NAVIGATION BAR

TABLE 
OF CONTENTS

The 2001 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2002 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2003 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2004 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2005 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2006 Feast Menu with Recipes

The 2007 Feast Menu

The 2008 Feast Menu

The 2009 Feast Menu

The 2010 Feast Menu

The 2011 Feast Menu


ARTICLES ON THE FEASTS:

Fairest of them all - Renaissance activities are under way

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Medieval eats - Chef returns for fourth command performance at Renaissance Feast

October is Renaissance

About.com: 2005 Alabama Renaissance Faire

A feast to remember - Diners treated to sights, sounds, taste of medieval era

A Feast fit for a Queen

Limited number of tickets available for royal meal

Hear, hear:
Fair city of Florence prepares for Renaissance Faire


FEAST GALLERIES:

Steven Reilly's Photographs of the 2001 Feast

Thomas Wallace's Photographs of the 2001 Feast

2004 Feast Gallery

2005 Feast Gallery

2006 Feast Gallery


THE RENAISSANCE FAIRE:

Articles on the Renaissance Faire

Information on the Faire


ALABAMA REN FAIRE LINKS:

Official Alabama Renaissance Faire Website

Renaissance Faire

Renaissance Faire Pictorial

Faire Event Profile

Scribe Record


SEE ALSO:

Gode Cookery Table of Contents:

RECIPES & COOKERY:

A Boke of Gode Cookery

Medieval Recipe Translations

Gentyll manly Cokere

A Renaissance Cookery Book

Recipes from A Newe Boke of Olde Cokery

Incredible Foods, Solteties, & Entremets

Illusion Foods

Byzantine Recipes

The Historical Cookery Page

17th Century English Recipes

Modern Recipes for Beginners

All Gode Cookery Recipes

Glossary of Medieval Cooking Terms

ARTICLES ON COOKERY:

A Chaucerian Cookery

Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum

How to Cook  Medieval

Messe it Forth

An Elizabethan Dinner Conversation

The Cockentrice - A Ryal Mete

Coqz Heaumez - A Helmeted Cock

Medieval Gingerbread

In the Pursuit of Venison

The Kitchen of Mirth

A Tale of Two Tarts

FEASTS & DINNERS:

Gode Cookery's Latest Feast

Feasts Within the SCA

Alabama Renaissance Faire

IMAGES:

A Feast For The Eyes

Tacuinum Sanitatis

Gode Cookery Photo Gallery

RESOURCES:

Gode Cookery Bookshop

Gode Cookery Awards and Site Reviews

Gode Cookery Discussion Group


Gode Cookery Bibliography


RECIPES MAY BE FOUND IN:

A Boke of Gode Cookery

Medieval Recipe Translations

Gentyll manly Cokere

A Renaissance Cookery Book

Recipes from A Newe Boke of Olde Cokery

Incredible Foods, Solteties, & Entremets

Illusion Foods

Byzantine Recipes

The Historical Cookery Page

17th Century English Recipes

Modern Recipes for Beginner

A Chaucerian Cookery

The Cockentrice - A Ryal Mete

Coqz Heaumez - A Helmeted Cock

Medieval Gingerbread

Feasts Within the SCA

Alabama Renaissance Faire

A Tale of Two Tarts

All Gode Cookery Recipes



Gode Cookery Table of Contents

Gode Cookery

© 1997-2013


PLEASE VISIT:

The Gode Cookery Bookshop

Medieval Cookery Books for sale at the Bookshop!

Feasts for the Alabama Renaissance Faire: Oct. 20th, 2001; Oct. 19th, 2002; Oct. 18th, 2003; Oct. 16th, 2004; Oct. 15th, 2005; Oct. 21, 2006; Oct. 20th, 2007; Oct. 18, 2008; Oct. 17, 2009; Oct. 16, 2010; Oct. 15, 2011.

Hosted by the city of Florence, Alabama, as part of the festivities for the Alabama State Renaissance Faire, the official state fair of Alabama, held annually in October.

Feasts prepared by Gode Cookery:
James Matterer, Darell McCormick, Glenda Cockrum, Tammy Crawford, Lisa Holcomb-Blair, Marleyna Smith, Ray Walker, John Iaria, Chris Solis, & Lin Wilson. Assisted by Theresa Kanka. Special thanks to Ann Iaria & the Marriott Shoals.


