Chacteristic foods of your campaigns?

[johndallman]

I run a fantasy city police campaign a couple of times a year, in a not-too-serious manner, for murder mysteries. I noticed that it has a couple of characteristic foods - bacon sandwiches and take-away pies - which aren't surprising for street-level policing, although the latest murder victim's pie-buying habits did supply a clue.

A THS campaign I played also had characteristic cuisine - the newest Chinese restaurant in town, whatever it served - but that was a PC's hobby.

Do your campaigns have characteristic food?

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Do your campaigns have characteristic food?

Not as in the players are aware of them, but I have made up some gourmet food items for a few of the planets in my Traveller universe. Copperfish garum, porker hams, nutberry brandy, etc..

In real life, Danish police don't eat doughnuts, they eat citronmåner, lemon moons -- pound cakes in the shape of a half moon with lemon-flavored glacing. (Not very relevant, but it just sprang to mind when I read your post).


Hans

[Hemlock]

Chilled Monkey Brains ?

Like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ?

[Agemegos]

Rice and garum were characteristic in Gehennum. I ran one campaign that turned into a quest to find and recruit the best cook in the kingdom in each of seven specialities, so that the PCs could open a restaurant in Korfyra.

In Flat Black a lot of people eat synthetic food, assembled by 3D printing using materials derived from yeasts, algae, and tissue cultures. Many of them consider it disgusting and immoral to eat [recognisable] multicellular organisms, which they consider to be "alive" in some way that unicellular organisms and cells in culture are not. Since the 3D printers are versatile there is little cause for everyone at a meal together to eat the same things, and restaurants and refectories all have the same menu of millions of different dishes and variations.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

... restaurants and refectories all have the same menu of millions of different dishes and variations.

Presumably food design is a profession for some, and a hobby for many?

And presumably, Marines have to be trained in surviving on plants and animals?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Presumably food design is a profession for some, and a hobby for many?

Exactly so. With grouches grumbling that there are already millions of dishes representing the finest cuisine of eight centuries and hundreds of planets on the infoweb, so why would you bother. And moaning about hosts who serve their own or other amateur dishes at gourmetry parties instead of just letting everyone have what they want.

And presumably, Marines have to be trained in surviving on plants and animals?

Yep. A standard training exercise is to be dumped in wilderness and to have to hunt, gather, and prepare food for the duration. It's not especially practical training, because Imperial Marines aren't really field troops, and some critics of the Empire say that it is done to harden marines to killing, to make them callous and ferocious.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

"Printed food is never as good as real food" -- Snobby McFoodsnob.


Hans

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Rice and garum were characteristic in Gehennum. I ran one campaign that turned into a quest to find and recruit the best cook in the kingdom in each of seven specialities, so that the PCs could open a restaurant in Korfyra.

In Flat Black a lot of people eat synthetic food, assembled by 3D printing using materials derived from yeasts, algae, and tissue cultures. Many of them consider it disgusting and immoral to eat [recognisable] multicellular organisms, which they consider to be "alive" in some way that unicellular organisms and cells in culture are not. Since the 3D printers are versatile there is little cause for everyone at a meal together to eat the same things, and restaurants and refectories all have the same menu of millions of different dishes and variations.

Plus I would imagine that a cultural tendency towards synthetic foods is useful when faced with a variety of planets with non-compatible biotae.

My nearest effort to making up food was to fit out a near-future Britain with three leading fast food chains: Tiffin Wallah - basically Indian style street food somewhat adapted for the UK pallet (originating, somewhat predictably, on Birmingham), John Bull's - your premium source of pasties, burgers and similar European stuff (they also had a chain of steakhouses and carverys) and Noodle-Go which was mainly Oriental-fusion.

[jason taylor]

Flavored nuts, hare, fish, wine, coffee, tea, mixed drinks, iced sherbets, mead I can go on with details.

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Plus I would imagine that a cultural tendency towards synthetic foods is useful when faced with a variety of planets with non-compatible biotae.

I see synthetic food as being cheaper than "real" food, but also less popular. In my SF game setting, that is.


Hans