Notes on the Feast:

This feast was unique in that it was presented "Inn-style" - guests had a several-hour period in which to come to the dining hall. Once there, they were seated by Lord Ian, playing the Host of the Inn, and given drink, bread & butter, soup, & salad by their table's server (i.e. waitress/waiter). The server then took the diner's orders for the main entree: a choice of poultry, beef, or fish. The order was taken to the kitchen, and the server returned to the table with a full plate of food for the guest. Diners also had the option of eating outdoors on the lawn surrounding the dining hall. The dessert board was served outside at twilight, under a large, candle-lit pavilion.

Botteres - butter.

To boyle a Rack of Veale on the French Fashion. From To the Queen's Taste, p 36:

To boyle a Rack of Veale on the French Fashion. Cut it into steakes. Cut a carrot or turnip in pieces, like diamonds, and put them into a Pipkin with a pint of white wine, parsley bound in a Fagot, a little Rosemary, and large Mace, and a stick of sinamon: pare a Lemmon or Orenge, and take a little grose Pepper, half a pound of butter: boyle all together until they be enough: when you have done, put in a little Sugar, and Vergis. Garnish your dish as you list.

This was prepared as a soup. Beef, replacing veal, was cut into pieces and placed in a large soup pot. The beef was boiled, and to the stock was added sliced carrots, white wine, parsley, rosemary, mace, cinnamon, lemon juice, orange juice, pepper, & butter. A small amount of sugar and red wine vinegar was also added. This was allowed to simmer for several hours before serving.

To make a Tarte of Ryce. From Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes, p. 73:

To make a Tarte of Ryce. Boyle your Rice, and put in the yolkes of two or three egges into the rice, and when it is boyled, put it into a dish, and season it with Suger, Sinamon, and Ginger, and butter, and the juice of two or three Orenges, and set it on the fire again.

Rice was boiled in a mixture of ½ milk & ½ water; egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, butter, & a little orange juice were mixed in, and the rice was allowed to cook for several more minutes before serving.

How to butter a Colle-flowre. From Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes, p. 41:

How to butter a Colle-flowre. Take a ripe Colle-flowre and cut off the buddes, boyle them in milke with a little Mace while they be very tender, then poure them into a Cullender, and let the Milke runne cleane from them, then take a ladle full of Creame, being boyled with a little whole mace, putting to it a ladle-full of thicke butter, mingle them together with a little Sugar, dish up your flowres upon sippets, poure your butter and creame hot upon it strowing on a little slict Nutmeg and salt, and serve it hot to the table.

Cauliflower was steamed in milk & seasoned with mace; when done, it was removed from the milk & covered in a thin sauce made of butter, cream, & sugar and garnished with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Simple Sallet. From Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes, p. 58:

Simple Sallet. Young Lettice, Cabage lettice. Purslan, and divers other hearbes which may bee served simply without anything, but a little vinegar, Sallet oyle, and suger.

This was a mixture of fresh lettuces and cabbages, tossed in a vinegar & oil dressing.

To boyle a Capon with Orenges after Mistress Duffelds Way. From To the Queen's Taste, p. 50:

To boyle a Capon with Orenges after Mistress Duffelds Way. Take a Capon and boyle it with veale or with a marie bone, or what your fancy is. Then take a good quantity of that broth, and put it in an earthen pot by itself, and put thereto a good handful of currans , and as many prunes, and a few whole maces and some marie, and put to this broth a good quantity of white Wine or of Clarret, and so let them seethe softlye together. Then take your Orenges, and with a knife scrape off all the filthinesse of the outside of them. Then cut them in the middest, and wring out the juyce of three or foure of them, put the juyce into the broth with the rese of your stuffe. Then slice your Orenges thinne, and have uppon the fire readie a skillet of faire seething water, and put your sliced Orenges into the water and when that water is bitter, have more readie and change them still as long as you can find the great bitternesse in the water, which will be five or seven times or more. If you need: then take them from the water, and let that runne cleane from them: then put close Orenges into your potte with your broth, and so let them stew together till your Capon be readie. Then make your sops with this broth, and cast on a little Sinamon, Ginger, and Sugar, and upon this lay your Capon, and some of your Orenges upon it, and some of your Marie, and towarde the end of the boyling of your broth, put in a little Vergious, if you think best.

