After a few years of inactivity, the Order of the Spoon is back in action! At Feast of the Leviathan XXVI, multiple feastocrats were recognized for their contributions to feasts in the Realms with customized painted spoons. We reached out to those feastocrats and asked them to tell the Realms about themselves and their feasting careers, 10 Questions style! This is Many Questions with Feastocrats!
Tell us about your background, education, or professional experience in cooking. How long have you been cooking for, and what got you interested in cooking?
Meg/Kyomi: I’ve been doing some form of cooking for a looong time. When I was really little, I’d make boxed cake mixes with my aunts who lived next door. I’d play over their house a lot, especially during the summer and weekends to give my parents a break. When I got a little older, my mom had me entering the county fair baking contests. Everyone got a published recipe for juniors and adults. You entered your recipe at a town fair and if you won that, you got invited to compete at the state level. I won the junior division of the state competition when I was about 12. As an adult, it became a matter of necessity. My partner or roommate usually got home from work later than me, so I was usually the one who prepared dinner. Now that I’m married with a family with specific dietary needs, I take it as a mission to make sure my family is fed and kept healthy.
Lani/Gwen: Surprisingly I didn’t have much experience with cooking growing up. I did have a lot of experience with prepping for meals as a kid, as my grandfather had an extensive vegetable garden and as the youngest, I spent a lot of my childhood snipping beans, shelling peas, peeling potatoes and so on. I was lucky enough to catch just about every run and rerun of Alton Brown's “Good Eats” so that was pretty pivotal to my understanding of why things work the way they do in the kitchen, and he is still a go-to for me as a point of reference. His best advice was always, “Your patience will be rewarded!” so I can be a little meticulous about methodology, especially for more challenging dishes. During my college years, I worked in the kitchens at UConn, but that was in many ways more focused on customer service and clean-up, but it did expose me to how things were done in a large scale operation and I learned a lot from the full-timers that were always willing to share what they were doing and let me help if time allowed. Most of my experience has come from a lot of early failures in my own home kitchen, and somehow over time I’ve just built up a repertoire of skills and dishes that I am pretty proud of. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize that I also learned a whole lot from other feastocrats by helping in kitchens and asking a lot of questions. We have a pretty strong community of experts who are always willing to brainstorm, offer advice, and the more kitchens you work in, the more different perspectives you gain.
Kim/Mayumi: Some of my earlier memories are of helping my nana in the kitchen - shelling peas and cutting biscuits. At my first larp event, I brought along a pack full of home made snacks - including hard tack and beef jerky.
Jen/Areni: I don’t have any formal training or background in cooking, or any professional experience with it. It’s really more of a hobby for me.
Who is your inspiration?
Meg/Kyomi: My grandmother. My cooking style is a lot like hers. She was skilled enough that she’d temper and adjust recipes and would measure more on “pinches and handfuls” rather than teaspoons and cups. I still have her mixing bowls, though their bright pyrex color has faded over time.
Jen/Areni: As cliche as it may sound, my inspirations are really Jason (Aeston) and Lani (Gwen). They’re so good at turning random ideas into a cohesive menu and executing those menus on a large scale. I really feel like we inspire each other to push the envelope on the feasts and other food-inclusive events that we throw.
Who brought you into the Order? How long have you been in the Order and what rank do you hold currently?
Kim/Mayumi: I reached out to members of the Order at Feast of Chim 27.5, and was both announced and given my spoon at Leviathan this year.
Jen/Areni: I was brought into the Order at Feast of Leviathan this year (2025) at the rank of Master. It was quite a surprise for me, I was not expecting it at all. In fact, I think I was in the kitchen when the Order was presenting and had to be called out to go up to the front of the hall.
If you have named a Feast (or taken over one), what is/was it? If you have not, what will it be?
