I imagine that everyone in Hallifax is free to spend their money buying whatever food they like, with this being justified as an opportunity for artistic culinary expression and patronage of the arts gastronomic - even weird foreign food. But then again, I've always seen Hallifax as xenophilliac culture raiders who absorb and appropriate the lesser cultures for their own uses. Either way, the Ministry of Plenty also provides every citizen with officially certified and nutritionally complete rations which basically look like those "meal replacement granola bars" you see in fad diets:
(Today's subsistence brick is peanut flavour!)
And like Portius says, you mostly see the Servant caste, the military and upper class people trying to make political points about being "free of frivolity" eating these.
maybe at one end you have the 'free of frivolity' school of thought and at theother end you have the 'freedom of expression' school of thought populated by artistic frou frou types who believe in advancing hallifaxian culture through creativity and experimentation
because you have to explain the whole 'tea and cakes' thing the hallifaxian player base has going on.
is dead like the dodo
1
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"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
Interesting factoid: Once upon a time, Xenthos was a vegetarian elfen living in Serenwilde who did pretty much entirely survive on nuts and berries (yay squirrel totem!).
He has come a very long way since then. Centaur steaks, anyone?
Actually, the pigeons that are killed and sold to the Hallifaxian pidgeon catcher go into the worker's stew (made with real fake workers!). Hallifax is also probably has the best system for preservation. Aquamancers may have preserve, but Hallifax has scientists who study thermodynamics. And if you can make HalliPads and walls out of solid air, then a freezer should be easy.
That said, I do agree that Hallifax probably has a strong vegetarian culture, mostly because vegetarian foods are as a whole a *lot* more efficient than meat-based diets. The actual cooking is also probably highly experimental. Not just because you'd try to find foodstuffs that would be palatable to both trill and lucidian, but also because cooking is both an art and a science. I can see Trill chefs who experiment with strawberries and fish, and plums and vinegar, just to see what new, exotic experiences that can be made in the kitchen. And I can see Lucidians who methodically study the act of cooking, trying to perfect the creation of a cake down to the number of whisks per minute.
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Also Talthos and Clarramore, the two other Hallifaxian-like settlements, deal purely in vegetables and fruit. It's a lot more ethical to experiment on making square fruit or longer lasting potatoes than experimenting on animals. Less messy too.
It's been an uphill battle with promoting a cooking culture because once you get 80th circle, most people forego food because 'they're too busy'. Even constitution platters are ignored.
I know maybe 6 people in the entire game who eat above 80th circle to enjoy it. Most of them are other chefs. Taking that into consideration, if food is merely a recreational thing, then the best way to deduce them is by looking at individual cartels and what has been made by recreationists.
As you know, historically IRL, a country or city's diet was/is usually determined on what is readily available or around. Britain for example pioneered the fish and chips things (Alongside eels) because they have a massive river running straight through the city and it was the easiest thing to use, as well as cheapest to buy. Potatoes were considered vital in war rationing since they kept a long time.
With none of these requirements or impacts in Lusternian history, no food culture can or will really take off because there is no need for it, and thus you end up only able to make an educated guess based on what citizens throughout history have peppered the cartels with. If you would like a guide or help on applying historical food culture then I think it would go like this.
Hallifax: Vegetables and fruit, since they can grow at high altitudes, give no waste and can replenish themselves. To have something like pigs would require a waste disposal system around that, and the smell and idea of a slaughterhouse marring the beautiful landscape would put off many Hallifaxians. Tea is something easy and readily able to make, just throw in some herbs.
Gaudiguch: Near a desert, hot country, so spices and meat. Since the katana was invented in Dairuchi I always thought, before it appeared, that Gaudiguch would be chinese in it's aesthetics. But then I was told it has pyramids. So, alcohol, meat and spices, probably dried food and stuff which doesn't make you sweat too much.
Celest: Fish. They live by the sea. Being what could be seen as a port town, there would likely be a lot of imported foods and spices. Very mercantile.
Magnagora: A chaotic mix of cultures. Very English in this regard, as many british food came from other countries. We're big on curry in England, which is Indian, and kebabs, which are Middle Eastern, and so on.
Glomdoring/Serenwilde: Rustic. You live by your food, by your vegetables, so it's a part of your life. You have no need to import things because everything is there. A very situational based thing. I'd say Glomdoring leans towards meat though, since they have Crow, crows eat carrion, and Serenwilde vegetarian, as they honour nature and revere the idea of it.
Donato for his part just eats everything. He's even eaten other trill, and found it good (Tastes like turducken). Magnagora of course is big on that, and you might think the other organisations frown on it, but Gaudiguch does have a recipe which use lucidian.
Glomdoring/Serenwilde: Rustic. You live by your food, by your vegetables, so it's a part of your life. You have no need to import things because everything is there. A very situational based thing. I'd say Glomdoring leans towards meat though, since they have Crow, crows eat carrion, and Serenwilde vegetarian, as they honour nature and revere the idea of it.
