“The Goodman of Paris” includes several important citations which vary from standard SCA feast practice. Firstly, the main meal of the day is not in the evening, but at lunchtime. This is presumably for practicality, meaning that the feast can be prepared, eaten and cleaned-up after during daylight. Also, the courses are not necessarily numbered, but are frequently described by their primary contents. The typical courses for a large meal are thus the Service, Pottage, Roast, Entrement, Dessert and Issue. This is a standard but by no means the only order. One or more courses might not be included, for instance where a smaller meal is required consisting of only three courses. One or more courses might be repeated, such as where a dinner might include two courses of Pottages or perhaps two courses of Roasts. And the course order is not fixed, as shown by the relatively common reversal in order of the Pottage and the Entrement.

The Pottage is invariably a collection of meat stews, possibly including a fish stew or a dish of boiled rice, rice gruel or frumenty, to relieve the meaty monotony. The same can be said of the Roast, except that it is a collection of whole pieces of meat, boiled then roasted; large cuts, whole legs or chines (whole sides) of beef, mutton, pork or veal, as well as whole birds and possibly whole fish. Sauces are in evidence, although not with every roast, and are typically sweet and sour, spicy or herbaceous.

The Entrement is a cold course of more meat, in general predominantly white meat such as poultry, fowl, rabbit and fish. Many entrements are served either as blancmange where the meat is teased and mixed thoroughly with, or as whole cuts set in, savory jelly. Such jelly is almost certainly stock based and cow’s-hoof gelatin thickened, the same as modern aspic or chaufroid.

The Dessert signals that the end of the meal is not far away, generally being a number of sweet dishes, although further meat dishes might still be included. The Issue resembles the Service, in that it is a number of tidbits, but is generally lighter, and includes a considerably sweeter mix of items. For instance, an Issue might be as simple as apples and cheese. It also typically includes Hippocras, sweet white wine simmered to infuse it with spices but served cold.

On a fish day, all meat, egg and dairy products would be replaced with fish and almond milk (made by passing water through ground almonds until the liquid took on the appearance and consistency of milk, or even cream or cheese). More fruit dishes might also be included. Fish days seem to have been the days to dust of the spice box and bring out exotic dried fruit such as dates and figs.

This diversity is especially important when considering the organization of a viable feast for modern tastes.

The most important prerequisites for cooking a feast are the organization and timing of work, the availability of cooking equipment, the freshness and quality of the ingredients, and the recipes used. Of these the recipes are by far the least important, because regardless of the authenticity or the complexity of the recipes used, without organization, equipment and decent foodstuffs no feast will ever succeed as well as might be desired.

Organization is not necessarily the art of telling people what to do, but telling people what needs to be done. The former is mundanely referred to as ‘micro-management’, and is in general counterproductive in a volunteer group such as ours. People do however tend to fall neatly into one of three groups, depending upon their knowledge, experience and confidence at a particular task; those that require general instructions (such as “roast that meat”), those that require specific instructions (such as a written recipe), and those that require individual supervision. Learn each person’s interests and abilities and use them accordingly.

Below is the organization plan used for “A Parisian Dinner”. Specific recipes are not included here (however page notes from the copy of “The Goodman of Paris” used are included), since the organization plan is primarily a timing and purchasing schedule for the event. The 24-hour clock times used are for Saturday, the day of the event.

Please note this plan over caters to an enormous degree. “The Known World Handbook” explains that on average, people will eat about 20 to 24 ounces of food at a feast (about 600g). This event originally planned to cater 2000g per guest. Consequentially, you could easily serve this menu as a dinner to three times the number of people, thus making the feast sans alcoholic beverages easily affordable for an SCA head cook.

Lamb Pasties & Veal Pasties
Pork Sausages & Beef Rissoles
Cider & Cordials

Pottage of Lamb
Pottage of Veal
Pottage of Peas
Rice with Fried Almonds thereon

Roast Lamb with Sauce Cameline
Roast Veal with Sauce Vert
Cabbage with Cinnamon Sauce
Savory Crepes
Red Wine

Cold Roast Chicken
Cold Roast Rabbit
Cold Sugared Cream Cheese Flan
Sweet White Wine

Roast Whole Apples with Currants
Fresh Pears & Oranges
Cream Pudding with Sugared Almonds

Fresh Apples & Cheese
Mixed Nuts & other Sweets
Spices for Hippocras

A note on costing: It is recommended that sundry expenses be calculated at 10% instead of 5%. Given that this is so, the cost of this meal sans alcohol is $122.90 for 29kg ~ $4.50 per person @ 1000g per person ~ $3.35 per person @ 750g per person ~ $2.70 per person @ 600g per person.

Make sure you have seen the kitchen before you use it, and know how many ovens, stovetops and refrigeration units it has. Never cook anything that requires specific equipment if you don’t have it. Make sure you have your own set of knives and cutting boards. Owning a mortar and pestle, a grater, a rolling pin, a set of wooden spoons, a set of large roasting pans and a set of pie dishes (all period items with a multitude of uses) is also very useful.

Never make from scratch what you can buy pre-made at a reasonable price, such as pastry, or mince. Always use good quality fats. Go to the shops to check pricing the week before you buy. Shop around for quantity discounts. Don’t buy meat and vegetables from a supermarket; go to a butcher’s or a fruit and vegetable shop and save enormously on price. Plan to cook produce in season, so it will be cheaper, even if you buy frozen. (For example, frozen peas in fresh pea season will be cheaper still.)

The typical technique for roast meat is the same in 14th Century Paris as anywhere else in Europe; boil, then lard and roast. This technique, although requiring a pot large enough to fit your cut of meat, is superb at producing whole, well-cooked roasts that do not fall apart until cut, which is excellent when serving sausages, poultry or game birds. However, the technique does tend to destroy the flavour of good meat, similar to that one encounters when cooking from frozen. In essence, when visual requirements are more important than flavour, or if you must cook from frozen, the typical medieval technique is superb; however if flavour is more important, lard good quality fresh meat and then roast it slowly over a long period of time. For “A Parisian Dinner”, the larding was done with butter rather than fat or olive oil, butter being the typical fat used for cooking in Northeast Europe.

Pottages, made from cheap cuts of meat, or the stewing-chops and belly of a side of meat (whose best cuts have been used for roasts, pastry fillings and entrées), are made more simply by boiling the meat on the bone until cooked and then removing the bones and other inedible parts, rather than boning the meat beforehand. Breadcrumbs are the most commonly used thickener during this period, although to add more bulk and better colour toast these in a pan with a little fat or the appropriate kind first.