An Author's Kitchen Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Dragonriders of Pern

'Bubbly pies' are fruit pies which get their name from the way the pie fillings bubble when hot. The most common ingredient used in bubbly pies is blueberries, and each hold (the places where the population of Pern live, usually consisting of stone buildings or cave networks) has its own recipe. Bubbly pies are a popular dish at gathers, festivals organised by Lord Holders (the people in charge of holds), who were also in charge of providing the food.

Some fillings are flavoured with the bark of the klah tree, which has a taste similar to cinnamon. 'The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern' has recipes for bubbly pies of various sizes.

Answer: Deadeye Dick

The recipes appear throughout the book and are based on real recipes from three cookbooks: 'James Beard's American Cookery', 'The Classic Italian Cook Book' by Marcella Hazan, and 'The African Cookbook' by Bea Sandler. However, Vonnegut warns the reader in his author's note not to attempt the recipes, as he has altered the ingredient quantities. Rudolph 'Rudy' Waltz, the narrator, learns to cook from his rich family's servants while he spends much of his childhood with them in the kitchen, and does all the cooking when his brother Felix moves out and his parents have to let the servants go.

He and Felix later move to Haiti and buy a hotel there, hence the Haitian food.

Answer: The Chalet School

Frau Mieders, the domestic science mistress in Elinor M Brent-Dyer's 'Chalet School' books, has her work cut out for her. If a cookery lesson appears in the 'Chalet School' books, expect something to go horribly wrong. In 'The Chalet School and the Lintons', Cornelia Flower mistakes garlic cloves for spice cloves and uses them to flavour some apple pies, with disgusting results.

In 'Jo Returns to the Chalet School', the girls bake various cakes and Joyce Linton opts for Cornish saffron cakes; unfortunately, when she goes to get saffron from Matron's cupboard, what she thinks is saffron is actually sulphur, and it causes a hideous smell.

In 'Carola Storms the Chalet School', Carola Johnston's class are making fried fish and doughnuts, and when Carola is asked to fetch olive oil from Matron's cupboard for frying, she mistakenly takes cod liver oil instead, and the doughnuts end up stinking of fish. Finally, in 'Ruey Richardson: Chaletian', Margot Maynard has a dodgy flour sifter and accidentally spills flour everywhere while making apple strudel, causing chaos in the kitchen.

Answer: The Wheel of Time

Kaf is the 'Wheel of Time' universe equivalent of coffee and is drunk in Seanchan, the homeland of the empire of the same name. Oosquai (which gets its name from whiskey) is made from zemai, or corn, and is an alcoholic drink consumed by the Aiel, a warrior race composed of various tribes who inhabit the desert lands known as the Aiel Waste.

Other drinks in the series include brandy, forkroot tea - which tastes of mint, has effects similar to a strong opioid and prevents channellers from using their power - and various fruit punches. Ebou Dar, a port city with a Mediterranean theme, is home to several inns including the Wandering Woman; gilded fish, a spicy fish dish, is one of the dishes served there, and is a favourite of Mat Cauthon, one of the main protagonists.

Other fish dishes served in the city include squid with peppers and oysters with cream.

Answer: Matilda

The terrible headmistress in question is Miss Trunchbull, and the boy forced to eat the cake is Bruce Bogtrotter. Roald Dahl's books and adult stories both heavily feature food, from the roast meats in 'Fantastic Mr Fox' to the weird and wonderful sweets in 'The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and the killer leg of lamb in 'Lamb to the Slaughter'.

In 'Matilda', Bruce Bogtrotter has been caught stealing cake, so Miss Trunchbull has the school cook bake an enormous chocolate cake and offers it to Bruce, forcing him to eat the whole thing in front of the entire school.

Although Bruce is nearly sick, he manages to eat the entire cake with the other children cheering him on, and Miss Trunchbull is so enraged that she smashes a plate over his head, although he is too full to notice.

Answer: Bread

Bread plays a major role in the series; Peeta Mellark, Katniss' fellow Tribute, works in a bakery and feeds her with bread one day when she is starving, and his cake decorating skills and strength from schlepping bags of flour around both come in handy.

The land of Panem, formerly the USA, is named after the Latin word for bread. In 'The Hunger Games', Katniss notices bread rolls from various districts; each district has its own special bread, such as District 11's crescent seeded rolls, or District 4's fish-shaped seaweed bread.