Some people in Serenwilde might lean vegetarian if they are attempting to become spiritually closer to one of the herbivorous spirits. Or generally find plants tastier. Or want to focus on the spiritual relationship of the plants and the fae and are less interested in animals in general.
But as others have pointed out one of Serenwilde's Gods is the God of the Hunt. To Nimhuire, the idea that revering something means you try to sit it on a pedestal and protect it at all costs from all sources is hilarious/heresy from city-based philosophies. It is quite normal for cultures based around reverence for nature to be also totally okay with eating said nature. In all its forms. Including animals. Hunting and eating Hart should be a totally valid and natural part of worshipping him.
If anything it's absurd to suggest that Serenwilde should NOT eat meat. Because they have so many sources of it, and if an unfirm beast is going to die anyway, better to kill it and put it to good use.
@Donato we are, assuming for argument's sake, that we are talking about pre-basin food culture. what had the denizens of the basin eaten back then? how much of these food traditions have survived through the generations to the modern era?
players don't come into the equation, if they do it's only as an after thought. Sure, there's no unified food culture amongst players but amongst denizens who don't have access to the skills we have?
I imagine on the other hand that Glomdoring cuisine is very... Lousiana. In other words, strong creole style spicy dishes (a lot of crawfish etc. from the swamps), very sweet sweets, salty salty things. In other words, everything turned up to 11 and very rich. Almost everything, at least - a few things would be conspicuously subtle - notably the drinks, tea and so on.
EDIT: A long time ago, I hashed out theorycrafting on the distinctive dance styles of each org, planning to eventually write a book of 'reviews' laying out the essential natures of each style. I might still write the book, but would be interesting to start a catchall "XYZ of the basin" thread for talking about stuff like this? Dances of the basin, clothes of the basin, food of the basin, there are so many topics that I don't think are really explored. I thik it might be cool to see how every perceives the different orgs and what their styles would be.
Funerals of the basin would also be pretty interesting, albeit somewhat irrelevant. Hallifax has their creepy stuffed magistrate, and the potential to reprocess dead servants as either experimental subjects or nutrient bars. Serenwilde has their cairns. Magnagora would be interesting, because they have their elaborate crypts, and their cannibalism, but their whole attitude around death has been distorted due to their views on undeath.
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Cyndarinused Flamethrower! It was super effective.
Weird. I always imagined Glomdoring as viewing food as a means to an end, any only a few subsets of the forest enjoying or taking the time for more extravagant food (like the Shee Slaughs and their tea). Food is more opportunistic and convenient rather than something to expend extra effort on. "oh look a dead snake, dinner is served," and less "secret blend of 9 herbs and possibly poisonous spices."
I view Glomdoring as more primal, and reflective of nature's ruthless side. Glomdoring tends to eat when it's present and available, like a predator would.
IJS, a good portion of the forest eats decaying dead things stuffed in dirty stick nests.
I imagine on the other hand that Glomdoring cuisine is very... Lousiana. In other words, strong creole style spicy dishes (a lot of crawfish etc. from the swamps), very sweet sweets, salty salty things. In other words, everything turned up to 11 and very rich. Almost everything, at least - a few things would be conspicuously subtle - notably the drinks, tea and so on.
EDIT: A long time ago, I hashed out theorycrafting on the distinctive dance styles of each org, planning to eventually write a book of 'reviews' laying out the essential natures of each style. I might still write the book, but would be interesting to start a catchall "XYZ of the basin" thread for talking about stuff like this? Dances of the basin, clothes of the basin, food of the basin, there are so many topics that I don't think are really explored. I thik it might be cool to see how every perceives the different orgs and what their styles would be.
Funerals of the basin would also be pretty interesting, albeit somewhat irrelevant. Hallifax has their creepy stuffed magistrate, and the potential to reprocess dead servants as either experimental subjects or nutrient bars. Serenwilde has their cairns. Magnagora would be interesting, because they have their elaborate crypts, and their cannibalism, but their whole attitude around death has been distorted due to their views on undeath.
I'm actually going to write a book about Glomdoring Funerary Culture. Someone has been reading my mind.
The apple is cold, crisp, and sour as the juices fill your mouth. As you consume the fruit, you glimpse, for a moment, a massive, shadowy figure, Her snow-white hair framing a perfect, icy-eyed visage. Beneath you, a vast, perfect web of silken strands lies - and, for a moment, you realize that you too are part of it, weaver and strand both - and home.
Oh, before people think that Hallifax actually does recycle bodies... no, we don't. It's actually part of our laws.
vii. Consumption of Mortal Flesh No one may distribute, produce or consume within the city limits foodstuffs which incorporate in any degree or fashion the flesh, meat, bone, organs, blood or other body parts of another race descended from an Elder God or Primal God. This includes any of the Fated races, the centaurs, finks and gnomes.
I swear, Hallifax seems to have a law for everything.
