A Word from the Cook

April 3 '09 - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

As of April, 2009, Gode Cookery is undergiong a major revision & upgrade! Some websites will be changed, others may be removed; please be patient with us during this time of construction!

Thank you for your continued support of Gode Cookery!

August 1 '06 - Well, what a long, strange year it's been! Yes, it's really been one year since A Word from the Cook has been updated. Wow! What happened?

Frankly, it's been one of the most strenuous, yet rewarding, years of my life. In October of 2005, Gode Cookery (Darell McCormick, Lisa Holcomb-Blair, & myself) traveled to Florence, AL, to prepare the feast for the annual Alabama Renaissance Faire. This year, the menu was Lisa's baby, and what a fine dinner it was. You may read all the details of this at our Alabama website. However, shortly after returning home, Darell & I received word that we had employment with the University of Delaware, beginning in January, 2006. We then had 2 months to find a new home in Newark, DE, and move ourselves, our 4 cats, and all of our belongings there from our home near Pittsburgh, PA - a 5 hour journey, 1-way.

Fortune smiled at us - after several failed attempts at finding an affordable house, we had nearly given up the idea of living anywhere near Delaware when we discovered a home very much in need of love and companionship, just 5 minutes from my family in Newark. By a serendipitous series of events, the home became ours and by mid-November, we began moving in.

Our new house began life about 200 years ago, as a log cabin; it was eventually turned into a farmhouse, and as near as we can tell, has not had any major improvements done since at least the 1940's. It has electrical wiring that only works at a moderate level, an oil heater dated to the 1920's, windows that can barely be opened, well water which needs constant filtering, no decent phone or cable lines, slanty floors, a leaky bathtub, and a front door that has to be kicked to open. We love it.

It also has a working fireplace, wooden spiral staircases, handmade hinges, locks, and handles in the upstairs rooms, a beautiful kitchen hearth, a large attic, a dirt-floor basement, 2 indoor porches, a workroom off of the kitchen, a huge back yard, an extra bathroom for guests, and room for 4 cats. As I said, we love it.

Here is a shot of our kitchen hearth, filled with antique cookware and period reproductions, lit by candles

In the midst of our move were two important commitments: to cater Thanksgiving dinner for our good friends, Ron & Janet Schwoegal in Pittsburgh (an annual tradition for us), and to prepare a 100-person feast for the SCA of Philadelphia. (Our new neighbors!) Cooking for Ron & Janet's family is always an easy, enjoyable, & rewarding job, and the Christmas season always officially begins for us at their home on Thanksgiving morning, listening to holiday music on their kitchen radio and urging the turkey to be done in time. This year we prepared a lovely stuffed baked pumpkin, seen below:

Shortly afterwards, in Philadelphia, was the yearly Yule Revel of the Barony of Bhakail, which I had cooked for the Christmas previously, and which seems to now also be an annual tradition - I'm doing it again in 2006. This was an extremely satisfying experience, with some of the finest food we've ever prepared for a SCA event, including a spit-roasted pig, brought into the hall whole and carved in front of the audience. (Wanna see the menu? It's here.) Unfortunately, occurring at the first of December, the week spent in preparations for the Revel slowed down our move so that we did not finally leave western Pennsylvania until nearly Christmas.

The holidays were spent unpacking boxes, moving furniture, and generally being tired of the entire concept of moving. At the beginning of January, we both began jobs at the University of Delaware, working for the English Language Institute; Darell also began a second job at the Red Rose Inn, in Jennersville, PA, a colonial inn first established in 1740. (He is now the Sous Chef there.) We both find our ELI jobs very rewarding, and have the blessed opportunity of meeting bright, intelligent adults from all over the world.

In February I returned to Pittsburgh to help my former SCA chapter with their annual demo at the Washington, PA, mall. Each year Tammy and I re-create a medieval tavern, complete with free food and drink, and this year was no exception. (See pictures here.) In March, Darell & I traveled to Lumberton, MS, to attend Gulf Wars XV, a large SCA "war," where we were involved with the running of the Gode Bakery, owned & operated by our friend Steve Morrison, of Pittsburgh.

