I have big tubs of my own serving gear, picked up as opportunity allows. I buy enough of any one thing to support a kingdom event of 200 people.

I do try to buy things that will stack and travel well, but it doesn’t always work. I like to get serving gear that has some beauty and is *reasonably* medieval.

Polit has taken a different approach and has sets of completely generic stainless steel bowls and plates. They store efficiently, travel well, are easy to wash, and cost-effective. But I think a bit soulless.

UTILITY BOXES

If you’re running feasts regularly, you want a dedicated box of kitchen gear that you can take with you. I did this really well when in Torlyon, when we ran huge feasts nearly every month, but in Okewaite things have been less well organised. Alternatively, make a spreadsheet that you check off for each event.

Definitely include a can-opener and stacks of teatowels.

When in Torlyon, my kitchen box included a couple of dishes that could be added in to pad out any feast — in the olden days, few people booked for events so we were often surprised by last-minute attendees. For years, I carried around a box of carob powder, some rice and some sugar, knowing I could quickly produce a dish of carob rice as an emergency measure. I think we used it once!