By Maggie Rue
The Pennsic Independent
Alisaundre d’Brebouf has accrued a lot of amazing knowledge that she is very happy to impart to others so that knowledge can grow as well. Indeed, after counting up the numbers, she’s pretty sure she’s been to 43 Pennsics (all but one since they’ve been at Cooper’s Lake) and she’s taught over 100 classes. “I’ve been teaching at least two since coming here,” Alisaundre proudly explains. “I used to have the Pennsic University just give me a classroom for every day at 9 am, and I’d come in and ask the classroom which one I was supposed to be teaching that day.”
Although intrigued by the range of classes she taught, it was the Siege Cooking Competition that brought me to her little house at Space 24, across from the Cooper’s storefront. Held for more than 30 years, the Siege Cooking Competition at Maison Rive sounded more intriguing the more I learned.
The story is “You are a cook of a siege army and the siege has gone on so long you are now down to one final basket or box of food. Your army commander comes in and announces that the Count who ordered the siege is coming to see whether he will continue it or sue for peace. The army commander needs for you, the cook, to prepare a feast for the count out of that last box or basket that convinces him to continue the siege.”
In her competition, the cooks must take the box of food provided to them and use it to prepare a feast the next evening. The prizes vary but she’s given away some pretty impressive gifts, including chargers, cast iron cookware, and even a real cauldron.
Where did this idea come from? “I’m allergic to half the planet,” Alisaundre explains. “They get a competition and I get a meal.” Thus, she provides a box of specially selected food that includes a protein, starch, sweet, sour, oil/fat, two fruits, and two vegetables with the stipulation that only water, salt, and Old World spices can be added. Points are awarded for historical accuracy, taste, appearance, plating, and presentation, as well as the very important category of how little of the basket was wasted.
The idea of economy has been a personal pursuit for Alisaundre, who incorporates it in many of her classes. “I was one of eight, and with the cousins there would sometimes be ten or more children to feed at dinner. So it got pretty tight.” With class titles like “How to Rob Peter to Feed Paul” and “Children’s Clothing that Grows with Them,” Alisaundre believes economy is key, hoping that through her teachings in clothing and cooking, anybody can be a part of the SCA and not feel like they have to spend a ton of money.