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callistotoniThe Perfectly Period Feast, held on Nov. 11 in Marin, CA, West Kingdom (SCA), was a wonderful culmination of several years of research, planning, and preparation. The attendees all looked beautiful; congratulations are due to all staff and participants!
However, those attendees that attended under the "Sideboard" option experienced significant problems. The following feedback is offered in hopes that future PPF organizers avoid these issues, should they decide to offer the Sideboard attendee option. This feedback is offered in a spirit of great respect and hope for future PPF-type events.
1) Most of the problems could have been avoided had there been a dedicated staff member overseeing the Sideboard "experience" - a Sideboard Liaison, if you will. This person would be in charge of making sure that the Sideboard attendees get all of the food/serving equipment/etc. they were promised and paid for. If there is a problem delivering any of those things, the Liason would explain this situation (ingredients not available at the last minute, dished failed, whatever). Since those sitting in Messes and at the High Table have their own server(s) to act as their liasions (one at least per table), there should be at least this one point-of-content/Liasion for all of the Sideboard attendees (in this case, it would have been one person for 30 people, which I don't think is an unreasonable ask.)
2) Of the remaining issues, the majority could have been avoided it the planners take a hard look at the reality of the physical space and "tools" in/with which the Sideboard will operate. This point will become clearer in the examples given below.
Problems Experienced by Sideboard Attendees:
A) Of the 22 food items Sideboard attendees were supposed to get - according to the event description and menu - only 9 of those items were served.
B) Sideboard attendees were instructed to not bring anything except for glasses/drinking vessels. Napkins, trenchers, and spoons were to be available to Sideboard guests.
In practice, only trenchers were provided. The trenchers were flat wooden disks, about 8 in across, in keeping with period practice.
One of the main problems was that of the food that was provided, a lot of it was very wet or "gloppy" (for lack of a better word), but there were no spoons provided to guests to eat said wet food. Furthermore, flat trenchers are designed to work on a table, as a "staging area" for food rather than a modern plate. The flat trenchers were a bad fit for gloppy food one tries to eat without a table (standing or sitting) -- while wearing nice probably-non-washable clothing.
Most of us Sideboard attendees are aware that people in period ate with their fingers. But, again, the food was wet and gloppy and spoons would have been what people would have used for this type of thing anyway. Plus we had none of the napkins to clean our hands of the gloppy food should we choose to do that. Please note that we never received any of the promised bread, which would have made eating this food more possible.
All of this meant that a lot of the food we were served was not eaten because it did not seem worth the trouble. Basically, we Sideboard attendees went hungry.
According to conversations I had following the feast, there was food and there were spoons on site that were supposed to be made available to us but never were. If there had been a liaison to champion the needs of the Sideboard these items could have been found and provided.
Also, I and the fellow Sideboard attendees would have been perfectly happy to bring our own plates, spoons, and napkins, had we been told in advance. Since we Sideboard attendees were physically separated from the actual PPF our personal gear would not have conflicted with the ambiance the PPF staff was creating.
C) The Sideboard option was based in period practice. Sideboard attendees were promised a view of the proceedings in the feast hall, even though they would not be directly participating. However, the only view available was through a doorway, which was blocked most of the time by serving staff. Looking at the physical layout of the space, the fact that servers would be occupying this space could have been predicted.
There was also an outside area that had windows between it and the feast hall. Given the sun's reflection, viewing the proceedings was very difficult.
Sideboard attendees could have been told that they would be able to participate in all of the before and after the feast, but that they would have little or no view of the proceedings. Knowing that the Sideboard would Really not have any sort of PPF experience would have, perhaps, influenced whether or not they would attend as a Sideboard. (The fact that the Sideboard was not part of the "perfectly period" experience was driven home by one of the dished being served in a disposable aluminum serving tray.)
As a Sideboard attendee, I *did* have a good time--the company was a Fun Crowd and we had plenty of red wine to keep us happy. But I really don't think I got my money's worth because of the lack of food. But I strongly believe our problems could have been avoided had there been a Liaison for the Sideboard who would have made sure we got everything we were promised (within reason, of course). And I know of at least 3 other people that feel the same way I do.
Again, water under the bridge. But if any of you plan a future PPF with a sideboard option, please learn from out experience.
However, those attendees that attended under the "Sideboard" option experienced significant problems. The following feedback is offered in hopes that future PPF organizers avoid these issues, should they decide to offer the Sideboard attendee option. This feedback is offered in a spirit of great respect and hope for future PPF-type events.