In 'Catching Fire', the rebel Tributes receive a coded message in the form of bread: the small square rolls are from District 3, meaning that they will be rescued on the third day, and there were twenty-four rolls, meaning that they will be rescued at midnight. (This turns out to be why Finnick Odair, one of the rebel Tributes, carefully checks bread whenever they receive it.)

Answer: Redwall

Many 'Redwall' fans love the books for their descriptions of food, and the foods mentioned here are just a few of the marvellous dishes on offer throughout the series. There is even a 'Redwall Cookbook' with dishes divided into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Strawberry cordial/fizz is a cold fruit drink popular with dibbuns (the young animals who live at Redwall Abbey) and is often drunk at gatherings, such as feasts and the races around the abbey walls in 'Taggerung'. Shrimp 'n' hotroot soup is a spicy dish popular with otters - hotroot being a very potent pepper - and also features leeks, onion, garlic and herbs. Meadowcream is a type of cream sweetened with meadow herbs and honey, and served with scones and strawberry jam, or fruit tarts.

Answer: The Count of Monte Cristo

When Dantès is released from the Chateau d'If and becomes rich from the treasure of Monte Cristo, he uses the money to enter Parisian society under the alias of the Count of Monte Cristo. He invites the three men responsible for his imprisonment - Fernand Montego, Danglars and de Villefort - and their wives to a lavish feast with dishes from all over the world.

It includes a wide variety of fruit served in Chinese vases and Japanese jars, rare birds, exotic wines and giant fish. Raoul, Baron de Chateau-Renaud, has lived in Russia and recognises the sterlets, and Andrea Cavalcanti - who is actually Benedetto, de Villefort's illegitimate son - recognises the lamprey as being from Lake Fusaro in Naples. Dantès describes how they were brought over in casks filled with plants from their native habitats, and then killed by the cook with milk and wine.

Answer: Dwarf Nose

'Dwarf Nose' is by Wilhelm Hauff and tells the story of Jacob, a cobbler's son who works on his mother's fruit and vegetable stall at the market. An old woman complains about the product and Jacob makes fun of her looks; the old woman claims that one day, he will have a long nose and no neck, just like her. Jacob helps the old woman carry some cabbages home; she turns out to be a witch, with guinea pigs and squirrels working for her.

She offers Jacob soup, telling him about a herb that he will never find, and Jacob falls asleep and dreams of turning into a squirrel and learning how to cook in the witch's kitchen.

When Jacob smells a herb and wakes up, he has turned into a dwarf with a long nose. He goes home to see his parents, but they do not recognise him and throw him out.

He gets a job as a cook with a local duke, who is a major foodie, and wins him over by making his favourite red Hamburg dumplings. The duke and his staff call Jacob 'Dwarf Nose'. While buying geese at a market, one of the geese talks to Jacob and warns him not to kill her.

The goose is a girl called Mimi, daughter of the wizard Stormbuck, who is also under a spell and happens to know a lot about herbs. A foreign duke comes to visit and orders Jacob to make a meat pastry called Suzerain (a reference to the policy of suzerainty); although he praises Jacob's cooking, he says that the pastry lacks a certain herb called sneeze-joy. The duke threatens to have Jacob executed, but Jacob begs for the chance to make the pastry again. Mimi helps him find some sneeze-joy, as she believes it might be the key to transforming him back into an ordinary human, and Jacob sniffs the herb and the spell is lifted. He and Mimi escape and he takes her back to Stormbuck, who turns her back into a human, and the two are married. Meanwhile, the two dukes go to war. When the war ends, a Suzerain pastry is baked in celebration, causing the peace to be nicknamed the 'Pastry Peace'.

Answer: Scumble

Scumble is a very potent alcoholic apple drink made by Nanny Ogg which appears in 'Discworld'. As for the others, Janx Spirit is an extremely potent spirit which is used in drinking games at hyperspace ports, in which players take turns pouring shots with telekinesis.

The opponent then has to drink the shot. Ford Prefect often plays this game to lose. Janx Spirit is one of the ingredients of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, a notoriously evil cocktail, the effects of which are described by the Guide as 'having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick'.

Its other ingredients include Fallian marsh gas, Qualactin hypermint extract, and three cubes of Arcturan mega-gin. Jynnan tonnyx is a drink which the Golgafrinchan captain serves to Arthur and Ford when they accidentally end up on his ship.

It is one of many drinks with similar-sounding names, but which vary in potency.