Meg/Kyomi: I have been feastocrat for Clontarf shuffle for going on 4 years now. Although not exactly a “feast”, we advertise snacks. “Snacks” last year included a leg of lamb with all the sides as well as a hot buffet food room starting as site opened that included grilled cheese, meatballs, soups, and more.
Lani/Gwen: Over a decade ago, Aeston and I were working on an unrelated project and he challenged me to “pick a niche” to focus on in Realms. Despite the fact that I was still making hamburger helper by throwing a frozen tube of meat in a pan and had very little in the way of practical experience in the kitchen, I decided that feasts were for me. I’m still not quite sure how it happened, but he convinced me to be in charge of Leviathan shortly thereafter and the first feast I ever threw was Feast of the Leviathan XV back in 2013 which was a traditional 7 course meal, and if I recall, was fully plated, which was a big undertaking.
How would you describe your overall cooking style?
Meg/Kyomi: I’ve been told that my main style is “classic americana” though Steven Matulewicz calls me a “gastronomical alchemist”. When I ask him to help with food prep and he asks how long to cook something, my frequent answer is “Cook it until it’s ready”. I sometimes go for straightforward seasonings and simply prepared meats and veggies, to some really weird explorations. Last year, I found that I could make a paleo-friendly zucchini flour to substitute for traditional white flour to make our baked goods healthier. This year, I’m trying Jerusalem artichokes in the garden. I’m always willing to try new things.
Lani/Gwen: I would say that “simple food done right” has been a motto of mine for years. If I can make something by scratch, I always try too. That being said, as time has gone on, I’ve had to make smarter decisions about where to put my energy in order to ensure that I can continue to create a worthy experience for our guests without burning out.
Kim/Mayumi: So far, I’ve done my best to prioritize Immersion and Allergen/restriction awareness. This means a lot of from-scratch, simple comfort foods for the war events, and more complicated dishes with a historical flair when I’ve been cooking in a proper castle.
Jen/Areni: I am not as intuitive as some, say like Jason or Kelly B - I wish that I could just throw stuff together and have it taste amazing. I am more of a recipe-follower, though I have learned more intuition over the years. I like simple, traditional food, comfort food, and quick bites. And I love to bake.
Do you have a signature dish or specialty?
Meg/Kyomi: When entertaining, I love a good roast. Hopefully people got to try the roast leg of lamb or prime rib roast at Winter Revelry. If not, you should.
Lani/Gwen: My favorite dish to make (and you’ve probably seen it incorporated in a variety of ways throughout the years) is Jones Family Macaroni and Cheese. It’s really quite different from a creamy mac and cheese, and it’s my go-to pot luck dish. It was also featured in a fried mac and cheese bites app a few years ago. That’s what my dad made for me anytime I was having a rough day, or if there was something to celebrate, and its nostalgia and place in my personal history makes it my signature dish. A runner-up would be Rhiassa’s famous chicken pot pie which has been featured in various forms throughout the years. My favorite year was when Mary Rosa (Jason’s mother) and I made 20+ pot pies for dinner, including making each and every pie crust from scratch.
Kim/Mayumi: Not yet, I don’t think. Though the chicken legs at Blue Town Rush had some rave reviews.
Jen/Areni: I am known in my family for the desserts that I bake, though there is some stiff competition in the Realms on that front. I did win the Black and White Dessert Competition one year with a cannoli pie - it was fun to make!
Can you share an example of a challenging situation in the kitchen and how you resolved it?
Meg/Kyomi: My first time running Clontarf, the kitchen was almost unusable. It was right after COVID. Everything in the kitchen was dirty and covered with mouse….evidence. There was 1 small electric oven and 1 sink where if you wanted hot water, you had to turn on an ancient boiler. I was advised that the kitchen was small and had uncertain utensils. Midway through the event, the plumbing failed and people needed to leave site to use the bathroom.
How I handled it???? PRE EVENT PREP. I had brownies and cookies for dessert already wrapped. Crock pots were used for hot dishes. We had a foreman grill for grilled cheese. What did need to go into the oven did so after I ran the self clean mode and still had it covered mostly with foil, and I washed and wiped every horizontal surface in that space.