In April I returned "home" once again, to cook a feast for the Lost Boys Spring Fling in Morgantown, WV, and in May Tammy & I were in charge of the feast for AEthelmearc Crown Tourney, a SCA event which took place near Morgantown, WV. Tammy's feast was immaculately researched and sumptuous, and she created this magnificent Castle Pie for the occasion:

A "castle pie" (from Curye on Inglysch); the "moat" is divided into 4 sections, each containing a different pie filling

I've also been busy in my new home, as well. February, April, & May saw me active with various local events and the lovely Dover Days, a celebration of Delaware's historical past, held in Dover, the state capitol. In June I had the pleasure of presenting a medieval gingerbread workshop at an elementary school in Philadelphia, part of a day-long demo hosted by the local SCA, and was involved in another school demo, hosted by the Shire of Caer Adamant (my new SCA home in Delaware) at the Smyrna Middle School.

And then in July, the most exciting news of all: a 3rd taping for the Food Network! I won't bore you with the details here; instead, you can bore yourself with them by going to our Food Network page.

Now, what's been happening with the Gode Cookery website all this time? Unfortunately, we still don't have Internet connection at our new home, due to many different difficulties, and the website went from April through July without being updated! At the time of this writing, though, we're working to be online by September <fingers crossed>, and have been able to make this August update through the generosity of friends in Dover who are both online and have the patience to put up with me in their home for an afternoon.

Future plans for Gode Cookery include the 2006 Feast for the Alabama Renaissance Faire and some additional work with Greystone TV and the Food Network (more on this later). And of course, plenty of other gode cooking!

August 1 '05 - Well, here we are in the midst of another long, hot summer... the staff involved with the website took a much-needed break in July, but now it's time to start updating the site once more!

The biggest news to tell you about is that, finally, we have our first recipe collection in print! A Boke of Gode Cookery, Vol. 1, 100 recipes from Gode Cookery, will be available by August 12. Tammy has worked very hard to get this ready for us, and it was well worth the wait. We've updated & revised most of the recipes featured in the book, and are including several new recipes by the members of our catering crew - þe Companie of Gode Cooks. Copies are only $25.00 and are available by mail order through the website. For full information, please see our notice on Gode Cookery.

A Boke of Gode Cookery, Volume 1, will be for sale at Pennsic XXXIV. Our exclusive seller will be Poison Pen Press, Booth #63, in Bookseller's Row. Copies will also be available from the author (that's me) at Master John's Stave Church, located next to the Food Court. The book will be for sale starting on August 13.

Goode Cookys was very busy in July, traveling to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, & Maryland to attend SCA events. We will have August off, to attend the Pennsic War in Pennsylvania, but will be busy again come September, with every weekend already booked for events.

One of my special activities this summer was to help several of my local libraries with the Summer Reading Program; this year's program had a medieval theme, and at 3 separate presentations I had Goode Cookys to pass out out to the children participating. Here's a picture of me in Lost Creek, WV, making molded gingerbread on demand:

October will soon be here, and time to travel to Alabama once again for the Renaissance Fair and our feast for the town of Florence. It'll be great to see all of our old friends again, and meet new ones. Lisa is in charge of the year's menu, which will be an Italian feast based on the 4 seasons of the year.

Welcome to Jill Walker, Gerard Nappa, & Jennifer Strobel as the newest members of the Gode Cookery Household! These 3 are excellent medieval cooks that I'm proud to be associated with. Jill has already been taken on as an official apprentice, and Jennifer will be getting her green belt in mid-May. I'm currently working on a gallery of photographs of the Gode Cookery Household, so everyone will know who I'm talking about all the time! It will be in our new Gode Cookery Photo Galleries website.

