Bring the Majesty of Narnia to Your Table!

Have you ever wished you could travel through the wardrobe with Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, simply to taste some of the wondro

INTRODUCTION

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” He also said, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” Don’t you just love this guy? He’s a kindred spirit with those of us whose favorite pastimes are eating and reading. Lewis once said that he wrote a lot about food not because he thought that was what kids wanted to read about but because he just liked lots of good eating himself. Yes, you really could just love this guy. (By the way, C. S. stands for Clive Staples, so it’s no wonder his friends called him Jack.)

I like lots of good eating myself, and also lots of good cooking. My greatest love, though, was—and still is—reading good books. I was enchanted by such classics as Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, and Five Children and It. The concept of afternoon tea in these old-fashioned books captured my imagination, and I longed to revive this delightful custom. I used to daydream about having tea with my friends, with my little pinkie sticking out and eating small cookies.

When I started reading the Harry Potter books as an adult, my fascination with the quaint, old-fashioned foods and customs that still survive today in Great Britain only increased. During the period that I was writing The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, I discovered The Chronicles of Narnia series. Somehow this classic series had passed me by when I was little, and now my oldest daughter was reading them. I fell in love. Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle. Trumpkin the Dwarf. Tumnus the Faun. But best of all, the food.

Lewis wrote with obvious relish about the food his characters ate. He didn’t leave it to his readers to imagine what Lucy had for tea with Tumnus or what the magician fed her for lunch; instead, he listed every food with loving detail. We know exactly what the Pevensies took with them on their journeys and what they foraged for on the way. We learn some good lessons in cooking from Centaurs and Fauns and even Calormenes.

It’s hard to pick a favorite food scene. The scenes with Puddleglum, who is absolutely certain the children will hate his food, are unforgettable. When they protest that his eel stew is delicious, he is sure then that it will disagree with them. Lasaraleen makes you want to laugh as she drives Aravis frantic over the sumptuous snacks Lasaraleen commands the slaves serve. You also can’t help wishing you could eat some of those whipped cream and fruit jelly dishes while you’re laughing.

In Narnia, whenever the characters eat something, you can feel their relief, comfort, or delight. Relief, warmth, and comfort when they sit down, cold and starving, to a hot dinner in the Beavers’ home (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, chapter 7). Joy and delight at the end of their quest with a feast in Cair Paravel (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, chapter 17). Food isn’t just something mentioned as an aside to remind us that the characters are real people. Food is almost its own character and it brings along these big emotions. When King Tirian is tied up for the night, starving, the Mice, Rabbit, and Moles bring him food, and we rejoice with him that he hasn’t been forgotten; we’re also moved that he still has friends willing to risk their lives to bring him sustenance (The Last Battle, chapter 4).

Wouldn’t you love to sample some of the food you’ve read about? Doesn’t it all sound so mouth-wateringly good? Imagine how nice it would be to sit in a cozy cave, with a fire flickering in the fireplace, and have tea with Tumnus. Few things are more pleasant than a nice chat with friends over steaming mugs of tea, washing down tender soft-boiled eggs with three kinds of toast and a sugar-dusted tea cake.

With this book, you can stop imagining and start living. Create entire meals from your favorite scenes in Narnia by following the menu plans, which cluster together recipes from each food scene. If you want to enact the feast in Cair Paravel, you don’t have to look up which foods were eaten at the feast and then find each recipe individually in this book. All that work has been done for you. Simply find the feast at Cair Paravel in chapter 4, and recipes for all the foods eaten there are laid out in front of you. The recipes are graded according to ease or difficulty of preparation. A grade of 1 spoon means easy, a grade of 2 spoons means middle of the road, and a grade of 3 spoons means difficult. So you can decide what kind of challenge you’re up for before entering the kitchen.

Best wishes for good cooking and happy eating!

SOME CAVEATS: MOMS AND DADS TAKE NOTE!

In this book I aimed to produce recipes for every single food reference I could glean from The Chronicles of Narnia. To remain true to the series, I included recipes for foods that you, the parents, may feel are not appropriate for children to prepare, either because the technique is too complex or the method too dangerous, or because the ingredients contain alcohol. Please use your discretion in allowing your children to create or sample them. I’ve included them for adult fans to enjoy.

The two main concerns you might have pertain to ingredients and method. Some recipes specify alcoholic ingredients. Where possible, I suggest substitutions. Where no substitutions are available, you decide whether a particular recipe has too much for your child to consume. Please note that many of the recipes require long cooking times, which will decrease the alcohol content. Some of the menus suggest wine or beer as an accompaniment because C. S. Lewis listed it as part of the meal. In such cases I’ve included substitutions for kids. Also, some of the beverages call for coffee. If you are concerned about your child drinking coffee, you can use decaf as an alternative.

Some of the methods in the recipe preparation are dangerous. Children should not attempt any recipes that require boiling sugar or deep frying. Instead they can beg you—and I back them!—to prepare these recipes for them. Young teens can cook with these techniques under close adult supervision at their parents’ discretion.

I don’t think I need to caution you about supervising children handling knives or working near the stove top and a hot oven, but my editor thinks I do, so I have to put that in. Having said that, I wish you fun in the kitchen and happy eating!