About the 2011 Feast

Here is our proposed menu for 2011, a feast of recipes from medieval Catalonia.

Proposed 2011 Feast Menu


About the 2010 Feast

This year was a "Feast of Turkish Delights," with an authentic traditional Turkish repast.

The 2010 Feast Menu



About the 2009 Feast

This year, we were proud to be host an authentic German feast, in honor of Queen Rebecca Linam.



The 2009 Feast Menu

Recipes inspired by Daz buoch von guoter spise, Germany, 14th c.


About the 2008 Feast

This year our feast on Oct. 18 was a repast of nautical & New World foods, in honor of our Pirate King, His Majesty King Gregory Bowling.


His Majest,y King Gregory, with retinue

The 2008 Feast Menu

This special menu of Pirate food was based on research by Troy Lamey:
Raiders, Invaders, and Privateers

Articles

Hear, hear:
Fair city of Florence prepares for Renaissance Faire


Photographs

YouTube video of the feast


About the 2007 Feast:

This year's Feast was held on October 20th.
The theme for the menu was Italian, with a strong Middle Eastern influence, in honor of the reigning monarch, Queen Ostarra.



The monarch of 2007, Queen Ostarra

The 2007 Feast Menu

Articles

Limited number of tickets available for royal meal

Photographs

YouTube videos of the kitchen & feast


About the 2006 Feast:

The Feast for this year was in honor of the reigning monarch,
Queen Freya Igraine Greywolf:

A FEAST for the VIKING QUEEN
(Link to feast menu, ingredients, & period recipes)


Queen Freya Igraine Greywolf at the Alabama Rennaissance Faire, 2005

This unique menu was entirely based on research on Frisian food & culture by Jenn Strobel:
http://www.medievalcooking.org/

Articles

A Feast fit for a Queen

Photographs

A slideshow of photographs from the kitchen & feast



About the 2005 Feast:


Musicians entertain at the 2005 Feast

This year we presented an Italian Renaissance Feast in honor of the Four Seasons:

Festività Delle Quattro Stagioni
(Link to feast menu, ingredients, & period recipes)

Menu researched & composed by Lisa Holcomb-Blair of Mobile, AL.

Articles

About.com: 2005 Alabama Renaissance Faire

A feast to remember - Diners treated to sights, sounds, taste of medieval era

The NEW Official Alabama Renaissance Faire Website

Photographs

A slideshow of photographs from the kitchen & feast



About the 2004 Feast:


Smaug the Dragon at the 2004 Feast

The 2004 Feast Menu with Recipes

Articles

Medieval eats - Chef returns for fourth command performance at Renaissance Feast

October is Renaissance

Photographs

A slideshow of photographs from the kitchen & feast

From the Florence Times Daily, Oct. 15, 2004: Royal delicacies: A Renaissance Feast, sponsored by the Alabama Renaissance Faire Roundtable, begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum. The meal -- prepared by chef Jim Matterer of Morgantown, W.Va., whose specialty is medieval/Renaissance foods -- will feature a plethora of period delicacies from his vast array of medieval recipes. There will be entertainment from the Renaissance era performed by people dressed in costumes of the period. Those who attend the feast are urged to don attire befitting the Renaissance -- though it's not a requirement -- and bring their own goblets or drinking vessels. Groups of four or six might wish to bring their own table linen, pewter or wooden plates, candelabra, etc., and set their own table. Admission is $20 per person. Tickets are available at the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center of the Arts or Anderson's Bookland both in downtown Florence. For details, call 760-6379 or 768-3031.



About the 2003 Feast:

In honor of the Faire's king, Zolin the Wizard, this year's Feast had the theme of "Illusion Foods." It was a magical experience!


Members of the Feast Committee shortly before the 2003 feast

The 2003 Feast Menu with Recipes

Articles

Fairest of them all - Renaissance activities are under way

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!


About the 2002 Feast:

"Everyone is in agreement that this year was our best ever; the general consensus is that the food was excellent, served hot and right on time. I particularly enjoyed the stewed beef.  Great work!" -  Lee Freeman, member of the Renaissance Faire Roundtable.