Lani/Gwen: One thing you’ll realize quickly when you throw a feast is that, no matter how much you plan, something will in fact go wrong each and every time, so it’s not a question of if, but what, will be the challenge of the year. Probably my favorite story would be the year that the turkey legs wouldn’t fry because they were way bigger than the test batch had been and we ran out of oven and fryer space to get all 180 legs cooking for the first course. We ended up having to boil pots of water on every available stove top and then finish them in the convection oven to crisp them up. They turned out great, but boy oh boy, was that scary while it was happening.
What can’t you live without in a kitchen?
Meg/Kyomi: Well, an oven….definitely an oven…and we’ve had some close calls. At Winter Revelry, we went from 3 ovens and 2 ranges in the kitchen to 1 oven with 1 working range…oh and the walk in fridge died right before the event. Luckily, it was December.
Kim/Mayumi: Honestly, my core staff: I need someone to carry, someone to wash, someone to prep, someone to cook, and a cleanup fae who follows the prep and cook around to keep the mess from piling up.
Jen/Areni: In a Realms kitchen, I can’t live without my feast box, which was gifted to me by Dave Hayden many years ago during the Yule Swap at an Uncle Cecil’s. He took a fledgling “Hey, wouldn't it be great if…” idea that I randomly tossed out and turned it into an amazing item that I treasure to this day. I mentioned previously that feastocrats try to look at/ ask about what’s stocked in the kitchen when choosing a site. But it’s not always easy to get accurate information, and surprises still happen. When I bring my feast box, I know that I will always have the essentials on site - a nice set of knives, a complete set of measuring cups and spoons, a food thermometer, and an electric hand mixer, among other things. It was such a hit that one was made for Lani and Kelly B as well. I am so grateful to Dave every time I bring it to an event and it saves my butt in the kitchen, and it helps me to remember him as well - it feels like his spirit lives on in the game through the things that he made, and in this case, my feast box is a gift that always keeps giving, both physically and emotionally.
Tell us about your first feast, and your most recent feast.
Meg/Kyomi: My first feast was Dead Man’s Party at Ye Olde Commons. That was at least 15 years ago. We did food that looked like something else. We had “spiders” that were mashed potatoes filled with ground beef in a sauce and bread stick legs and “smashed frogs” that were green rice crispy frogs with strawberry jam. A favorite memory of that is when Becky Baron was serving the frog to someone, part of the presentation was to whack it with a rolling pin. They missed, the frog went flying because they hit the edge of the paper plate, then Becky whacked the frog several more times on the table surface.
The most recent was Winter Revelry. That all started when Steven and I were looking at each other and went….”I don’t think Uncle Cecil’s is happening again. We should throw something because I want a Realms holiday party.” Then Steven was able to book Ye Olde Commons and a Saturday afternoon event exploded into something else entirely.
Kim/Mayumi: My first time in a kitchen was my first Cecils - I learned a lot just by watching and keeping the dayboard stocked from the pantry. Most important lesson was One Thing At A Time! One person trying to juggle too many tasks just leads to disaster - like a full tub of honey butter upturned on the floor. My most recent kitchen adventure was Blue Town Rush last summer - and it was a blast coming up with a menu that was accessible to everyone AND still felt like the spread an outpost could put on.
Jen/Areni: I’m pretty sure my first feast was Leviathan 6 - it’s hard to remember back that far lol, but that’s the first patch on my servant sash and the first feast I really remember so I’m going with it. I remember being in the kitchen and being really timid at first because everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing and seemed to be doing it so efficiently. I was a newbie at the time, and just trying really hard not to mess anything up. My most recent feast was Leviathan 26 so, yeah - 20 years of Leviathan in between. Sometimes it's hard to believe where I started (newbie, anxious, not knowing anything, barely helpful) versus where I am now (oldbie, still a little anxious, knowing a few more things, helping to execute) - I feel like I’ve really come a long way since then, and so has Leviathan and the Summer Festival.
