would Bond cook?
Number24
NorwayPosts: 22,430MI6 Agent
If Bond had access to a kitchen and good raw materials, but no cook - would he cook a dinner and would he be a good cook? Would he like it?
Comments
Bond is a food guy, I think it is natural that he would cook for himself and take pleasure in it. Especially as he gets older and maybe tires of eating out all the time.
In TSWLM (book) he asks the heroine for some eggs and bacon, and offers to "make it himself if you have the stuff"
or something like that. Pretty simple, but there you go. Doesn't he also cook for himself in TLD (short story)?
http://apbateman.com
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
There is a recipe for scrambled eggs in "007 in NY".
"Scrabbled Eggs ‘James Bond’
For FOUR individuals
12 Fresh Eggs
Salt and Pepper
5-6 oz. Fresh Butter
Chopped Chives or Fines Herbes
Break the eggs into a bowl. Beat thoroughly with a fork and season well. In a small copper (or heavy-bottomed saucepan) melt four oz. of the butter. When melted, pour in the eggs and cook over a very low heat, whisking continuously with a small egg whisk
While eggs are slightly more moist than you would wish for eating, remove for half a minute, adding the finely chopped chives or fines herbes. Serve on hot buttered toast in individual copper dishes ( or appearance only) with pink champagne (Tattinger) and low music"
Indeed...and I'd suspect that his skills would be stretched rather thin beyond that.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Hi there
So a couple of Saturdays ago, my wife went out with the girls.
I decided this would be a good time to introduce my 9 year old son to Thunderball.
I made steaks, with a wine reduction and creme carmael,( because I rememberd this post)
and we watched the movie. Best Saturday ever, so thanks for the idea!
Now I noticed two things in the movie that I didn't pay attention to before:
*the nukes have the words "HANDLE LIKE EGGS" printed on them: I thought this was hilarious for some reason.
*In Bond's hotel room in the scene where he puts the awesome foot long silencer on his PPK and catches the goon in the shower. When he's telling him to 'go back and report' he's making a drink: You can see he using Campari, and some bottle of clear something. It could be a Campari cocktail (vodka). Anyone have an idea what he's making?
http://apbateman.com
Wow - what a compliment - and I'm delighted I was able to inspire.... a good wine reduction over a rare steak can't be beaten (also very impressed -{ )
The only drink I know with Campari, is the classic Campari and soda - (not a fan of it myself, very bitter....) however, the Negroni cocktail, which is made with Campari, Gin (the clear liquid you saw?) and sweet Vermouth, and is mentioned in the story Risicio, so perhaps they added that into Thunderball as a nod.
In the short and obscure story Risicio quite a few drinks are mentioned, including the Negroni - with Gordon's gin, of course.
Could that be it?
Hmm, I wonder what the odds are of the local bar tenders knowing what a Negroni is.
Currently I'm going with the much more palatable Rum Collins for poolside duty.
http://apbateman.com
Yep, with you on that one.... it's not a nice taste on it's own, BUT with sweet vermouth - à la an Americano -
Ingredients:
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
club soda
lemon twist or orange slice for garnish
Preparation:
Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes.
Build with the Campari and vermouth.
Top off with club soda.
Garnish with the lemon twist or orange slice.
Switch to a highball glass and add more club soda for a tall thirst quencher.
It's not so bad.... and ANY good bartender should know how to make one of these - or a Negroni if not, then you're not frequenting the right type of bars -{
I think James Bond can cook, but whether or not he would is a different story. Given that he lives in his apartment with his housekeeper May, I don't think Bond would ever need to cook, since May makes his breakfast every morning just the way he likes it.
He tells her he'd marry someone who could make that dish (as well as love, of course). She later sends him some along with a note from the ship's chef to say that she'd made it without help from him; he enjoys it and looks forward to the (metaphorical) next course.
But that fits in with a 1950s Britain still in the throes of rationing, where exotic food would be off limits still. It took Elizabeth David's recipe cookbook in the late 50s to revolutionise cooking in the UK; until then olive oil was something you got in a chemist.
You might think that a well-travelled hero would have a few exotic influences in his cooking mind, but that sort of thing might look a bit Johnny Foreigner, a bit flouncy or suspect at the time, it would have alienated readers most likely. It's the Eton school dinners mentality that pervades the Fleming novels. Keep it basic, and Angel Delight is as much a treat as you an expect!
Roger Moore 1927-2017