Look for our latest debut on the Food Network on May 9th at 10 PM; "The Secret Life of Birthday Parties" will feature Tammy and myself explaining the history of birthday cakes & parties during Roman times. Pictures from the taping of that episode segment are at our Food Network page.

Gulf Wars XIV in March was a blast. Darell & I had a great time with Lisa and her husband Brian in Mobile, AL, before and after War, and at the event in Mississippi. Lisa presented an incredible feast (pictures of which may be seen HERE), and as Goode Cookys merchants, Darell & I had a successful week. Here is a pic of me being VERY busy at War:

Driving home from the event, Darell & stopped in Birmingham, AL, to see the statue of Vulcan, created by sculptor Giuseppi Moretti in the early-1900's; an impressive and imposing work, it is the world's largest cast-iron statue and stands on a peak in Vulcan Park, overlooking the city. As much as anything else, it is known for its massive bare backside, with gigantic buttocks exposed for all the world to wonder at, as you may see:

If you'd like to see more pictures from our GW XIV experience, simply go to the Gode Cookery Photo Galleries page and look in the SCA Galleries.

In April I had a very happy experience at a SCA event in York Haven, PA! After waiting nearly 9 years, I was finally presented with my Laurel Scroll during a lovely surprise ceremony in Royal Court. Afterward I took on Jill Walker as an apprentice. It was a memorable event and a great time - the weather was perfect and we spent the weekend sitting in the warm sun by the Goode Cookys booth, making friends and enjoying the activities.

Sadly, I must report that I've been ill since early February, and will have surgery on my neck & mouth on May 24th - wish me luck!

Coming soon: Pennsic War XXXIV, Alabama Renaissance Feast 2005, and more of the usual Gode Stuffe.

What a great year 2004 was for Gode Cookery! It looks like 2005 is shaping up to be just as exciting. But first, an update on what we've been up to since this page's last posting back in August.

In September, Darell & I did a lot of traveling, as Goode Cookys merchants. We attended SCA events in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware, and generally had a great time. The events in WV, MD, & DE were held outdoors and we had a chance to enjoy beautiful early-Autumn weather. A few pictures of us and our merchant booth at these events may be seen at our BOOTH page.

In October, Tammy presented an incredible feast for the Board of Directors of her local library - I was present and was quite impressed, leaving with a full and happy stomach.

Also in October, Darell, Lisa, & I traveled to Florence, Alabama, to present the feast for the Alabama Renaissance Fair. This was our fourth year in a row to do this, and was possibly the best feast so far, in all terms. Our new kitchen (a local elementary school) was a huge improvement over the rented kitchen we had used the past 3 years, we had some incredibly skilled help from local Fair members, the menu was fast & easy and came off without a hitch, and best of all, things went so smoothly that it was almost a boring experience! One of the highlights of the experience for me was appearing on local radio to talk about the menu the day before the feast. The menu for the feast, and other info, is at our Alabama Renaissance Fair website.

In November, Monica, Tammy, & I were busy with a Cook's Collegium hosted by the SCA of Pittsburgh, PA. Tammy & I both taught classes, while Monica prepared the feast, based on recipes from a period Dutch cookbook. Look for the menu at our Latest Feast page.

In December I was swamped with orders for Christmas Goode Cookys! It seems that I didn't stop making, baking, & mailing until just a few days before Xmas. Thank you to all of my Christmas customers who gave me a busy Holiday Season!

Somewhere in the middle of making hundreds of cookies, I found time to do a feast for the Philadelphia, PA, chapter of the SCA. Their Yule Revel was held in the historic Wig & Mask Club, nearly 200 years old and graced with murals by Maxfield Parish. It was a lovely event and a wonderful feast. I was blessed with many excellent helpers, including Jill Walker, Gerald Napa, & John Marshall.

