Kitchen History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cuba Libre

The longdrink referred to is of course the Cuba Libre ("Free Cuba").

José Marti (1853-1895) was one of the leaders of the rebellion against the Spanish colonial power on Cuba. He started the rebellion on January 29th, 1895. (In this context "Cuba libre" has nothing to do with Castro's Cuba or with attempts to overthrow him).

Dolores Ibaruzzi, alias La Pasionaria, was a Spanish communist. She exclaimed "No Pasaran!" ("They shall not pass!") on July 18th, 1936, as the Fascist troops of General Franco approached Madrid.

Pope Urban II (1042-1099) ended a famous speech in 1095 with the words "Deus le volt" ("God wants it"). In this speech, he sought for volunteers for the First Crusade.

Gabriele d'Annunzio (1863-1928) was an Italian teacher and poet. He wanted to achieve great victories for Italy, so he occupied the Yugoslav city of Fiume (Rjeka) after WWI. Later on, he would have exclaimed "Me ne frego" (which can be translated politely as "I don't give a damn!" - the original is a bit more crude) when the Italian government required him to retreat.

Answer: Mikado

"Mikado" is the word we're looking for.

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. By simply folding a piece of paper, the Japanese can create many different objects, such as a frog, a crane, etc.

Ikebana is the typical Japanese art of arranging flowers. Its object is to create "a thing of beauty, a joy for ever".

"Kendo" is the Japanese word for sword fighting. The word means literally "The Way of the Sword". In order to prevent severe wounds, the sport of Kendo is nowadays played with wooden sticks instead of swords.

Answer: Sputnik

The longdrink I refer to is the Sputnik, named after the satellite Sputnik I. The Russian word Sputnik means "companion" and was given to this satellite as its object was to "accompany" the earth for a while. The drink is similar to a screwdriver except that it's usually served with ice water.

The Soyuz ("Union") programme started on April 23rd, 1967 with the Soyuz I. The Soyuz capsules can transport up to three cosmonauts. They are still in use.

The Salyut ("Fireworks") programme consisted of seven unmanned satellites launched between April 19th, 1971 and April 19th, 1982. Some of these satellites had military purposes (gathering information for military operations) and were kept secret.

Mir (the Russian word for "Peace") is a space station launched on February 19th, 1986. It consisted of several modules. It has been followed by the International Space Station ISS, that consists of modules constructed by different space agencies.

Answer: Knickerbockers

The dessert I mention here is known as "Knickerbockerglory". "Knickerbockers" is not only the name of the pants the original New Yorkers wore, but a nickname for the original New Yorkers too.
The knickerbockers are a pair of pants with wide upper legs and tight lower legs.

The Lederhosen is the traditional outfit of inhabitants of the Austrian province of Tirol. It is a pair of pants that end just above the knee and is made entirely out of leather.

The bermuda is also a pair of pants that end just above the knee. It is made out of various kinds of fabrics and was probably named after the Bermuda islands.

The culottes was a pair of pants that end just under the knee, as most of the European nobility used to wear up to the end of the 18th Century. The French revolutionary citizens wanted to distinguish themselves from the noble class, and so they banned the culottes and started wearing long trousers. Hence the nickname of the French revolutionary people: "sansculottes", literally "the people without trousers".

Answer: Thermidor

The recipe I hint at in this question is lobster Thermidor - with a sauce of flour, milk, butter, egg yolk and sherry.

The French Revolutionary calendar was invented by Jacques Hébert (1757-1794) and consisted of twelve months of 30 days each. In order to fill the year, Hébert joined each year five or six holidays at the end of the year.
Each month counted three weeks of ten days each, so every month would start with the same day of the week. The five or six holidays at the end of the year didn't count for the numbering of the days.

The French poet Fabre d'Eglantine (1750-1794) invented the names of the twelve months. According to this calendar, the year starts with the autumn months Vendemiaire (vintage month), Brumaire (fog month) and Firmaire (hoarfrost month). Then come the winter months Nivôse (snowy month), Pluviôse (rainy month) and Ventôse (windy month). The spring months are Germinal (seed month), Floréal (flower month) and Prairial (grass month). Finally come the summer months Messidor (harvest month), Thermidor (hot month) and Fructidor (fruit month).

