitchens. He must develop at least two authentic recipes, such as vegetables, stew, salad, or pastry. If one should desire apprenticeship in the Guild but have no talent for developing recipes, this requirement may be waived on the approval of the head of the Guild provided a researched essay on some aspect of Medieval foods be submitted in the recipes' place (spice routes, African cookery, American cookery, and Asian cookery are a few of the possible topics available). He must work at local events, doing general chopping, peeling, and washing for those cooks in charge, whatever their rank. He must help with cleanup after the event; he must take the utmost care with the washing of utensils, stove, and floor.

The token of an Apprentice shall be a small copper spoon emblazoned with the Guild arms, to be worn either on the belt or around the neck. Apprentices shall be made by the Journeymen with the approval of the head of the Guild.

Journeyman
An Apprentice shall become a Journeyman cook only through a long apprenticeship, during which he shall develop at least four new recipes from authentic sources from at least three of the categories of bakery, soups, meat, vegetable, fish, salad, and confection. Before being accepted as Journeyman, he must also have run at least one baronial or provincial feast and assisted in the running of a large kingdomwide event, such as Twelfth Night or a coronation feast. He must still assist at cleanup, and indeed be more aware than a mere apprentice of the requirements of a clean kitchen, for he is to be finally responsible at local events.

The token of a Journeyman shall be a brass spoon with the Guild arms. Journeymen shall be made on the recommendation of the Masters with the approval of the head of the Guild.

Master Cook
A Master Cook must be one skilled in art and experience, intelligent, and patient in his work. He should be free from all roughness and dirt. He should know everything about the nature of meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, and herbs, so that he can distinguish what should be baked, boiled, roasted, or fried. He should be able to taste what is too salty, too spicy, or too bland.

To become a Master Cook a Journeyman must develop a large recipe file. He must have knowledge of what was and was not eaten and why, and he must have an idea of the period in which New World spices and condiments became used in Europe lest he use them incorrectly. He must be aware of the value of the herbs and spices he uses. He must encourage the advancement of Medieval kitchen and eating utensils, manners, and serving. He must have managed at least one kingdomwide feast and supervised the cleanup thereof. He must have developed at least three recipes in each of the following categories: bakery, pastry, meat, fish, stew, salad, soup, dessert, vegetable, herb and spice, and confection.

The token of a Master Cook will be a wooden spoon, worn on a chain around the neck or on the belt. The first Master Cook will be chosen by the Queen with the approval of the head of the Guild. The selection of other Master Cooks will be by nomination of the extant Masters with the approval of the head of the Guild.

Should a person desire proficiency in one category only, he may so apply after meeting the requirements of Journeyman Cook, submitting at least ten new recipes in his chosen field to be known as "Master ____" (Baker, vegetabler, pastry chef, stewer, etc.) His token shall be an enamel of something in his field.

A Master Cook shall, if he so desires, have the honor of presenting the main course to the high table. If he does not so desire or if there is no Master present, this privilege falls to the cook in charge.

The duties of a Master Cook are these: that he offer his talents and advice to developing cooks that they may also join his exalted rank, that he offer encouragement both to those developing their own recipes and to those whose talents lie in following the directions of others, that he judge and indeed instigate bimonthly contests, offering prizes both for flavor and for authenticity. (There should always be a prize for the best original recipe from authentic source and for recipes from a cookbook.) Lest his skills fade from disuse, he shall compete at least once yearly in the development of the best recipe from one published in the kingdom newsletter. This contest will be for Masters and Journeymen only.

All recipes submitted to the Guild must have accurate ingredients and directions. Recipes submitted to the Guild become property but not sole property of the Guild. They will be published in the kingdom newsletter and possibly in a pamphlet-type cookbook. They may, however, also be used for private projects of the developer.

The Guild shall be free of external control. At any event it autocrats or sells its wares, it is not required to share its revenues with the local barony or the kingdom, although it is suggested that some monies be given both. The kingdom newsletter, as a prime disseminator of recipes and information, should get about a quarter of any profits when it is in need of funds. The Society's main publication might also receive something. Each area may develop semi-independently under the local Guildmistress/master; each area must develop at least one recipe per month to be considered part of the Guild (this recipe may be one developed by a member of any level for admission to a higher, if desired). Local Guild heads should strive at a minimum to become Journeyman Cooks, for their talents are needed at kingdom events.

Concerning the Cooks' Guild

It is my philosophy that a recipe written down to the last dash of salt will, if followed precisely, yield a good product 100 times out of 100, if the recipe was good originally. Almost anyone can follow directions; the talent is in writing directions of this sort, starting from something like:

There is a certain degree of challenge in starting from a barely comprehensible "recipe" and developing an edible product.

A recipe can be developed from as many as two or three different "primary" sources (for example, The Book of Cury, Cariadoc's collection, translations from original foreign language sources, and, if you have the resources, real original manuscripts). I developed Mushroom Tarts from three different recipes in two cookbooks. A statement that "they had all these ingredients" is somewhat less acceptable, although the development of one type of recipe from another is approved. (Example: Cherry Soup could have been developed as a cook strained cherries from Cherry Tart broth, tasted the broth, and decided to serve the broth too as another course. It's possible; I'm sure this broth didn't go to waste, even if only the cooks and kitchen help ate it.)

There is, however, a place for those who feel they lack the artistic skills necessary to develop a recipe. These people can cook -- sometimes better than the one who developed the recipe originally -- and can add their flavor to Medieval events. Should they be discouraged from bringing inauthentic meat pasties to eat at events? No; of course not. It's far superior to Cola, potato chips, and candy bars. The foods one brings are entirely the choice of the person bring them; and an attempt to capture the Medieval spirit will be appreciated by all at the site even if true authenticity in the food is not attempted. It is only in meeting the requirements for rank in the Guild that truly authenticated recipes are required, and the Guild is completely voluntary; it is only in cooking contests that extra credit is applied to development of a recipe from original sources, rather than following of complete directions. Please note that there will, according to the Charter of the Guild, be a prize given the best non-original recipe as well as the best original.

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