Thank you, 2004, for our Food TV appearance, for selling cookies at Gulf Wars & Pennsic, for many safe travels and new friends (with the promise of more to come), and for the 7th anniversary of the Gode Cookery website.

In 2005 we look forward to another appearance on the Food Network! Taping will take place on Feb. 10 for an episode on the history of birthday cakes. Our Food TV page will keep you updated on this.

In addition to the Food Network, our plans for 2005 include attending Gulf Wars XIV in Mississippi in March (I've already started making the 3000+ cookies needed for this), doing various feasts for the SCA, attending the Pennsic War in August, and traveling once again to Florence, AL, for the Renaissance Fair feast.

I'll keep you informed on all of this - as long as I remember to update this page, that is!

August 25 '04 - Wow! It's been a LONG time since I've updated ths page! Well, that fact only accents how busy it has been with Gode Cookery this year.

In March, Darell & I traveled to Lumberton, MS, for the 13th Annual Gulf Wars, hosted by the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. We were hosted by Lisa Holcomb-Blair and the members of House Dragon Or. It was a great time which left us with many positive, happy memories. We set-up our Goode Cookys booth near the Food Court, met many warm & friendly people, and sold out of all our cookies by the end of the event. We are planning on attending next year's Gulf Wars and bringing many more cookies.

On our drive home from MS, we stopped in Florence, AL, to spend the night with our friends from the Alabama Renaissance Fair, then drove the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway through Tennessee to the town of Adams, home of the legend of the Bell Witch. We made it home by the following evening.

And just in time, too! For the morning immediately after our return from Mississippi, Gode Cookery was taped for appearance on a new Food Network series, called "The Secret Life of..." Details & photographs of that exciting day may be found HERE.

In May, Glenda did her usual superb job in catering the brunch for War Practice, a large SCA event near Pittsburgh, where she annualy feeds thousands of attendees. The rest of us were keeping busy with SCA events, as well. Lisa Holcomb-Blair, our Gode Cook in Mobile, Alabama, catered an Investiture feast for her local SCA chapter in June. I was also in charge of a SCA dinner in June, where I was greatly asissted by Monica, Tammy, & Troy. Troy was in charge of a SCA dinner in July featuring all New World foods, and Tammy did her first solo feast for the SCA at Pennsic 33 in August, where she prepared a Baronial dinner for over 30 guests. Details on these dinners may be found at our Latest Feast website.

In August many of us were camping in a wet, soggy field near Pittsburgh, PA, known affectionately to us as "Pennsic." This is the site of our annual gathering of over 12,000 SCA members for what we call "The Pennsic War." This year was War #33, and was one of the wettest on record. Goode Cookys was present with our period merchant's booth, and we made over 4000 cookies for sale for the event. Despite the weather, we had great success & sold out a day early. Being able to merchant Goode Cookys at Pennsic this year was due to a special arrangement with Cindy Cooper of Cooper's Lake Campground, & Paul Muller of the Beast & Boar Restaurant, whom we'd like to thank publicly.

And now here we are, at the end of August, with many exciting projects ahead of us. In September, Goode Cookys will be attending various SCA events to merchant; in October we travel to our 2nd home in Florence, AL, to cater the feast for the Renaissance Fair. In November mnay of us will be involved with a Cook's Collegium in Pittsburgh, where Cindy Renfrow will be a guest speaker, and in December we cater a Christmas feast in Philadelphia, PA. And we're already looking forward to Gulf Wars XIV in March of 2005!

February 01 '04 - As I haven't had a chance to update this page recently, I'd like to now wish all of you a Happy New Year 2004.

While things are moving slowly at the Gode Cookery website - there haven't been any new updates or recipes for a little while - Gode Cookery itself is keeping busy. All of the Gode Cookery cooks have feasts & dinners planned for this year (read about them HERE), and we've just gotten the word that we've been hired to prepare the 2004 Alabama Renaissance Feast. We've also been named by the Alabama Fair Roundtable as "the premier caterer" for the Fair. Thank you, Roundtable members.