The 2002 Feast Menu with Recipes


About the 2001 Feast:

The 2001 Feast Menu with Recipes

Photographs

Feast Gallery I: Steven Reilly's Photographs of the 2001 Feast

Feast Gallery II: Thomas Wallace's Photographs of the 2001 Feast

The Gode Cookery crew, shortly after the end of the 2001 feast: tired but happy!
From left to right: Jim, Glenda, & Darell.
Photograph © 2001 Stephen Reilly

Jim & Glenda at the 2002 feast.
Photograph © 2002 Sue Bevis


About the Alabama Renaissance Faire

The Faire is held in downtown Florence at Wilson Park, on the corner of Tuscaloosa Street and Wood Avenue. Florence, Alabama, is located 120 miles south of Nashville, 145 miles east of Memphis, and 125 miles north of Birmingham.

ARTICLES on the RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Links:

Official Alabama Renaissance Faire Website | Renaissance Faire
Renaissance Faire Pictorial | Faire Event Profile | Scribe Record


Information on the Feast & Faire from Florence-Lauderdale Tourism at:
http://www.flo-tour.org/todo.html


Begun in 1987, the official Alabama Renaissance Faire has developed into a major tourist event in northwest Alabama. For the past four years it has been named one of the top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourist Society in Atlanta, giving it recognition by more than 800 media outlets throughout the region.

Held in Wilson Park (renamed Fountain-on-the-Green for the two days of the Faire), this unusual event draws 35,000 - 40,000 people each year to its site in downtown Florence, Alabama. It is always held on the fourth Saturday and Sunday in October, taking advantage of the balmy weather and the gorgeous fall foliage in the park.

As the Faire has grown, so have the other events which surround it during Renaissance Month as October has been officially designated by the local government.

Among the Medieval/Renaissance-related events held during October are musical programs, public lectures, dramatic performances, art exhibits and dance programs. All of these are of the highest quality, and they set the stage perfectly for the Faire.

One of the major events of the month is an authentic Medieval/Renaissance Feast. It is held on Saturday evening a week before the Faire in a very baronial hall and features food and entertainment of the period. People who attend the Feast are encouraged to follow the customs of the era by bringing their own tablecloth, candelabra and eating utensils. (This was routinely done during Medieval times because the nobility liked to flaunt its wealth by displaying its gold plates and its candlesticks of brass, silver or gold.)

Two free costume-making workshops are held on the first two Saturdays in October at the local Kennedy-Douglass Art Center. People of all ages are invited to bring fabric, and the rest (measuring, cutting, sewing) is done by men and women connected with the Faire. A person literally walks away with a simple costume in hand which he/she can embellish with jewelry, belts, etc. That a large percentage of people attend the Faire in costume is directly attributable to these workshops.

Capitalizing on the fact that the Faire is scheduled during the school year, those in charge of planning have found creative ways to incorporate it into the schools. Art contests for young children, sonnetwriting contests for adolescents, and a poster-design contest for adults are outgrowths of the monthlong celebration. October is a great time to be in Florence, Alabama—especially the fourth weekend!


Information on the Faire from the Alabama Department of Archives & History at:
http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_renas.html

Official Alabama Renaissance Faire


In October of 1987, the first Renaissance Month was observed in Florence, Alabama. Every fourth weekend in October a Renaissance Faire takes place as a two-day event. Florence is named for Florence, Italy, the founding city of the Renaissance movement in Europe during the 14th century.

The Renaissance Faire covers the period of time from the 12th through the 16th centuries. Authentic costumes, arts and crafts, and food are all a part of the Faire. Visitors can take part in medieval games and hear musicians playing authentic instruments. Artisans and merchants offer coins of the realm, hand-thrown pottery, jewelry, dried flower wreaths, and many other delights. Magicians, mirthmakers and minstrels wander about in period attire.

The Alabama Renaissance Faire is held in downtown Florence at Wilson Park - on the corner of Tuscaloosa Street and Wood Avenue. Florence, Alabama is located 120 miles south of Nashville; 145 miles east of Memphis; and 125 miles north of Birmingham.

The Florence Renaissance Faire became the official state faire in 1988 by Act no.88-43.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chamber of Commerce of the Shoals
Tourism Division
104 South Pine Street
Florence, Alabama 35630
(205)764-4661



Gode CookeryAlabama Renaissance Faire
© James L. Matterer
 
Gode Cookery