[Sca-cooks] Fantasy foods

[Christiane]

In the Discworld novels, while stuck in Fourecks the wizard Rincewind invents Vegemite and helps the opera house cooks invent deserts for opera stars (Peaches Melba, I think). Oh, and he has a floater, too. 

Some of the most wonderful descriptions of food and feasts I found, however, were in the Elizabeth Eyre Sigismondo mysteries. I guess those could be considered fantasies because they took place in Italian city states that never existed.

Oh, and then there were the Michaela Rossner books, "The Stars Align" and "The Stars Compel," which centered on Tommaso, the cook to the Duchess Caterina di Medici. Lots of preparation of Italian Renaissance dishes in there, in minute detail, including subtleties such as a garden with sugar statues of the zodiac. Michaela even provides some recipes in the back of the second book.

Gianotta