Hello, in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) I am known as Steffan of the Close.  I am a member of the household of Sable Millrind, residing within the Barony of Tyr Ysgithr in the south lands of the Kingdom of Atenveldt.  My homeland is the Isle of Mann which is a small island in the Irish Sea off the coast of Whales.  I was born in the year of our Lord, 1247.  My parents, who worked hard all of their lives, to provide for their family, are of Viking descent going back a couple of centuries when the Vikings conquered and began their rule of Mann.  My parents named me Steffan with my real surname being McAuley.  But that was a long time ago.  When my father died, I inherited his property, a farm commonly referred to as "The Close."  When I left Mann some years back, leaving the farm to my brother, everyone just referred to me as Steffan y Close. 

During my many travels, I have learned something of several different trades, most of which have to do with the maintenance of an army in the field.  I have tried my hand at working leather into armor and have become a fair armorer.  Mostly though, I do armor repairs.  I have been a soldier, though I am afraid that my commanders would probably have preferred to leave me in camp.  Because my soldiering was not so hot, I found that my most useful ability was that of keeping the army fed (I owe this ability to my dear Mother who took the pains to teach me these skills during the years when I was too young to be of much help to my Father on the farm).  In keeping the army fed in the field, I managed to build something of a reputation. 

One day while the Baron and his Knights were engaged in battle, we were attacked from the rear by a small scouting party which had been cut off from their main force.  Believing that we would be easy pickings, they attacked.  Little did they know, that the Baron insisted that everyone, who went into the field with him, have some basic skills with the sword or spear.  When the alarm was raised, everyone looked to me for guidance, since I was the only one who had ever been in battle before.  We held our ground, and I am happy to say that the scouting party never reached its main force, but the cost was great.  One of the first to fall was the Baron's personal camp cook.  When the battle was over, more than half of us were either dead or severely wounded.  Again the group looked to me for guidance. 

After putting most of the camp to tending to the wounded and dead, and knowing the the fighting for the day would soon be over, I set about making a meal big enough to feed the entire force (fortunately, most of our supplies were spared). When the army finally returned to camp, they returned to a feast of hot bread, and cheese, roasted fowl and venison, and whatever else I could dream up with such short notice. That night, many commented that they had never eaten so well in the field.  I must have fed them well, for the next morning they seemed to have a renewed strength and vigor and went on to defeat the enemy in short order. 

After returning from battle, the Baron called me to court and in the name of the king, presented me with an award of arms and the title of lord.  Although there were no lands or holdings, the Baron named me as his new aid decamp and personal cook.  This was plenty for me, for I am not quite sure how this simple farm boy could manage an estate.  Now, everyone just calls me the fighting cook.  When a device was chosen for me, the heralds devised it from all of the pieces of who I am.  The triskellion to represent my native Mann, the pots and the spoons as symbols of my cooking skills and the armor to imply that I performed some sort of heroics on the field of battle.  I have never quite understood that last part, but, who am I to quibble with the royal heralds.  It makes me think of myself as being the one who is always stirring the pot.  Thus, if you ever hear the cry, "LEBETES SOLLICITO", you'd better get out of the way, because trouble is coming and I am probably in the middle of it all.

 There are many aspects to the SCA, of which no one person could do them all, but many try.  At many events, you will find me behind a cooking pot or two, outdoor cooking being one of the passions in my life.  I strive hard to not only to cook using medieval foods and recipes, but to do so using medieval cooking techniques.  Its one thing to take a recipe that someone else has interpreted and put into modern terms, its quite another to take the food stuffs and spices used in medieval times and create a unique medieval dish worthy of serving to the King.  In my opinion, you can't achieve a true medieval meal if you don't prepare it in the same fashion (i.e. using the same type of cooking methods and utensils ).  I live by the philosophy of "feed the people well and never let them leave the table still feeling hungry".  That means the food has to be good and there has to be plenty of it, along with having enough variety to satisfy everyone who sits at the table.  (Not an easy thing to do in these modern times with modern pallets.)  As with most good cooks, there is nothing more satisfying than to watch people enjoy the food you have prepared, including the dishes that they wouldn't normally eat.  What a kick it is , to have someone say to you afterwards, "I didn't know turnips could taste so good."

In addition to cooking: I am learning how to make armor and also do some fighting.  I will probably never be knighted as a result of my fighting skills, but it is still a lot of fun.  I do leather work and am in the process of building a cedar lined, leather covered feast gear box, large enough to hold all of my personal feast gear as well as some serving platters and anything else needed to make a feast table look really nice.  Right now it is in the leather carving pattern design stage.  I still have a long ways to go.  I am also learning how to sew and make my own garb and garb for my daughters.  This to is a slow process, but I get better with each seam I stitch.

Along with all of the above, I am currently serving as the Baronial Keeper of the Regalia, or in mundane terms, the quarter master.  It is my responsibility to know where all of the assets belonging to the barony are as well as doing the legwork when new assets are needed.