Perpetual stew
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A perpetual stew is a pot into which whatever one can find is placed and cooked. The pot is never emptied all the way, as ingredients are replenished as necessary. The concept is often a common element in descriptions of medieval inns. Ripley's Believe It or Not! makes mention of stews in some Polynesian families which have been cooking for over one hundred years. Perpetual stew can also be called a "hunter's stew".
William Gibson has employed the concept twice in his novels, albeit in a minor fashion. Both Virtual Light and Idoru mention perpetual soup carts; in Virtual Light, a character eats at one, and in Idoru a character mentions that he worked at one.