In February, Gode Cookery will once again present a Cuisine & Feasts Exhibit at the Washington (PA) Mall, as a part of a local SCA demo. Last year we had free medieval food samples, and plan on doing the same this year. Washington, PA, is 1/2 hour from downtown Pittsburgh. If you're in the area on Feb. 21, come to the Washington Mall to meet Gode Cookery and try some of our wares.

In March, Darell & I are traveling to Mississippi to attend Gulf Wars XIII, an SCA "war" being held near Lumberton. We've been accepted as merchants for the event, and will be selling Goode Cookys from our authentic 16th c. merchant's booth. See a picture of it HERE.

Tammy Crawford (one of the Gode Cookery cooks) & I are busy working on a printed cookbook featuring updated versions of the recipes found in A Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes. It should be ready by Spring and will be for sale here at the website.

In July, Darell & I (Jim) traveled to Penn State University, in State College, PA. On Saturday the 26th I taught a medieval cooking workshop to students attending a summer-long seminar on the medieval garden, and on the 30th Darell & I prepared a feast based on Chaucer for the students, the menu which may be read HERE. Both the class and the feast went very well, and we're proud to have been a part of PSU's summer medieval institute.

The Pennsic War in August was, as usual, a unique and fun experience. I took on Tammy Crawford as a new apprentice, while Monica Gaudio prepared an excellent vigil feast for Michael Greenstein; Monica made so much food that the leftovers were used the following day for another vigil and were very much appreciated! Goode Cookys were featured at the AEthelmearc encampment; 300 escarbuncles were made and were available to the kingdom's visitors.

Glenda & Tammy did an superb job as the head cooks for the Coronation of the AEthelmearc king, Henri, in September. Tammy was in charge of lunch (her first time being so), and Glenda presented, as usual, an excellent feast. Congratulations and "well done" to both of them. Monica assisted!

In October, Glenda, Tammy, Darell, and I traveled to Florence, AL, to cater the feast for the Alabama Renaissance Fair. We were joined there by our newest Gode Cookery companion, Lisa Holcomb-Blair of Mobile, AL. The feast went very well, and the menu may be read HERE. Lisa was a joy and a pleasure to meet and to work with, and we welcome her to the Gode Cookery crew with open arms! Tammy created an incredible boar's head out of marzipan (freshly made by Glenda) which was one of the highlights of the feast, while I had fun showing off my period underwear to the diners!

A week after the Alabama feast, Darell & I attended the Alabama Renaissance Fair, where we were merchants selling our Goode Cookys. We were proud to have an authentic 16th c. merchant's booth, based on drawings from Daily Life in Holland in the Year 1556 by Rien Poortvliet, and built by Darell's father. For our part, Darell & I were dressed from head-to-toe in authentic clothing from Historic Enterprises. We will share pictures for you as they become available.

I will soon be taking on another apprentice: Troy Lamey, known in the SCA as Lord AEryck Blackheart. Troy is the garde manger chef for the Ice Box, the restaurant located in the coliseum used by the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. Troy also works for the kitchen of Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Troy was recently married on October 31st. Congratulations, Troy; Gode Cookery is honored to have you join our ranks. He will be in charge of a feast held by the SCA of Fayette Co., PA, on July 10th, 2004.

Monica was recently elected seneschale (or president) of the Pittsburgh, PA, chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. We wish her good luck, knowing full well that she will be an excellent seneschale and will lead the Barony-Marche admirably.

Coming up, most of Gode Cookery will be attending Kriskindermart, an SCA event in Pittsburgh on Dec. 6th. In March, Darell & I hope to attend Gulf Wars XIII as Goode Cookys merchants (once again showing off our authentic booth and our nice gams). In April, both Monica & I are involved with a Cooks Collegium, hosted by the SCA of Pittsburgh. In June, I will be head cook for an event hosted by the SCA of Washington & Greene counties, PA.

