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We all know hobbits love their breakfast. And their second breakfast. And elevenses. And lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. Shire grub seems largely inspired by traditional British items like scones and jam, sausages, mushrooms, whipped cream and berries, seed cakes, bread, cheese, fruits, and of course ale – food that Tolkien himself loved to eat.
Then there's more esoteric fare from other corners of Tolkien's world, like lembas, an elvish "waybread" much like cowboy hardtack. A few nibbles of lembas and an elf, dwarf or Númenórean could be sustained for days on the tough road to his or her next quest.
But how, exactly, might you make all that Middle-earth food here on regular-earth?
A fellow in Arlington, Massachusetts, is eager to find out. He has launched a Kickstarter campaign to answer such questions as: What ingredients went into Bilbo's pork pies? What did Sam's coney stew contain? (Hint: Rabbits.) And, and I quote from the Kickstarter website, "If Balrogs had wings, what would they taste like?"
Heath Dill – could there not be a more perfect hobbity foodie name? – is the man behind the proposed Medium Rare and Back Again: A Tolkien Cookbook. If the software engineer and self-proclaimed "avid chef and foodie" who blogs about food at dillicious.wordpress.com (also, perfect name) makes his $10,000 goal, both a print and a free online version of the cookbook will be released.
Naz-goulash anyone?
Medium Rare and Back Again will feature 30 recipes for food from the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, plus "pictures, cooking tips and tricks, and witty commentary," Dill says, on the origin of the food in Tolkien's works. For the commentary, he'll have the help of his college friend, Corey Olsen, creator of the Tolkien Professor podcast and author of the recently released book Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Dill isn't after a fast-food version of Tolkien food – like what Denny's is up to with its rather absurd movie-tie "Hobbit menu" fare like the "Hobbit Hole Breakfast," "Lonely Mountain Treasure" and "The Ring Burger." High cuisine, Denny's is not. Tricksy, it is.
No, Dill is after the real thing. The real, imaginary food thing, that is: how hobbits and other Middle-earthlings might actually eat. The guy sure seems qualified. Dill has masterminded an impressive and elaborate multi-course meal to accompany Tolkien movie marathons. He also has cooked for a fundraiser for Many Hopes, an organization that has built a home and a school for orphaned girls in Kenya.
I recently had the chance to ask Dill some questions about his project.
Ethan Gilsdorf: How will you decide what is an appropriate dish for your cookbook?
Heath Dill: There are three kinds of categories of recipes that we're thinking of doing. First, dishes that are straight from the book: Lembas bread, Bilbo's pork pies, seed cakes, and the like. Second, dishes apropos to the parts of the world: dried fruit for the elves, roasted meats for the dwarves. And finally, we'll have some whimsical ones: Shelob's Spiderweb Strawberries, Balrog Wings (which I'm sure will rekindle the debate about whether or not Balrogs actually have wings), and the like. One funny suggestion from one of Corey's movie marathons was "Gollum on a Log" – similar to ants on a log, but with a prune instead of raisins.
So, with the exception of the more whimsical dishes, we'll be trying to make sure that the ingredients, techniques, and other aspects of each recipe will be as authentic as possible to the literature. If (for instance) the books describe a certain way that Hobbits cook things, then we'll be careful to incorporate that.
Gilsdorf: Do your recipes attempt to duplicate what is specifically described in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings? Or are they more "inspired by"?
Dill: Many will be directly sourced, for sure. I think it'd be easy to write a cookbook with some "inspired by" recipes, but then that's basically just cooking British food and calling it Hobbit food, or German/Nordic food and calling it Dwarven, etc. That's not what we're aiming for here – we'll try to make it as authentic as possible and true to the books, which of course will be a welcome challenge. Tolkien fans so often have exhaustive, intimate knowledge of the books and appreciate the little details of things like Elvish language and the minor aspects of the history of Middle-earth, so attention to minutiae and adherence to the canon will be a big part of making this a cookbook that they will love.
But, of course, Tolkien fans also have a sense of humor, hence the more lighthearted dishes (as I mentioned above). But there will be a clear distinction made in the book between those that closely follow the dishes from Middle-earth, and those that are more "for fun and giggles," though of course the recipes will still be solid on their culinary merits. Balrog Wings (of which there are two varieties) will still taste smoky and fiery.
Gilsdorf: Do you see these recipes as kid-friendly? Will parents and kids be able to make the dishes together?
Dill: There will definitely be a number of kid-friendly recipes, though they will not all be.
Gilsdorf: How does your cookbook differ from other Tolkien-themed ones I've seen, from the "official" Hobbit movie site to various small-press and self-published books?
Dill: There will be a significant amount of discussion – both sourcing and commentary – about each recipe in the book. When it is interesting to do so, I'll also discuss the origin of the dish in terms of its regular-earth background, and how that weaves into Tolkien's world; I will be leaning on Corey a great deal when working through that. And I aim also to entertain, so hopefully people will find a laugh or two woven in!
One thing I've done consistently on my blog, Dillicious, is to make sure to explain the techniques involved, so that the recipe will be accessible and feasible to a wide range of readers. I also try to introduce variants, so that people can take the recipe and try it several different ways, or avoid ingredients that they don't care for, or turn a meat recipe into a vegetarian one, etc. So hopefully, while the cookbook will contain between 30 and 60 recipes (depending on the eventual funding level of the Kickstarter campaign), it should provide many more variations on those themes.
I think there is space for a great wealth of Tolkien-based culinary fun out there. Hopefully this cookbook will be a good contribution that complements what's already available.
Gilsdorf: Does publishing this require approval from Tolkien Enterprises or the Tolkien Estate/Trust? Are there any legal issues to be concerned about?
Dill: I have discussed the legal aspect of it with a lawyer who specializes in copyright and trademark law, and it is my understanding that, for the format we're planning to use, we should be okay under Fair Use. Plus, the online cookbook is going to be freely available with no charge, which avoids some of the potential issues of licensing.
Gilsdorf: Will your lembas bread sustain the eater for days on merely a nibble?
Dill: Alas, that will probably only be true for eaters who are 3 feet tall and already have some paunchy reserves. I may not be able to achieve that, though to be fair, the elves who make it get to practice for thousands of years, which is an advantage I will be hard-pressed to overcome. I will, however, do my best to make them such that people will want to eat several of them in a sitting!
Read more about Heath Dill's Kickstarter effort here. Dec. 20 is the deadline to support Medium Rare and Back Again: A Tolkien Cookbook.
