Who stole all the cheese? The great big food quiz of the year

Christmas biscuits. Photograph: ALEAIMAGE/Getty Images

1. 

   First there was the Great Train Robbery, then there was the Great Cheese Robbery. Which cheese merchant was victim to scurrilous fraudulence in 2024?

   1. Paxton & Whitfield

   2. Harrods

   3. Waitrose

   4. Neal’s Yard Dairy

2. Montgomery’s make the greatest cheddar, but what is the fate of this cheese when, god forbid, it does not make the grade?

   1. Flattened and catapulted from rooftops

   2. Made into cheesecake

   3. Donated to schools

   4. Buried deep

3. Which is the odd one out: croque monsieur, welsh rabbit, scotch woodcock, or French toast? And why?

   1. Croque monsieur

   2. Scotch woodcock

   3. Welsh rabbit

   4. French toast

4. Which cheese gave its name to the fungus that creates the mould characteristic of a great many blue cheeses?

   1. Red Leicester

   2. Stilton

   3. Beenleigh Blue

   4. Roquefort

5. 

   A total of 250 gallons of milk go into each vat to make parmesan. How many cheeses are made from this one vat?

   1. 2

   2. 6

   3. 12

   4. 24

6. The cheese Bermondsey Hard Pressed is made in London by William Oglethorpe. He is also responsible for one other great cheese. What is its name?

   1. Cambazola

   2. Caboc

   3. Gubbeen

   4. Ogleshield

7. Who is credited in beginning the revival of British cheese from his shop in Streatley, Berkshire in the early 1950s, writing two excellent works, one on British cheese and a second on French cheese?

   1. Patrick Rance

   2. Constance Spry

   3. Michael Smith

   4. Keith Floyd

8. Which TV baking judge opened her first restaurant, a chophouse called Gina in Chingford, Essex, this year?

   1. Mary Berry

   2. Prue Leith

   3. Sue Perkins

   4. Ravneet Gill

9. 

   Whose voice is used for the restaurant critic Anton Ego in the animated film Ratatouille?

   1. Peter O’Toole

   2. Orson Welles

   3. Michael Gambon

   4. Alan Rickman

10. Which film stars Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini about two brothers serving up a last spectacular dinner to try to save their threatened restaurant?

    1. Big Night

    2. The Devil Wears Prada

    3. Conclave

    4. Pope Joan

11. Which art nouveau restaurant in Paris featured in the musical version of Colette’s Gigi?

    1. Chez Allard

    2. Bofinger

    3. Maxim’s

    4. Brasserie Lipp

12. 

    In Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman has to eat 50 of what?

    1. Hard-boiled eggs

    2. Hot dogs

    3. Doughnuts

    4. Apple pies

13. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1941 film Suspicion sees Cary Grant carry a tray with what upon it, illuminated by a lightbulb, to a terrified Joan Fontaine?

    1. Toast & jam

    2. A hot toddy

    3. A glass of milk

    4. A carafe of wine

14. In which film is Maggie Smith indignant when served shop-bought marmalade on her breakfast tray?

    1. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

    2. Gosford Park

    3. Travels with my Aunt

    4. Death on the Nile

15. Who played the title role in Babette’s Feast?

    1. Juliette Binoche

    2. Brigitte Bardot

    3. Catherine Deneuve

    4. Stéphane Audran

16. In which film does Christoph Waltz hold a plate of apple strudel as if it is a weapon of torture?

    1. Inglourious Basterds

    2. Spectre

    3. Frankenstein

    4. Django

17. Skye Gyngell was renowned at Peterham Nurseries, then at Heckfield Place and at Spring in Somerset House. What was the name of the restaurant in London where Skye first worked that began this remarkable career.

    1. River Cafe

    2. The French House

    3. Chez Panisse

    4. Clarke’s

18. Eliza Doolittle sold flowers from Covent Garden. Eliza James, on the other hand, amassed a fortune by the time she died in 1927, having pretty much cornered the London monopoly enabling her to sell millions of bunches of what green leaf?

    1. Watercress

    2. Spinach

    3. Endive

    4. Collard greens

19. What was started in a bakery on Pudding Lane in the 17th century?

    1. Sliced bread

    2. Sourdough

    3. The Great Fire of London

    4. Cronuts

20. 

    Which London market had a gander called Old Tom who was granted the freedom of the market for surviving the fate of 34,000 of his fellow geese reportedly slaughtered over two days?

    1. Brixham

    2. Borough

    3. Leadenhall

    4. Covent Garden

21. Who launched her new restaurant at the Royal Opera House this year?

    1. Angela Hartnett

    2. Prue Leith

    3. Ravinder Bhogal

    4. Claire Ptak

22. Which iconic Soho music venue was formerly a warehouse for Crosse & Blackwell, with vaults containing thousands of jars of pickles and conserves discovered upon its demolition?

    1. Ronnie Scotts

    2. The Colony Room

    3. The Union Club

    4. The Astoria

23. Which is the oldest fish restaurant in London, only open at weekday lunchtimes?

    1. Scotts of Mayfair

    2. J Sheekey's

    3. Sweetings

    4. Poppies

24. 