July 1 '03 - Gode Cookery recently received the news that we've been hired to cater the Alabama Renaissance Fair Feast in October; this is our 3rd year in a row to have this honor. This year's theme is "Illusion Foods;" the menu is nearly ready to be posted here at Gode Cookery. Look for links to it soon in both the Latest Feast section and at the Alabama Renaissance Faire website.

Goode Cookys has changed its name (just the spelling) and has many, many new designs! Please do take a look at our Goode Cookys website sometime.

The Feast for the Second Sylvan Crusade went very well; the menu is HERE. Several Gode Cookery cooks have feasts scheduled in the next several months: Glenda is doing a Coronation feast in September, with Tammy in charge of lunch; Monica is in charge of a vigil party at Pennsic XXXIII and is also assisting with an Investiture feast in October. More info on these dinners may be found at Latest Feast.

April 11 '03 - A Boke of Gode Cookery broke its record for single-day hits today; up until now, our record was 2083 hits on Feb. 14, 2000. A little after 11 AM EDST today, we passed that number, with the prediction of reaching over 4000 hits before the day is over. Many of the hits seem to be happening thanks to the website Computer Tips & Techniques, as we are their Cool Site of the Day for April 11. Thank you, Amanda. Her comments on the site may be found at Gode Cookery Awards and Site Reviews.

February 20 '03 - Gode Cookery has had a busy year so far, with our Gode Cookies selling well at SCA events, an article by the Scripps Howard News Service mentioning the Gode Cookery website, and with several exciting feasts and activities planned for the coming months.

The Alabama Renaissance Faire will soon vote on Gode Cookery being its official caterer; if we are successful in this, then Gode Cookery will be traveling to Alabama again this October, and for several years afterward, to prepare the official feast for the Faire. We are also hoping to have a booth at the Faire itself, to sell Gode Cookies.

In May, the Gode Cookery cooks will be preparing a large feast for the SCA in Butler, PA. This feast will feature courses prepared individually by each of the Gode Cooks.

In August, we will be at Pennsic War XXXII, near Pittsburgh, PA, where we will be hosting our annual Gode Cookery dinner.

We recently manned a display of medieval cuisine at the Washington (PA) Mall, as part of an all-day demo by the local SCA. Samples of blankmanger, salat, & Gode Cookies were given free to the public. Ceramic cookware, various period spices, and feastware were also on display.

As for the the website itself, the Gode Cookery Discussion Group is now up to 260 members & new recipes have recently appeared in 17th Century English Recipes. The website now has over 2000 pages and is generating approx. 3.5 million hits a month.

January 2 '03 - I hope that everyone reading this had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year. May all of your feasts in 2003 be rich with good food, beloved friends, and treasured memories.

November 20 '02 - This month, Gode Cookery celebrated its fifth anniversary on the Internet. Thank you for five wonderful years!

My father, Joseph Matterer, celebrated his birthday this month as well. Dad turned 79 on the 19th. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Gode Cookery traveled to Alabama in October to cater the feast for the Alabama Renaissance Faire, held on October 19th. It was a very successful endeavor, and we have been told that the food was very well received. Information on the feast may be found on our website Alabama Renaissance Faire. We've just been recently told that the Roundtable Committee, which governs the feast & the faire, is preparing to vote to name us the official caterer for the feast, which means that this would become a regular, annual event for Gode Cookery. Thank you, Roundtable members.

We're also planning on attending next year's Faire (which we haven't done yet, as the feast is held on the weekend before the Faire) in order to sell Gode Cookies.

Speaking of which, Gode Cookies is becoming very successful, I'm quite pleased to report. We have several new molds and have been making literally hundreds of cookies a month for the SCA & others. Please see our website for more info on what Gode Cookies is up to.

September 30 '02 - GODE COOKIES from GODE COOKERY. James is pleased to announce that his molded wafers, which have proven to be extraordinarily popular at feasts, are now for sale. They will currently be made available at various SCA events and in the very near future through mail-order.

