Janette Ableby

Janette Ableby, usually just referred to as Goodwife Ableby, is a Human of Summerling descent. She is in her mid to late 60s, but her long hair is still mostly dark, though shot through with silver. She is a lifelong resident of Seowyn's Crossing, where she runs a cookhouse just off of the main town square. This cookhouse abuts the Minstrel's Tarry and the Grape Arbor and a long relationship exists between the three businesses. Goodwife Ableby provides food to the guests at the Tarry and the Arbor, so she is well off indeed.

Goodwife Ableby was widowed when she was quite young, with three daughters and a son to take care of. Never much of a hand at farming, she made contracts with local farmers for meat, grain, milk, vegetables, and fruits. She turned these foodstuffs into pies, roasts, stews, and other foodstuffs and sold them to travelers in town. In no time, she was doing enough business to put her daughters to work as well, and she soon opened her cookhouse, leaving any thought of life as a farmer behind, and eventually selling the old farm in favor of building a second floor for her living quarters over the cookshop.

Although Goodwife Ableby’s daughters Eirene and Anna have married and gone, her youngest daughter Philomena and her son Niklaus still work with her at the family business. Although Philomena has never married, Niklaus has, and his wife and children are involved in the cookhouse now. It is likely that the Ableby name will continue to be associated with the cookhouse for some time.

Some of Goodwife Ableby’s best known cooking includes roasted joint of lamb, coney stew, stuffed breads for travelers, and five berry pie (a molten delight of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, gooseberry, and blackberry) with fresh sweet cream. At holidays, roasted goose with grape and sausage stuffing and roasted pheasant with herbs are common orders. She is also a deft hand at making and carving marzipan, and her mushroom pies are a favorite of Natharios of the Fire Wasps.