Hobbits always seem to know how to do meals right, and in An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery by Chris-Rachael Oseland, she has put together an entire book filled with delicious recipes that would make any hobbit happy. Chris-Rachael has got you covered from breakfast (and of course, second breakfast) all the way to supper and dinner! In this interview, I got to find out more about the author behind the recipes and what inspired her to create this cookbook of epic Shire proportions. You can purchase An Unexpected Journey via Amazon or Etsy.
Middle-earth News: Tell us how you got into cooking and what made you become a Tolkien fan.
Chris Rachael Oseland: I’m a second generation geek who grew up going to conventions with my mom. It’s an amazing way to grow up, but it means I don’t have the usual Geek Origin Story moment when a new book or movie suddenly expanded my universe. The Stars (Trek and Wars), all things Tolkien, and this year’s crop of Hugo award winning books were the background noise of my childhood. Asking what made me a fan is like asking when I decided to start breathing oxygen. I’m a lucky woman.
As for hobbies, I’m co-host of a weekly geek talkshow on FanboyTV (which is also aired on local TV in Austin). Being a lifelong nerd, I also sew most of my own clothes. I just bought some fabric with flying dragons, which is destined to become the blouse of a dress, and Viking warriors for the skirt. Every time I bend over, they’ll be forced to fight!
I also made a dress with Pac Man and Space Invaders fabric which I wear in normal daily life. I didn’t have time to make a Halloween costume this year, so I wore it to a party and told everyone, “I’m an arcade console. Do you need a shoulder to cry on?”
M-e News: When you decided to work on a cookbook inspired by Middle-earth, did you immediately know you wanted to do it based on Hobbits?
CRO: Surprisingly, yes. I knew Tolkien based the Shire on his aunt’s farm. I’d also read about how profoundly World War I and II impacted his life. The Shire represented what he loved best about a fading way of life in rural England. Staying focused on the Shire gave me the opportunity to inject a little biographical information and historical context into the cookbook. I hope people will be inspired to not only try the food, but also read up on the man himself. He’s as fascinating as his books.
M-e News: Do you think you will ever create cookbooks with meals and snacks inspired by the other races in Middle-earth? Maybe even one for Orcs?
CRO: That depends entirely on how well this one sells. 🙂 To me, the cuisine of the Hobbits and the cuisine of everyone else really belong in different books. The Hobbits were so grounded in reality. All the food goes together because it’s all from the same real world time and place.
For everyone else, I’d have the fun of making up recipes from scratch. I get a little crazy on Kitchen Overlord. For The Walking Dead, I came up with a ton of recipes that look like human body parts. I think I’d have a lot of fun coming up with both vegetarian airy cuisine for the elves and gross, and rocky things for the orcs.
M-e News: Aside from creating (extremely yummy!) meals inspired by the Professor’s stories, how else do you express your Middle-earth love?
CRO: I grew up in a house full of books. By the time the movies and merchandise came out, my imagination had long since shaped how I thought these things looked. This is one of the great joys of reading. While the screen versions are lovely, they’re not MY Middle-earth, so I don’t collect any action figures or toys.
I have, however, voraciously read about Tolkien’s life. The historical context of his work adds so much to the text. For example, food shortages were part of everyday life during World War I. The government instituted rationing in World War II specifically so poor and even middle class people wouldn’t starve to death. If you know that context, you understand that for people reading these books when they were new, the idea of a Hobbit eating seven meals a day was just as fantastical as the idea that dragons live under the nearby mountain. For me, that knowledge adds even more depth to the stories.
M-e News: Are all the recipes in An Unexpected Cookbook ones you created just for the book, or were any of them ones you had been using for years?
CRO: The recipes are all based on the central English cooking that inspired the Shire, filtered through Tolkien’s very specific limitations (no new world foods other than coffee, tobacco, and potatoes). It’s easy to forget that at that time, the Victorians were importing food from all over the world and just playing with it to see what they liked. Most recipes from his own aunt’s village were full of what he’d consider foreign ingredients. Finding proper English substitutes and testing them made me acutely aware of how much I’d miss chocolate, vanilla, blueberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chillis, avocados, corn, and this time of year, pumpkin.
M-e News: How did you decide what was and wasn’t Properly English?
CRO: That was a huge challenge. England is an island, and the sea gives islands access to so many more borders than land locked countries. The English have imported non-native foods since neolithic times. Heck, garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, cabbages, peas, celery, turnips, radishes, and asparagus were all introduced to England by the Romans. Half of those foods we don’t even associate with Italy anymore because they’re so quintessentially English in our minds. Can you imagine English food without cabbages, peas, or leeks?
Based on Tolkien’s description of foods, I decided to draw the new world/old world line at the end of the Crusades. Any earlier than that and I’d have to abandon most of the kitchen spices we’re familiar with. Nothing in the text leads me to believe he pictured the Shire with no cinnamon or ginger in the cookies and cakes. Instead, I think he was trying to say this was not the place of fiery hot curries or exotic jambalaya.
M-e News: Do you have a favorite meal from The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit films/books?
CRO: Does a single food count? Growing up an American, I was fascinated by all the pies. The idea of a meat pie seemed so exotic to me. I’m old enough to remember a time before Hot Pockets became ubiquitous, so the idea of stuffing your pack with a ton of tiny pies made with all different fillings always seemed like an awesome way to stock up for an adventure – so awesome, in fact, I made hand pies the theme of Second Breakfast.
M-e News: After looking at each recipe, I simply cannot decide which I am most excited to try out first. Any that you are especially fond/proud of?
CRO: I love the seed cake. As a kid, I imagined a big fluffy cake topped with sunflower seeds and pepitas – nothing could be further from what he had in mind. The seed cake Tolkien enjoyed was essentially a rich, dense, buttery pound cake made with a dash of almond meal and a handful of caraway seeds. They have a mild, anise-like flavor without tasting overwhelmingly of licorice. I was a little dubious when I first baked it – but wow – it’s fantastic. Everyone should try vintage seed cake at least once in their life.
Speaking of unexpected almonds, I also really loved the Chester Pudding. It’s a great-grandfather of lemon meringue pie. The whole thing set up really easily. Knowing the meringue was only supposed to be a couple inches high took off all the pressure. If it collapsed, it didn’t have far to fall.
What are your other geeky loves besides LOTR/The Hobbit?
CRO: If you’ve seen any of my other cookbooks, it’s no surprise that I’m a hardcore Whovian. I’ve got a MA in History, so it’s no surprise that I’m actually a sucker for time travel stories in general. Everyone should read The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, because I need more people I can gush about those books with.
I also freely admit to a moderately irrational love of the original Dune series. Heck, I even liked God Emperor of Dune, a fact which makes most people back away slowly.
On a more accessible level, I’m a huge Star Trek fan – particularly Deep Space Nine. My most recent guilty pleasure is Sleepy Hollow. The plots are batshit crazy, but the dialogue and acting make it my must-watch show every week.
In addition to An Unexpected Cookbook, Chris-Rachael has three other cookbooks:
Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook
Wood for Sheep: The Unauthorized Settlers Cookbook
SteamDrunks: 101 Steampunk Cocktails and Mixed Drinks