Our designs feature:
Fleur-de-lis: small & delicate.
Gloved Hand: small glove with outstretched palm, accented with 3 roses.
Unicorn: bust of a unicorn rampant, in square or round design.
Prosphoron: early Greek Orthodox Holy Communion wafer, very large, decorated with Christian symbolism and the Greek letters IC XC NIKA.
Leaping Stag: small, round design shows a stag leaping over a hedge; very detailed with a leafy border.
Faceted Diamond: large, beautiful design, with sharp facets edged with a leafy border.

Many more designs and images will soon be available, as we expand our collection of historical cookie molds.

Our cookies are made from eggs, sugar, & flour, along with your choice of a variety of spices & flavorings, including rose water & orange blossom water. They may be gilded with edible real gold at the customer's request for additional cost.

Gode Cookies have been used at weddings, SCA events, & the Alabama Renaissance Faire.

For more information, prices, etc., contact us at: godecookies@godecookery.com

August 21 '02 - Gode Cookery announces a new way to help support this site! By donating to Gode Cookery via PayPal, you will help us pay for the more than 1900 pages that currently comprise the Gode Cookery domain.

Gode Cookery is, and always will be, a free website; however, to remain free and continually available to the nearly 75,000 people that visit us each month, we need your help!

Simply click the PayPal button found on the navigation bar or under the HOW TO SUPPORT THIS SITE area to donate.

August 19 '02 - Gode Cookery welcomes as its newest member Patrick Allan Salansky, who will soon be apprenticed to James. Welcome, Patrick!

August 1 '02 - well, it's been a busy month for me! As of August 1st, I will be completely moved from my apartment in West Virginia to a beautiful old farmhouse in western Pennsylvania. Whew! I'm now looking forward to my vacation, the 31st Pennsic War (SCA), held near Pittsburgh. I'll be attending Pennsic from the 8th through the 16th, and will update the site upon my return. See you then!

May 27 '02 - another NEW website! (Where do they keep coming from?) A Renaissance Cookery Book features recipes from A Propre new booke of Cokery, 1545.

Glenda & I recently catered the brunch for an SCA event near Pittsburgh, PA. Glenda was in charge of the affair which consisted of day-long brunches on Saturday & Sunday for 1200 people camping at Cooper's Lake, the site of the famous SCA gathering known as the Pennsic Wars. The weather was extraordinarily cold for May: down into the 20's (ºF) at night and in the 50's & 60's during the day. This was exacerbated by nearly continual rain on Friday, the first day of the event, and literally no sunshine the following two days. I began to experience what felt like a sunburn on my nose; this turned out to be the minor effects of exposure to the cold. The original cold brunch turned quickly into a smorgasbord of hot beverages, soup, & porridge that started at 6 am on Saturday, lasted until 11:30 that night, and began again 6 am Sunday morning. Believe it or not, it was a lot of fun.

May 23 '02 - Gode Cookery is now the official caterer for the Feast for the Alabama Renaissance Faire, 2002, to be held on October 19th. Thank you, Roundtable members, for choosing Gode Cookery for the second year in a row.

April 22 '02 - it's been a busy Gode Cookery month! Rudd Rayfield has contributed a new menu, Servise on a Fisshe Day with accompanying recipes.

A new site: Alabama Renaissance Faire 2001. This is the online version of the feast booklet that was presented by Gode Cookery at the feast, with several new recipes.

I've been working on and off for a year now on a new translation of MS Pepys 1047, a medieval collection of recipes & medical remedies that was found in Samuel Pepys library after his death. I hope to have this eventually published; in the meantime, you can check out my progress in the online version of this new translation, called Gentyll manly Cokere. The Culinary Recipes from MS Pepys 1047.

Jane Williams has contributed a SCA feast menu for which she was the cook, from an event held in England; Yonnie Travis has also contributed the menu from a recent Roman feast she prepared. I hope to have these up and running soon.

