The Well Mannered Feast Basket
Although, in the begining (your first few events) you may only have simple feast gear (and possibly not very authentic) you will want to collect a nice set enough for you and your immediate group. Thankfully this is not hard nor is it really expensive.
There are alot of very mundane places to buy period feast gear if you know what you are looking for. Table linens are plentiful at stores like Target and Walmart or craft stores. Pottery Barn type stores, Pier One, World Bazzar and similar stores are all wonderful places to buy pottery type dishes, goblets, etc. Cloth and Craft stores are great places to find materials (for those who sew) to make linens and decorations and flea markets and yard sales can provide all sorts of in period goodies.
But exactly what are you looking for? Lets start with the basic stuff.
Forks, Spoons and Knives
First, forks are not really in period for most people. Yes, they were used in late period but only by the upper class and they were usually two tined instead of four. Most people used a spoon for soups and such, their knives (often the knife they carried on their belt depending on their culture and personality) and their fingers to eat. And now you know why linens are so important.
Eating utensils can be made from metal, wood or pottery. If you were so inclined, had the equipment and had the skills you could make your own pottery spoons by hand. Those who carve and/or woodburn could also make wooden spoons.
Plates and Bowls
Ideally you should have a large plate, a small plate and a bowl per person (the small plate is for desert so you don't have to wash dishes in the middle of feast). Pottery, ceramics, metal and wood were all commonly used to make these. Glass was also used but this was later in period and only the wealthy could really afford glass. Further, the glass used then was softer and broke more easily thus making it more suited to a fancy dining room in the home of a wealthy person than at feast in the middle of a campground.
Early in period, meals were served in large bowls shaped from bread called "Trenchers". The outer bread was very hard thus it did not leak. At the end of the meal, the soaked break would be fed to the poor.
From the 14th century on many people used a large drinking bowl called a mazer. The name is middle english for maple, which most were made of (although they were also made of ash, birch, alder, rosemary-tree). Some looked like large bowls while others were footed making them look like large bowled goblets. Most were lidded and many were lined with metal (some of these belonged to families, guilds, universities, and might have a metal disk inside in the center of the bowl with the arms/crest on it.)
Glasses, Goblets and Tankards
There are so many options here. As with plates and bowls, goblets were generally made from ceramic/pottery,metal and wood. You can buy these at so many places, especially the more plain ones and if you really want something spectacular, many mystical shops, metaphysical stores and such carry silver goblets and chalices that are decorated beautifully and often in period depending on your chosen culture. Tankards are large mug like cups with lids and were generally used by men. I have rarely seen them for sale in mundane places but they are plentiful online in a variety of sizes and decorative styles.
Candles and Candlesticks
You've got to have light. The fact that you can have fancy candlesticks and candles is just a bonus. As with other feast gear, candlestick are commonly made from wood, metal or ceramic/pottery. Wood ones are great if you want to paint, wood burn or carve decorations on them. Metal candlestcks are by far the most durable and if you know how to make pottery your decorative possibilities are nearly limitless. And you can buy candlesticks everywhere.
With candles, if you want to be completely authentic, beeswax is the only way to go. However, beeswax is not always easy to get (although craft stores and metaphysical shops carry them in a variety of sizes and colors). The downside with using beeswax is that it burns away faster than parafin. But beeswax is easily gathered up when cooled and recycled into new candles (Once beeswax cools enough to handle it you can form a new candle with your bare hands and use a needle to run a wick through it. Once it cools completely, generally overnight, you have a brand new candle. You can't do that with parafin.) Beeswax is also generally more expensive than parafin.
The color of candles is also a point of interest as it concerns period. Technically, white candles would not exist. They had no way to bleach the wax. In fact, most candles would have a yellowish or tannish color - the natural color of the wax and if they did have color they would have been colored with vegetable/plant dyes and the colors would not be very dark with the exception being Madder (which makes blue) Onion skins (which makes yellow) and Beets (which makes a bright red-pink).
Linens
Cotton and linen were used primarily for table cloths and napkins. Although white linens would have not existed through most of period, when you are buying, buy white so you can bleach them safely. Although everyone one would have had some sort of napkins generally only the upper class used tablecloths and such.
Table Accessories
Believe it or not, you could not get spices or salt and pepper in shakers during period. Salt was served in everything from small dishes to elaborately decorated salt cellars which often came with little spoons to serve the salt. Salt was as precious as money in the middle ages so serving it in a dish or cellar prevented waste. Herbs were not usually at the table but rather dishes were spiced before they were served.
Napkin rings (I have seen some beautiful ones) were late period only and only used by the upper class.
Despite the scope of this article there are many things that can go into your feast basket that will make the dining experience both in period and special. So keep your eyes open and if you find something you like, research and find out if it was used in period.
Bon Apetit!