Ren Faire Food an Uncreative Anachronism

Published on Thursday, May 13, 2010, by Joyce Slaton / Edit Post

Spring ushers in a period where Renaissance Faires are held all over the country, attracting clever nerds who like to dress in linen costumes, say "prithee" a lot, and gnaw on giant turkey legs. But is the festival food served at Ren Faires a decent representation of Elizabethan cooking?

Of course not! The Elizabethan English period generally celebrated at Ren Faires lasted from 1558 to 1602, the tail end of the Medieval period. Then, poor people ate bread, fish, cheese, and vegetables like turnips, carrots, and radishes. Rich people ate meat, and lots of it: venison, beef, pork, lamb. They also liked fruit like apples, plums, and pears, and fancy desserts with honey and syrups. You try finding any of that stuff at Ren Faire amongst the pizza and gelato stands.

However, those giant turkey legs do pass muster. Turkeys, a new-world food, became popular in the 1500s in Europe, after Spanish conquistadors came back with specimens from the Aztecs. They became a luxury item for the rich, and since eating with one's hands was the style of the day (forks didn't come into vogue for centuries), feasting swells might just pick up a turkey leg and gnaw away.

But there's a real Ren Faire shortage of weird Elizabethan recipes like the pie with live birds inside or boiled peacocks. Do not stand for it, Ren Faire fans. Demand your fartes of portingale!

Image source: Flickr member puroticorico under Creative Commons

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  • The recipe link in the article isn't exactly the best resource of period foods either. There are plenty of documented recipes that have more appealing ingredient combinations.
    The MN Rennfaire used to have open air food vendors, you could watch them roast etc. whatever they were selling, mostly turkey legs and roast corn. Today they have a modern commercial kitchen. They hand food through a...+READ

    The recipe link in the article isn't exactly the best resource of period foods either. There are plenty of documented recipes that have more appealing ingredient combinations.
    The MN Rennfaire used to have open air food vendors, you could watch them roast etc. whatever they were selling, mostly turkey legs and roast corn. Today they have a modern commercial kitchen. They hand food through a window to a front counter roughly disguised to look less modern. It is really sad to see. Even most of the food stands are owned and run by whatever food service company they have contracted with.
    Instead of evolving and improving the food aspect of most Rennfaire's the owners have phoned it in and just used modern food service.-COLLAPSE

  • To expand on Akitist, "The Elizabethan English period celebrated at Ren Faires lasted from 1558 to 1602" was, as the name explicitly states, the Renaissance, a period in and of itself, not "the tail end of the Medieval period."

  • Sorry, the Rennaissance started quite a bit earlier, even in England. Early 16th century (that's the 1500s) through the early 17th. Earlier in Italy. The printing press and widespread literacy were not features of the Middle (Dark) Ages.

    Which has little to do with the food at RenFaires, of course. But I think it might be a struggle to sell much authentic Elizabethan fare at the Faire.

  • HEAR HEAR!