    Who illustrated the menus of Langan’s Brasserie, Odin’s and the Neal Street Restaurant?

    1. David Hockney

    2. Toulouse Lautrec

    3. John Minton

    4. Edward Bawden

25. The transporting of enormous amounts of beef to feed the army of Napoleon III led to the creation of Johnston’s Fluid Beef. What is its more familiar name?

    1. Corned Beef

    2. Hamburgers

    3. Meatloaf

    4. Bovril

26. A vitamin C-rich crop in Britain had its yield dramatically increased and used in its entirety during the second world war to make a cordial. What was it?

    1. Blackcurrants

    2. Carrots

    3. Spinach

    4. Brussel sprouts

27. Having cooked a great feast on board a liner for Wilhelm II in 1913, the Kaiser exclaimed to the chef responsible, “I am the Emperor of Germany but you are the Emperor of Chefs.” Who was the chef?

    1. Antonin Careme

    2. Mrs Beeton

    3. Auguste Escoffier

    4. Cesar Ritz

28. Continuing suspicious poisonings of Russian internationals, whistleblower Alexander Perepilichny died in 2017 after eating a bowl of soup made from what herb?

    1. Nettle

    2. Sorrel

    3. Savory

    4. Oregano

29. This indefatigable author was commissioned by the government to write cookery books for nutrition and rationing during the second world war. Author of such works as The Victory Cookbook and We’ll Eat Again, who is she?

    1. Lady Maclean

    2. Constance Spry

    3. Fanny Cradock

    4. Marguerite Patten

30. Compton Mackenzie wrote a novel inspired by the story of a ship, the SS Politician, wrecked on a Hebridean island during the second world war. The novel was made into a successful film. What was the unfortunate ship’s precious cargo?

    1. Oats

    2. Flour

    3. Whisky

    4. Sugar

31. In fashion, 2023 was “tomato girl summer”, 2024 was “brat summer” and, according to Harper’s, Vogue and others, 2025 was “______ girl summer”?

    1. It

    2. Go

    3. Sardine

    4. Poster

32. 

    In which recently departed author’s novel (not long ago adapted for TV) does Taggie O’Hara tie herself in knots while cooking chicken estragon?

    1. Rivals by Jilly Cooper

    2. Hazard of Hearts by Barbara Cartland

    3. A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford

    4. Rock Star by Jackie Collins

33. Which late, great restaurant critic also authored the cookery books for Le Caprice and the Ivy?

    1. AA Gill

    2. Quentin Crewe

    3. Jeremy Round

    4. Andre Simon

34. In which Ian Fleming novel does James Bond drink his first americano cocktail?

    1. The Spy Who Loved Me

    2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

    3. Goldfinger

    4. Casino Royale

35. What was Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti the first to drink in space?

    1. Negroni

    2. Espresso

    3. Prosecco

    4. Chianti

36. 

    Harry’s New York Bar, founded by Dundonian Harry MacElhone, is famous for being the first in Paris to serve what as a bar snack?

    1. Pretzels

    2. Blini

    3. A hot dog

    4. Pizza

37. In Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, two brothers are cooked in a pie to be eaten by their mother as a punishment. In which film is this macabre act performed with two poodles?

    1. Theatre of Blood

    2. Sense and Sensibility

    3. Dance of the Vampires

    4. The Raven

38. Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated a book about a young boy’s surreal dream of spending the night in a baker’s, where he assists in making a cake for the morning. What is the book called?

    1. Where the Wild Things Are

    2. Chicken Soup with Rice

    3. In the Night Kitchen

    4. Nutcracker

39. 

    Alfred Bird created custard powder for his wife as she suffered from an allergy to eggs. What else did he invent for her due to yet another allergy?

    1. Baking powder

    2. Fish fingers

    3. Frozen peas

    4. Angel delight

40. “First catch your hare”, the oft misquoted first line of a recipe by Hannah Glasse, has inspired the title of many a cookbook. And particularly a book on the cooking of Africa, First Catch Your Eland. Who wrote it?

    1. Eliza Acton

    2. Elizabeth David

    3. Karen Blixen

    4. Laurens van der Post

Solutions

1:D, 2:A, 3:A - Monsieur is not an old crock. Croque monsieur is a sandwich, the other two made with just one slice of bread. Woodcock is feathered game, rabbit is furred game, Monsieur is a French person. Scotch woodcock is made with scrambled eggs, not with cheese. French toast is made with bread or brioche dipped in egg and fried. , 4:D - Penicillium Roqueforti, 5:A, 6:D, 7:A, 8:D, 9:A, 10:A, 11:C, 12:A, 13:C, 14:B, 15:D, 16:A, 17:B, 18:A, 19:C, 20:C, 21:A, 22:D, 23:C, 24:A, 25:D, 26:A, 27:C, 28:B, 29:D, 30:C, 31:C, 32:A, 33:A, 34:D, 35:B, 36:C, 37:A, 38:C, 39:A, 40:D

Scores

1. 0 and above.

2. 40 and above.

   Top marks!