In the original recipe, capon is boiled with veal or marrow in preparation for the orange sauce; for this feast, the capon was replaced with whole chicken breasts, and instead of being boiled was dredged in flour and then roasted. A sauce was made from chicken broth, white wine, orange juice, currants, prunes, mace, cinnamon, ginger, sugar, & vinegar (the marrow was left out); the roasted chicken breast was placed in baking pans, covered with sauce, and baked until tender.

To seethe Fresh Salmon. From To the Queen's Taste, p. 60:

To seethe Fresh Salmon. Take a little water, and as much Beere and salt, and put thereto Parsley, Time and Rosemarie, and let all these boyle togethere. Then put in your Salmon, and make your broth Sharpe with vinigar.

The author of To the Queen's Taste recommends several substitutes for the salmon in this recipe, including halibut, cod, & pollack. For this event, pollack was used. The fish was placed in a large baking pan and poached in beer seasoned with salt, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a little vinegar.

To Stew Fillets of Beefe. From Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes, p. 6:

To Stew Fillets of Beefe. Take a rawe fillet of beefe and cut it in thin slices halfe as broad as your hand and fry them till they be halfe fried in a frying panne with sweete butter uppon each side with a soaft fire, then powre them into a dish or pipkin putting in a pint of claret wine, a faggot of sweete herbes, and two or three blades of whole mace, a little salt the meate of a Lemon cut in slices, then stewe these all together very softly for the space of two or three houres till it be halfe boyled away, then dish it upon sippets and throwe salt upon it, and serve it to the table hot.

Beef fillets were grilled in butter, then placed in a large baking pan. A sauce was made of red wine, parsley, thyme, rosemary, mace, salt, and a little lemon juice. This was poured over the beef which was then baked for several hours until tender.

To make an Apple Moye. From Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes, p. 70:

To make an Apple Moye Take Apples, and cut them in two of foure peeces, boyle them till they be soft, and bruise them in a mortar, and put thereto the yolks of two Eggs, and a little sweet butter, set them on a chafingdish of coales, and boyle them a little, and put thereto a little Sugar, synamon, and Ginger, and so serve them in.

Apples were pared, cored, sliced, and boiled until soft. They were then mashed and mixed with egg yolks, butter, sugar, cinnamon, & ginger, and cooked again. The end result was a sort of pudding.

Pyggys Heads and Fysh Cakes - small cakes were made from molds in the shapes of fish and in the shape of a pig's head.

Triffle - this was a combination of cake, fresh fruits, syrups, and creams, arranged in layers in a large serving bowl.

Beebe, Ruth Anne. Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes. Boston: David R. Godine Publisher, 1976.

NOTE: Recipes coming from this book were taken from four Tudor cookbooks: The Good Huswife's Jewell (1596) The Good Huswife's Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594) The English Huswife (1615) Delightful Daily Exercise for ladies and gentlewomen (1621)

Sass, Lorna J. To the Queen's Taste. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976.

NOTE: Recipes taken from this book were derived originally from the following texts: The Good Huswives Handmaid and A New Book of Cookerie.

A THANK YOU to all those who helped prepare & serve the feast, and to those involved with clean-up. Special thanks to Doris McCormick of Weirton, WV & Joseph Matterer Jr. of Follansbee, WV for providing transportation and for the use of kitchens & equipment for the pre-cooking.

Master Huen Damebrigge of Wychwood has been cooking feasts for the SCA since 1980; he still cooks for approximately 2-3 official events a year. Master Huen currently resides in the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands in AEthelmearc. Lord Cydifor ap Manogan has been Master Huen's primary feast assistant since 1990.

The Investiture of Robin and Isabeau at the Third Ian's Inn © 1994 James L. Matterer