At Lilies XX (2006), Amlesmore and Standing Stones
entered the "Big" Competition with our impressive array of pavise's, and although not winning that competition, we won the Heraldic
Display contest.
At Lilies XIX Amlesmore took first place in the Siege
Cooking Competition. (2005)
Lilies XVIII – Siege Cooking
Competition (2004)
Sponsored by
HL Kateryn de Develyn
We had four teams
compete this year. And wow! I don’t think the teams could have done a
better job of overwhelming the judges with their creativity and their
expertise. I know I was really happy and proud of what they produced for
the judges. We have some great cooks in our Kingdom of Calontir and those
who entered and demonstrated their talents in this competition certainly
deserve to be listed among the best!
I sat with the judges
and tasted everything, although I didn’t contribute to the judging other
than to make happy noises as I tasted everything. There was nothing
served that I wouldn’t be happy to have at a feast. These folks came up
with some really good tasting stuff! And no duplicate recipes or flavors
among all the dishes of the teams. And that was amazing also.
Crystal Mynes – Team 1
Salad with Deviled Eggs
Bryndens with Strawberries and Ricotta
Cheese
Fried Chicken Stuffed with Herbs
Fava Beans
Candied Carrots
Green Peas with Onions
Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon Grease Vinaigrette
Leek and Chicken Soup
Fried Chicken Innards
This team went first –
and the judges were amazed at the quantity and quality of the
presentation. There was color, textures, flavors and aroma! They candied
the carrots with the raw sugar – and it was good! And I’m not that fond of
candied carrots. So a –good- coming from me is high praise indeed. The
leek and chicken soup was outstanding. Their salad tasted excellent. The
fava beans – tasted excellent (I really want their list of ingredients and
prep recipe for my personal collection). I would serve those at feast
anytime. The Fried Chicken innards were crispy and looked good (as well
as tasting good – I think I had to try them oh three or four times before
I could adequately judge them ;-) sitting on their bed of spinach.
Amleth Moor – 15th/16th Century English Sources
Lord Eric St. Leger, Lady Katrine Thorroffsdottir, Lord
Richard Dale, Lady Katherine of Blacklea, His Grace Duke Donegal, Michael and
Deirdre Dunshea.
Pot Roasted Chicken
Chicken Breast with Braised Leeks
Soup
Salad
Peas with Ginger
Glazed Carrots
Strawberries with Cream Sauce
Chicken Breast with Fava Beans and Hard-boiled Eggs
This team presented
their entry by carrying in their own table top loaded with the dishes and
heralding their entry. It was tres cool! They also explained that they
presented hard-boiled eggs to show that they had eggs to spare... and to
fool the enemy into thinking their larder was much more well-stocked than
it was. The braised leeks were excellent!. The peas with ginger were
flavorful. The pot roasted chicken was to die for. I thought the fava
beans tasted very good! And glazed carrots made with raw sugar were a
treat! I'm going to use raw sugar from now for glazing carrots.
Iron Chef Goes Medieval – Platina
First Service - Salad with Herb
Vinaigrette and Poppy Seeds
Flat bread with Herbs and Ricotta
Second Service - Fillet Chicken rolled
around an herb and ricotta mix
Sweet Fritters flavored with apple slices
Fava Beans with Currents
Third Service - Soup – Leeks, Herbs,
onions, peas, apples
Savory Fritters
Final Service- Strawberries with
Sliced Apples and sweetmeats (sugared nuts)
Persian Tea
Sekanjabin
This team surprised us
by offering Persian Tea (tea made from spices and herbs) that was
extremely refreshing. And their sekanjabin was excellent too! They also
were the first to present their dishes by service. The herb and ricotta
mix which the filled chicken was wrapped around was so good – I was ready
to run off with it screaming mine, all mine. They also presented three
breads in the form of fritters and flat breads. the Sweet fritters were
really good. The Savory ones were good also. And the flat bread – I
could have taken more of it home with me.
Fried Brains - Apicus
Gustum
Chicken liver Pate
Carrot Chips (fried carrot shavings)
Cold Minted Chicken
Carrot Salad
Primus
Chicken Apicus (on a
stick)
Sweetened Apples
Secondus
Stuffed Chicken
Peas with
Bacon
Leeks and
Apples
Firebrand Chicken/Bean Soup
Finale
Compote of early First
Fruits (strawberries)
Crostatta di Ricotta (cheesecake)
This team had a recipe
from Apicus for every dish they made. They also presented it in
services. The Gustum was excellent. They somehow managed to sliver the
carrots for the carrot salad. The dressing on it was good. The chicken
liver pate – I would serve at a cocktail party. And they found time in
their two hours to not only cook the chicken but also to chill it in their
ice chests to serve it cold. The chicken on the stick was well-seasoned.
The peas with bacon were tasty. And their Crostatta although still warm
was excellent. I could easily have eaten half or more of it in a sitting
by myself.
The winning team was
Fried Brains. I didn’t envy the judges in having to make their
decisions. I’m just happy I got to taste all the dishes.
My judges were: HE
Mistress Diana, HL Bronwyn, and L Padraig. They were a knowledgeable crew
of judges and did not hesitate to taste any of the dishes. They truly
had a hard job. The teams were fairly evenly matched just by looking at
the quantity and quality of dishes each produced.
The competition was scored on:
Max Points Possible Description
20
Medieval recipe used as source for each dish
10
Medieval Presentation
50
Flavor/Texture/Appearance/Aroma
10
Using Fresh Herbs that can be seen growing
onsite (herbs must be store-bought or homegrown (i.e.: not harvested/picked
onsite) – state/park laws)
10
Judges discretion
10
Bonus points for limiting it to a single time
period/country
The teams were allowed
to go pick up their siege supplies in half-hour intervals. They had two
hours to prepare and then present back to the judges their entry. This
allowed the judges a half-hour each to judge a team’s entry. This also
worked well in having all the teams get the same amount of cooking time.