What is your dream menu for a feast?
Meg/Kyomi: I want to make sure everyone can eat, especially people who usually can’t and grumpily leave the event to go stop at a fast food joint on the way home. Having to accommodate Steven’s dietary needs has given me plenty of perspective on the importance of making sure everyone has food.
Lani/Gwen: Someday I’d love to do a Hot Pot feast where throughout the day you are adding to the broth at your table so that it builds into an epic main course, but that would take a lot of infrastructure and it would also impact the flow of the events throughout the day, so I think that one is a few years off in the future.
Kim/Mayumi: A full 3-remove, old style feast with full Overkill Service, where every course has full allergen/food restriction coverage. I’ve been filling my cookbook for a couple years now.
Tell us about your favorite experience in the kitchen.
Meg/Kyomi: I would say when I took the Diamonds into the kitchen at Winter Revelry and Karen was able to happily fill her plate. She trusts that I can feed her and her family.
Lani/Gwen: I would say that clean-up is actually a time that I relish because it's really great to have so many friends working together to put the last and most important touch on the feast-leaving the hall better than when you found it. I love to have a great playlist going in my kitchen and there was a year where we branded ourselves “The Squeegees” and were really jamming out while cleaning up the back of the house. Despite being physically and mentally exhausted, that was a really fun night and I love the camaraderie that comes out as everyone works to bring the event to a close.
Kim/Mayumi: Probably Blue Camp Rush - Ryan W. and the Cerulean Company were amazing to work with. Ryan knew what he wanted to happen, communicated clearly, listened to what I offered was possible, and was able to pivot or compromise quickly and decisively as things changed. I also had exactly the team I needed kitchenside - my core crew, plus plenty of offered help during downtime and cleanup. Designing the menu to support event immersion, dietary restrictions, budget, and the constraints of the site kitchen was a fun challenge for me, too.
Jen/Areni: Really my favorite part of any kitchen is the camaraderie between everyone who is working together. Good attitudes make good kitchens - even if something is going wrong or you’re behind schedule and pushing to get food out, trusting in and having a good relationship with everyone in the kitchen with you goes a long way towards making sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. You tend to see the same faces amongst different Realms kitchens, and I love working together with friends to execute a vision (whether mine or another feastocrat’s) and give good people some good food.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Meg/Kyomi: Still doing what I’m doing, teaching middle school, doing Realms, and taking care of my family.
Kim/Mayumi: I’ll have gotten my health under control, get to set up the Snack Shack at a couple of tourneys every year plus at Drachenfest US, be able to run a quest/war kitchen once a year or so, and hopefully be on year 2 or 3 of my own feast. I’m on track to have it all!
Jen/Areni: Probably still in the kitchen at Leviathan :)
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice about cooking, what would it be?
Meg/Kyomi: Parchment paper helps with cleanup and overdone bottoms. Just use the disposable pans when prepping for an event. Don’t try to make bread for an event from scratch. Just buy the giant Italian loaves.
Kim/Mayumi: Just, there’s a lot more math and budgeting involved in running than you think. Step up, do the research, and be honest with your mentors about what you know, think, and can’t figure out.
Lani/Gwen:
You don’t need 100 lbs of honey to make cranberry sauce, even if Alton Brown says so.
Always wear gloves when chopping fresh jalapenos.
Make sure you make a packing list for the food that is supposed to go with you to the feast because you won’t have time to go rescue it if you forget.
Thaw everything frozen first thing when you show up at a feast--it will take longer than you think.
Check your ovens first--get everything on and hot as soon as you show up.
Bring your leftover ingredients--they are helpful in case you need to pivot or doctor something up.
Take a minute to go say hi and watch people enjoying your food--it’s okay to take a break and grab a snack if you need to.