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Oh, before people think that Hallifax actually does recycle bodies... no, we don't. It's actually part of our laws.
vii. Consumption of Mortal Flesh No one may distribute, produce or consume within the city limits foodstuffs which incorporate in any degree or fashion the flesh, meat, bone, organs, blood or other body parts of another race descended from an Elder God or Primal God. This includes any of the Fated races, the centaurs, finks and gnomes.
I swear, Hallifax seems to have a law for everything.
You guys are like the Candor group in Divergent, tbh.
The apple is cold, crisp, and sour as the juices fill your mouth. As you consume the fruit, you glimpse, for a moment, a massive, shadowy figure, Her snow-white hair framing a perfect, icy-eyed visage. Beneath you, a vast, perfect web of silken strands lies - and, for a moment, you realize that you too are part of it, weaver and strand both - and home.
Oh, before people think that Hallifax actually does recycle bodies... no, we don't. It's actually part of our laws.
vii. Consumption of Mortal Flesh No one may distribute, produce or consume within the city limits foodstuffs which incorporate in any degree or fashion the flesh, meat, bone, organs, blood or other body parts of another race descended from an Elder God or Primal God. This includes any of the Fated races, the centaurs, finks and gnomes.
I swear, Hallifax seems to have a law for everything.
Hey, it's only illegal within the city limits. Lots of Hallifaxians chow down on mortal races in the comfort of their own homes. And drink heavily. And any number of other unseemly behaviors one might not partake of in public. ) There's a pretty distinct difference between the cultures of public Hallifax and private. Dietary habits definitely change depending upon where a citizen is currently located.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
1
Cyndarinused Flamethrower! It was super effective.
Interesting factoid: Once upon a time, Xenthos was a vegetarian elfen living in Serenwilde who did pretty much entirely survive on nuts and berries (yay squirrel totem!).
He has come a very long way since then. Centaur steaks, anyone?
*mindblown*
Tonight amidst the mountaintops And endless starless night Singing how the wind was lost Before an earthly flight
i bet the glomdoring eats alot of fermented meat products. it's not far off from carrion stuffed in decaying and dirty nests.
real world equivalents would be norwegian rotted shark or maggot cheese. condiments like fish sauce and ancient roman garrum (rotted fish guts in vinegar). maybe things like cincalok -fermented shrimp paste. there's also salami and other cured meats of that sort
i bet the glomdoring eats alot of fermented meat products. it's not far off from carrion stuffed in decaying and dirty nests.
real world equivalents would be norwegian rotted shark or maggot cheese. condiments like fish sauce and ancient roman garrum (rotted fish guts in vinegar). maybe things like cincalok -fermented shrimp paste. there's also salami and other cured meats of that sort
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
Comments
I imagine that everyone in Hallifax is free to spend their money buying whatever food they like, with this being justified as an opportunity for artistic culinary expression and patronage of the arts gastronomic - even weird foreign food. But then again, I've always seen Hallifax as xenophilliac culture raiders who absorb and appropriate the lesser cultures for their own uses. Either way, the Ministry of Plenty also provides every citizen with officially certified and nutritionally complete rations which basically look like those "meal replacement granola bars" you see in fad diets:
(Today's subsistence brick is peanut flavour!)
And like Portius says, you mostly see the Servant caste, the military and upper class people trying to make political points about being "free of frivolity" eating these.
maybe at one end you have the 'free of frivolity' school of thought and at theother end you have the 'freedom of expression' school of thought populated by artistic frou frou types who believe in advancing hallifaxian culture through creativity and experimentation
because you have to explain the whole 'tea and cakes' thing the hallifaxian player base has going on.
He has come a very long way since then. Centaur steaks, anyone?
That said, I do agree that Hallifax probably has a strong vegetarian culture, mostly because vegetarian foods are as a whole a *lot* more efficient than meat-based diets. The actual cooking is also probably highly experimental. Not just because you'd try to find foodstuffs that would be palatable to both trill and lucidian, but also because cooking is both an art and a science. I can see Trill chefs who experiment with strawberries and fish, and plums and vinegar, just to see what new, exotic experiences that can be made in the kitchen. And I can see Lucidians who methodically study the act of cooking, trying to perfect the creation of a cake down to the number of whisks per minute.
players don't come into the equation, if they do it's only as an after thought. Sure, there's no unified food culture amongst players but amongst denizens who don't have access to the skills we have?
this is a fun exercise in theory crafting!
vii. Consumption of Mortal Flesh
No one may distribute, produce or consume within the city limits
foodstuffs which incorporate in any degree or fashion the flesh, meat,
bone, organs, blood or other body parts of another race descended from
an Elder God or Primal God. This includes any of the Fated races, the
centaurs, finks and gnomes.
I swear, Hallifax seems to have a law for everything.
Tonight amidst the mountaintops
And endless starless night
Singing how the wind was lost
Before an earthly flight
real world equivalents would be norwegian rotted shark or maggot cheese. condiments like fish sauce and ancient roman garrum (rotted fish guts in vinegar). maybe things like cincalok -fermented shrimp paste. there's also salami and other cured meats of that sort