"Lord of the Rings" Food Quiz and a Gift for You

Tolkien talks about eating and drinking a lot, but he doesn't often describe what's being consumed.  But I found ten times in The Lord of the Rings where he did describe food or drink.  (I'm leaving out The Hobbit so this doesn't get too complicated.)  

Your job is to figure out who was eating or drinking what he described and leave a comment with your guesses.  I've told you in parentheses how many named characters are eating or drinking in the scene.  You get 1 point for each correct character name and 1 bonus point if you can name which of the three books it is in.  Possible high score of 46!  

I'll post the answers and scores on Monday.  And be sure to read all the way to the end for a free gift from one of our giveaway sponsors!


1.  The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.  (1)

2.  ...there was bread, surpassing the savour of a fair white loaf to one who is starving; and fruits sweet as wildberries and richer than the tended fruits of gardens; he drained a cup that was filled with a fragrant draught, cool as a clear fountain, golden as a summer afternoon. (4)

3.  "...this is first-rate salted pork.  Or I can cut you some rashers of bacon and broil them, if you like.  I am sorry there is no green stuff:  the deliveries have been rather interrupted in the last few days!  I cannot offer you anything to follow but butter and honey for your bread." (5)

4.  There was hot soup, cold meats, a blackberry tart, new loaves, slabs of butter, and half a ripe cheese... (4)

5.  ...to drink pale yellow wine, cool and fragrant, and eat bread and butter, and salted meats, and dried fruits, and good red cheese, with clean hands and clean knives and plates. (3)

6.  There was beer in plenty, and a mighty dish of mushrooms and bacon... (5)

7.  The drink was like water... and yet there was some scent or savour in it which they could not describe:  it was faint, but it reminded them of the smell of a distant wood borne from afar by a cool breeze at night. (3)

8.  They got there bread, and butter, and cheese and apples:  the last of the winter store, wrinkled but sound and sweet; and a leather flagon of new-drawn ale, and wooden platters and cups. (2)

9.  The drink in their drinking-bowls seemed to be clear cold water, yet it went to their hearts like wine and set free their voices. (6)

10.  Then men came bearing a chair and a low stool, and one brought a salver with a silver flagon and cups, and white cakes. (3)


(Yes, this is a hard game.  Tomorrow's will be really easy, though!)

Now for that gift I mentioned.  It's from Sarah Rees, who runs the wonderful Etsy shop The Ring and the Lion and has donated a prize to this party every year.  This year she is also giving away PDF copies of Recipes from the Shire, a collection of recipes she has adapted or created to reflect food you would eat if you were a hobbit.  Click here for the downloadable PDF, which she is giving to this party's participants for free!  Thank you so much, Sarah -- you are an awesome Tolkien fan and lovely friend!