This was the first cookbook produced in the Middle Kingdom as a fundraising activity. Like many individuals who were active members of the SCA during the first twenty-five years of its existence, Duchess Caellyn is now "just" a name in the Middle Kingdom records. However, she holds a special place in my memory because she was family's "First Queen." I'm not sure of her physical appearance anymore, but my mind's eye remembers a woman with great presence and even more impressive knowledge. She knew many things, but her greatest contribution was in the Kingdom's kitchens.

The intent of this cookbook was to provide an introduction to medieval cooking, something that was not very well-known at the time it was compiled. I know this may seem odd now. We have become so used to eating food prepared by period custom, with period seasonings. But in the 1980s, the SCA was still transitioning from a group rooted in fantasy into a place where people seriously

However, it was also an excellent place to begin an acculturation of one's palate, because many of the tastes the pleased the tongues of people in the Middle Ages and Renaissance are quite alien to those who live in 20th century America. There, I'm not sure what place this little book has in the SCA of the 21st century.

I think that the article at the beginning of the book still has much good advice for beginning autocrats and cooks. Organization of events and feasts hasn't changed much over the years. And a great many of these recipes are excellent. However, some of the sources are not incredibly period. I mean, how many of us still resort to these days?

Still, I love this little book, and it will continue to have a place in my kitchen, even if it doesn't come into my feast hall. ( )