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Cast Iron Chef – The Roaming Rom
Ah, the open road! To be free, in command of your own destiny. To go where you want without a “by your leave”. This is the life of the Rom. Yet you know winter approaches. Supplies are running low, and bartering for food in the winter months is never advantageous. No Rom ever bargains at a disadvantage if they can help it! Your small band would do well to find a place to pass the season in relative safety. The hardships of the cold weather take their toll on your people. You find yourselves in the small shire of Smythkepe, in the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann. The people are friendly for the most part, there is game to be had (by a discreet huntsman), and the King’s Highway is near. This seems a fine place to live until the spring, when the horizon will beckon.
Unfortunately a certain stigma seems to follow your people. Certain members of the local populace appear to feel uneasy about having your band in residence for such a long time. Passing through is one thing; living in such proximity to their goods is quite another. This small village has no Baron, no Knight. Only a Seneschal manages this land for Their Majesties with the help of a few Lords and Ladies, veterans all from the Crown’s service. Thus you have invited the local nobility to sup with you and your band. You hope to discuss your wish to spend the winter here, and to put their minds at ease. If you can impress them with a fine dinner, despite your shortage of supplies, perhaps you can show them they have nothing to be concerned about. If they see that you can present a meal that would impress even the Crown, the local nobility will surely understand their possessions are safe, right? Once you have secured a safe place to spend the winter, something can be discreetly done to re-supply your band…
The Rules
Each team may have 3 members, who are allowed to participate in the food preparation. A 4th person may be added, however the 4th person may not participate directly in the cooking or preparation of any of the food. The 4th person may fetch and carry, tend the fire, wash dishes, set the table (or other presentation), etc. The entire team must be identified by the time the competition starts. Any individual not on a team, caught assisting a team will incur a 10% penalty against that team, per instance, of final points. Teams must register with THL Regné de Lyon no later than August 26th, 2009.
As in the past, each team will be given a kit to work with. The contents of each team’s kit will be revealed Friday evening, as will directions to the nearest Wal-Mart. Your recipes do not have to be period, but authentic recipes will be worth more points. Each kit will be unique, and teams are allowed / encouraged to barter with each other should they see something in another team’s kit they find appealing. Sorry, but no matter how good you are at bartering, you’re not going to get anything from the event feast! However, THL Regné may have a few items he would be willing to barter with. The event staff is not responsible for enforcing the terms of any deal made, nor for any party not keeping their end of a deal. Like any good Gypsy, get the most you can out of any deal you make. Please note before bartering with Regné, he is one of the judges. Failure to keep your end of the deal will be remembered. Each team may add to their kit according to the following guidelines:
8 ounces total of dairy product (milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc.).
Up to 3 tablespoons total of herbs & spices (fresh or dried, including salt). This includes period spice blends. Note there are 3 teaspoons per tablespoon.
8 oz. uncooked rice or other grain or pasta, total.
1 lb. total uncooked vegetable or fruit.
As much water as you require.
The teams will have 3 hours, from 9 am to noon, in which to perform all of their food preparation, and make the best final presentation they can. Teams may begin weigh in for the ingredients they provide at 8:30 Saturday morning. You are not required to use the entire 3 hours; each team will signal when they are ready to be judged. After the judges have ruled on a team’s entry, the populace will be invited to sample the meal that has been prepared. Please note, that populace opinion may be used should the judges require a tie breaker.
The feast hall will be off limits to the teams. Each team will have equal access to water. The presence of any member of a team in the feast hall during the competition will result in a 25% penalty of that team’s final point total.
There is a large common fire pit that each team may have access to a portion of. Fuel may be gathered on site, but there are no guarantees of availability. Use of modern camp stoves is allowed, but more points will be awarded for using period cooking techniques. Teams will be allowed to set their field kitchens up before the start of the competition, but no food preparation may take place before the competition begins. Work may be done on presentation, so long as no food preparation is performed. All food preparation must take place in the designated competition area. Final presentation must take place in the competition area.
Teams will be judged on the following, with 10 points possible for each category:
Quality of the food presented
Appearance of the food presented
Presentation (Setting a table this year is not required; a good presentation is)
Use of period recipes (supporting documentation for period recipes required)
Variety and Creativity with the resources provided
Use of period cooking techniques (Remember, Gypsies tended to be nomadic…)
Overall observation of the event theme.
There will be variable points awarded for order of completion. For example, if there are 6 teams, then the first team to signal they are ready to be judged will receive 6 points. The second team to do so will receive 5 points, etc.
There will be up to 10 bonus points awarded for using real fire which has been started using no matches or modern lighter, “match light” charcoal (regular, unopened charcoal allowed; a new bag must be opened and used for the demonstration), modern fuel or modern heat source. A reasonable interpretation of a period technique here folks. THL Regné will award these points and will require demonstration of the fire making technique. If you are unsure, contact THL Regné de Lyon and ask ahead of time.
There are things from past competitions that His Lordship has found particularly impressive. Just a few of them are mentioned here.
One year, a team poked holes in the ends of their eggs and fished out the yolks. Then, they basically made deviled egg filling and put it back into the shells to serve it!
A team started quick mead, which they served with their presentation. It was a dry site, and there had not been time for any fermentation, but it was an excellent use of materials provided.
The almond cookies! You know which team you were!
The first year, a team opted not to make their presentation at one of the event tables. Instead, they made their presentation “in camp”. It was very much like having a period lunch in the French countryside.
A team used bell peppers as their fresh vegetable. They harvested the seeds and roasted them to add to their spices.
Coffin crust.
Flowers indigenous to Malta as a table decoration the year of the Maltese Siege.