The years were counted with Latin numbers instead of Arabic numerals, with the year of introduction as year I.

This calendar was introduced in France on September 22nd, 1792 (known as "1 Vendémiaire An I")

Answer: Aurora

Sauce Aurora was named after the Roman goddess Aurora. Her Greek equivalent is Eos, "the pink fingered".

Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. By the way, an Antwerp luxury car produced between the two World Wars was named after Minerva.

Venus is of course the best known of these four Roman goddesses. She is the goddess of love and (physical) beauty. Her Greek counterpart was Aphrodite.

Vesta was one of the few original Roman divinities. She was the goddess of the hearth-fire and hence protector of the home. In Greek mythology, Hera, the wife of Zeus, mostly looked after these functions. However, there was a minor Greek goddess called Hestia who served these functions as well.

Answer: Marengo

The recipe is called "chicken Marengo", after the battle near Marengo (Northern Italy) on June 14th, 1800, between Napoleon (at that time not yet Emperor - he was proclaimed Emperor in 1804) and the Austrian Emperor Franz I.

In the Battle of Austerlitz (December 2nd, 1805) Emperor Napoleon I fought to the Austrian Emperor Franz I and the Russian Czar Alexander I. Therefore, this battle is also known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors". It is widely regarded as Napoleon's most brilliant victory.

In the Battle of Jena (October 14th, 1806) Napoleon inflicted a devastating defeat on the Prussians.

In the Battle of Wagram (July 6th, 1809) Napoleon again defeated the Austrian army.

Answer: Passendale (Passchendaele)

The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) moved the poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) to write the famous line "We died in hell - they called it Passchendaele". The conditions for the battle were utterly appalling: many wounded soldiers could not be evacuated because of the continuing firing and the bad weather.

Vladslo is famous for the German cemetery with the famous sculpture "Mourning Parents" by Kathe Kollwitz. Her son died at the western front.

Ieper (Ypres) was completely destroyed during World War I. It is now the scene of the museum "In Flanders Fields" (named after the famous poem by John McCrae) and of the Menenpoort. At this gate some volunteers still play the "Last Post" every evening in order to remember all the victims of the World Wars.

Poperinge is the city in which Philip Clayton and Neville Talbot founded the "Talbot House", the first club in the vicinity of the battlefields that was open for every allied soldier and officer.

Dixmude is the city where a monument was erected for all the Flemish military victims of World War I.

Answer: Châteauneuf du Pape

Châteauneuf du Pape ("The Pope's New Castle") is an "appelation contrôlée" in the region of Côte-du-Rhône. It produces mostly red wine, but some white wine also. Châteauneuf du Pape was once used to "enhance" Burgundy wines that didn't reach a satisfying alcohol degree.

Lacrimae Christi ("Christ's tears") was originally an Italian wine, produced on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Hence the very unusual taste.

Château Petrus is one of the most expensive wines of the Bordeaux region.

Saint-Julien is also a French "appelation contrôlée" of the Bordeaux region.

Answer: Croissant

A croissant has the shape of a crescent moon (and thus of a capital letter C), and may have been invented to celebrate the defeat of the Turks. The shape of the croissant reminds us of the crescent moon that decorates the Turkish flag. However, it is highly doubtful that the legend is true. The Turkish army was defeated by a Christian coalition lead by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who acted on behalf of the Austrian Emperor. Just as the situation in Vienna was close to becoming desperate - and the Turks had succeeded in blowing up part of the city walls, the Polish king Jan Sobieski arrived and defeated the Turks at the Battle of [on the] Kahlenberg.

A doughnut is of course in the shape of a capital O, and a carré is a square pastry (mostly with apricot jam).

A "madeleine" is a type of pastry in the shape of a capital letter I. The French author Marcel Proust describes how the soaking of a madeleine in a cup of tea brings him back to his youth (see "A la Recherche du Temps Perdu").