A Man for all Seasonings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marie Antoine Carême

Carême (1784-1833) practised the art of 'Grande Cuisine' , and is believed to have invented the chef's hat, the 'toque', as well as creating many original dishes and classifying the sauces on which his art was based. He wrote several books and travelled to London and St Petersburg. He survived the Revolution and died in Paris in 1833.

The other three named were also chefs. Soyer, who was French, worked in Victorian England and did much to improve the standard of cooking for the Army during the Crimean War. He invented the Soyer stove, which remained in use by the British Army until the 1980s. Escoffier worked in London during the 1890s at the Savoy and the Carlton hotels, and was probably one of the most famous French chefs. He was inspired by Carême. Ranhofer was the chef at Delmonico's in New York for most of the years between 1862 and 1896.

Answer: Fanny Cradock

Fanny Cradock (1909 -94) was a restaurant critic, writer, and chef, who had a colourful private life. She was married four times, twice bigamously, her last husband being Johnnie Cradock, who was said to be the love of her life. In the 1950s she and Johnnie wrote a column for the Daily Telegraph, called 'Bonne Viveur', and she presented a series of cookery shows for the BBC as well as appearing at trade shows promoting gas cookers for the British Gas Council. She often wore full evening dress while presenting these shows.

Fanny was well known for her foul language and bad temper. As time went on, Fanny became increasingly eccentric, and her TV career came to an abrupt halt after she patronised and insulted an amateur chef who had won the "Cook of the Realm' competition, ruining what she considered to be an unsuitable menu (although the other judges disagreed with her). The BBC sacked her. She subsequently made appearances on several game shows and chat shows.

Phyllis Pechey was her birth name. Vernon Evans was the surname of her first husband.

Answer: Peach Melba

Escoffier created the dish in 1892 in honour of Dame Nellie Melba, the celebrated Australian operatic soprano. It consists of a poached peach with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. You will still find this classic dish on the menu in many restaurants, and it's actually quite easy to make yourself.

I made up the other dishes!

Answer: Heston Blumenthal

Heston's cooking methods are known as molecular gastronomy. His recipes include his famous snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, but he is also the inventor of triple cooked chips. His restaurant is not far from where I live, but I have to admit that I really don't fancy a lot of his food...apart from the chips.

Jamie, Rick and Marcus are also well known chefs who have all appeared on television in the UK.

Answer: Julia Child

Julia Child, (1912 - 2004),joined the Office of Strategic Services at the outbreak of WW2. She hoped to be a spy but actually found herself working as a filing clerk. She was posted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where she met her husband, Paul. He interested her in fine food and cooking, and after they were posted to Paris in 1948 she enrolled in the Cordon Bleu Cookery School.
She proved to have a talent, and eventually had a television show back in the States, called 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. The book is regarded as a classic.

Rachel Ray and Alice Waters are both famous American chefs, while Fanny Farmer was a cook famous in 19th century in America.

Answer: Count Rumford

Born in 1753, Rumford was an Anglo-American inventor who challenged the accepted laws of thermodynamics. He was a founder member of the Royal institution and his title comes from the Holy Roman Empire for the reforms he instituted in Bavaria.

Rumford, whose birth name was Benjamin Thompson, invented the Rumford stove in the 1790s, which improved the efficiency of stoves and was designed for very large working kitchens. Thus, they were ideal for use by large organisations with a need for mass catering. These stoves were made of Iron. Amongst many other inventions, Rumford also developed improvements to fireplaces, many of which still exist although possibly buried behind more modern inventions. These fireplaces eliminated smoke in the room.

Sharp invented the gas oven in the 1820s, Copeman invented the electric oven in the 1900s, and the microwave was invented in the 1940s by Spencer.

Answer: Gordon Ramsay

Ramsay has been awarded many Michelin Stars over the years, and currently holds seven. Ramsey's 'Kitchen Nightmares' are probably his best known TV programmes. In them, he attempts to put right the problems of some frankly awful restaurants. His undoubtedly good advice is liberally seasoned with some pretty foul language, and I must admit to often finding it hard to blame him .
He currently owns around 24 restaurants worldwide and is worth about $60 million, but of course all figures quoted are subject to revision (probably downwards) in the current Covid 19 climate.

The three incorrect answers all are well known chefs in the UK who have appeared on television.

Answer: Marguerite Patten

Marguerite Patten was born in November 1916 and died in June 2015, so very nearly made it to her century. I should think that most older people in the UK will have one or more of her cook books - I have several, and they reflect the sort of food being cooked at the time when they were written. In the 1960s she provided an easy way to access the more adventurous cooking that people wanted, now that so many were able to have foreign holidays.

Mary Berry is in her eighties now and still a feature of British TV. Delia Smith is similarly still in public life, and heavily involved with Norwich City FC. Jennifer Patterson found fame late in life as one of TV's 'Two Fat Ladies', along with Clarissa Dickson Wright.

Answer: Tom Kerridge

Tom owns several pubs and restaurants, but started in the Buckinghamshire town of Marlow. His best known gastropub is probably the Hand and Flowers. He used to be very overweight, but pioneered a weight loss programme on TV in 2017 called 'Lose Weight for Good'. He is now a shadow of his former self and looks much the better for it.

The other three named are all well known English chefs, all of whom have appeared frequently on television.

Answer: Emeril Lagasse

Emeril Lagasse is an American celebrity chef, cookbook writer and TV personality. He developed meals for NASA astronauts, and his food has been served in space.
His TV show, 'Emeril Live', was cancelled in 2007, and he sold his interests, other than his restaurants, to Martha Stewart for $45 million. He still owns several well known restaurants in America.

The remaining three answers are all well known chefs working in America.