1) Most of the problems could have been avoided had there been a dedicated staff member overseeing the Sideboard "experience" - a Sideboard Liaison, if you will. This person would be in charge of making sure that the Sideboard attendees get all of the food/serving equipment/etc. they were promised and paid for. If there is a problem delivering any of those things, the Liason would explain this situation (ingredients not available at the last minute, dished failed, whatever). Since those sitting in Messes and at the High Table have their own server(s) to act as their liasions (one at least per table), there should be at least this one point-of-content/Liasion for all of the Sideboard attendees (in this case, it would have been one person for 30 people, which I don't think is an unreasonable ask.)
2) Of the remaining issues, the majority could have been avoided it the planners take a hard look at the reality of the physical space and "tools" in/with which the Sideboard will operate. This point will become clearer in the examples given below.
Problems Experienced by Sideboard Attendees:
A) Of the 22 food items Sideboard attendees were supposed to get - according to the event description and menu - only 9 of those items were served.
B) Sideboard attendees were instructed to not bring anything except for glasses/drinking vessels. Napkins, trenchers, and spoons were to be available to Sideboard guests.
In practice, only trenchers were provided. The trenchers were flat wooden disks, about 8 in across, in keeping with period practice.
One of the main problems was that of the food that was provided, a lot of it was very wet or "gloppy" (for lack of a better word), but there were no spoons provided to guests to eat said wet food. Furthermore, flat trenchers are designed to work on a table, as a "staging area" for food rather than a modern plate. The flat trenchers were a bad fit for gloppy food one tries to eat without a table (standing or sitting) -- while wearing nice probably-non-washable clothing.
Most of us Sideboard attendees are aware that people in period ate with their fingers. But, again, the food was wet and gloppy and spoons would have been what people would have used for this type of thing anyway. Plus we had none of the napkins to clean our hands of the gloppy food should we choose to do that. Please note that we never received any of the promised bread, which would have made eating this food more possible.
All of this meant that a lot of the food we were served was not eaten because it did not seem worth the trouble. Basically, we Sideboard attendees went hungry.
According to conversations I had following the feast, there was food and there were spoons on site that were supposed to be made available to us but never were. If there had been a liaison to champion the needs of the Sideboard these items could have been found and provided.
Also, I and the fellow Sideboard attendees would have been perfectly happy to bring our own plates, spoons, and napkins, had we been told in advance. Since we Sideboard attendees were physically separated from the actual PPF our personal gear would not have conflicted with the ambiance the PPF staff was creating.
C) The Sideboard option was based in period practice. Sideboard attendees were promised a view of the proceedings in the feast hall, even though they would not be directly participating. However, the only view available was through a doorway, which was blocked most of the time by serving staff. Looking at the physical layout of the space, the fact that servers would be occupying this space could have been predicted.
There was also an outside area that had windows between it and the feast hall. Given the sun's reflection, viewing the proceedings was very difficult.
Sideboard attendees could have been told that they would be able to participate in all of the before and after the feast, but that they would have little or no view of the proceedings. Knowing that the Sideboard would Really not have any sort of PPF experience would have, perhaps, influenced whether or not they would attend as a Sideboard. (The fact that the Sideboard was not part of the "perfectly period" experience was driven home by one of the dished being served in a disposable aluminum serving tray.)
As a Sideboard attendee, I *did* have a good time--the company was a Fun Crowd and we had plenty of red wine to keep us happy. But I really don't think I got my money's worth because of the lack of food. But I strongly believe our problems could have been avoided had there been a Liaison for the Sideboard who would have made sure we got everything we were promised (within reason, of course). And I know of at least 3 other people that feel the same way I do.
Again, water under the bridge. But if any of you plan a future PPF with a sideboard option, please learn from out experience.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-13 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-13 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-13 10:04 pm (UTC)BUT...I would suggest that there be one Liaison and 1-2 Servers dedicated to the Sideboard. The liaison could interface with the kitchen to make sure the right food was ready for the Sideboard at the right times. The Server(s) could actually deliver that food.
This would be a kindness not only to the diners, but to the "front of kitchen" staff who *knew* we had food for you but could not deliver it ourselves and had no specific and planned-for way of getting that food to you.
Another from-the-kitchen suggestion: Plan for/provide serving plates, bowls, and spoons for the Sideboard. These could easily be not-perfectly-period, but better than aluminum pans. If the front-of-kitchen had a stock of such service implements, it would be much easier to get Sideboard fare plated and put out in a timely manner.