All members of the Gode Cookery Discussion Group who will be attending Pennsic XXXI (SCA) at Cooper's Lake, Pennsylvania, in August are invited to a Gode Cookery Party at the campground of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands. The party will be hosted by Gode Cookery and will feature food & music. Members who will attend may bring a period food item or dish to contribute or show off, and are encouraged to bring their favorite beverage. The tentative date and time is Tuesday, August 13th, from 6-9 pm. If you're not a member of the Gode Cookery Discussion group, now is the time to join!

March 26 '02 - the re-design that began last month is nearly complete, with just a few sites and pages left to go.

Because of the design work I've been doing on the site, I've had little time to do anything else! However, two new menus along with accompanying recipes have been contributed, and Rudd Rayfield has also sent in a new recipe as well. These will be added shortly, along with a few new recipes from the Alabama Ren Feast.

Feb. 18 '02 - the Boke of Gode Cookery site is quietly going through a re-design, which should take approx. a week or so. I hope all of you are pleased with the new look and style - I especially enjoy the new navigation bar on the left.

Feb 14 '02 - It has been a busy month so far, with lots of recipes and other items newly included in the past few weeks. Since Jan 21 we have added:

Over the next few months, we will slowly begin to translate the site from Netscape Editor to Dream Weaver. There will no danger of sites going down or being unavailable during this time. I look forward to being able to edit the approx. 1500 pages in Gode Cookery in a much faster, efficient way!

Jan 21 '02 - Another new site: The Kitchen of Mirth, where you can read period humorous tales of food & kitchens. An excerpt:

"....Master Gent suspecting no harme, went thither in the darke, and set himselfe in the Posset, which hee found so scalding, that hee cried out Helpe, helpe, the devil's in the Privie..."

How to Cook Medieval has been updated with some new information on Beverages & Nuts.

Jan 17 '02 - Gode Cookery is putting in the bid to cater the 2002 Alabama Renaissance Faire Feast, October 19th, in Florence, Alabama. We catered last year's Feast and are looking forward to the possibility of being there again this year. You may read the proposed menu at Gode Cookery's Latest Feast. This year, we plan on doing a soltetie described in Le Viandier de Taillevent, in which a tower, defended by a group of wild men of the woods, is attacked by Christian Knights. The victors claim a chest filled with wafers molded into a Last Supper scene, which are then passed out to the diners.

Jan 13 '02 - BRAND NEW to Gode Cookery is 17th Century English Recipes, our home for all post-medieval & post- Renaissance English cookery! This site is so new that it will be changing quite frequently over the next several days, with new recipes being added at a rapid pace, so please check it often in the coming week.

A Feast For The Eyes has been completely revised with all pictures now separated by subject. Several reviews of Gode Cookery (seen on our Reviews page) have pointed out the need for the images in this site to be arranged by category, and so all the existing nine galleries were rearranged into nine new groups: Animal & Agriculture; Brewing & Drinking; Dining & Eating; Feasts & Feasting; Foods & Foodstuffs; Hunting & Fishing; Kitchens, Cooking, & Equipment; Markets; and A Canterbury Calendar. I hope this will prove to be a much easier and efficient way to look for and view the pictures here. I've already found it useful for my own personal perusing and I think you will, too.

Jan 10 '02 - Happy New Year 2002! And it is a happy New Year for me, knowing that Gode Cookery is online and running smoothly once again. If I haven't said this enough already, I was very blessed with how this horrible situation was rectified. May cybersquatters throughout the world be cursed for the misery they create!

Master Huen's Latest Feast has been upgraded and is now called Gode Cookery's Latest Feast. This page has a bunch of neat stuff, including 2 new PDF files related to the Alabama Ren Fair Feast and pictures of different Gode Cookery events. You will also be able to read about upcoming events being catered by members of the Gode Cookery crew.