# Fictional characters who are talented amateur cooks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377 "2018-08-10T04:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/21 "2018-08-10T12:43:46Z")
It’s almost universal in Harry Potter fanfiction that Harry is a spectacular cook - all those years cooking for the Dursley’s apparently taught him a thing or two. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/22 "2018-08-10T13:23:00Z")
Criminal Minds’s David Rossi is known for his Italian cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/23 "2018-08-10T13:42:02Z")
Mary Ann Summers could not only bake a great coconut cream pie, but she could do so on a desert island without most of the standard ingredients. Samwise Gamgee was a professional servant, but his primary job is consistently given as gardener, not cook. But he still cooks well. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/24 "2018-08-10T13:43:09Z")
Eliot Spencer on Leverage. It’s a plot point in a couple of episodes that he’s as good with a knife in the kitchen as he is in a fight. Almost doesn’t count as amateur, though; he was trained by a professional chef, he uses “professional chef” as a cover in a couple episodes, and in the last season he’s apparently running the kitchen in the (apparently successful) pub the team uses as a cover. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/25 "2018-08-10T13:44:41Z")
Belkar Bitterleaf Oots represent! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/26 "2018-08-10T13:47:09Z")
Oh, and speaking of hobbits, Belkar Bitterleaf (Order of the Stick) is a professional murderhobo, but has impressed other characters with his cooking ability multiple times ([some are harder to impress than others](http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0475.html)). EDIT: Gah, he’s supposed to be a ranger, not a ninja! ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/27 "2018-08-10T13:48:27Z")
Ruth in \* Fried Green Tomatoes\* . Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/28 "2018-08-10T14:52:22Z")
Frank Lorenzo on _All in the Family_. His bit on the show was that his wife Irene was good at mechanical stuff and drove a forklift for a living, and he stayed home and cared for the house and the cooking. He was especially proud of his vichyssoise, and he introduced the Bunkers to horsemeat, which the whole family loved, until they found out what it was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/29 "2018-08-10T15:12:17Z")
Columbo got shown cooking a number of times: he would, for example, whip up an omelet if someone he was talking with seemed too overwhelmed to fix themselves a bite to eat — which, yes, proves nothing by itself, but consider it in light of another example, where he’s trying to prove a gourmet is guilty of murder and makes that suspect a meal while (a) explaining what evidence he’s found so far, and also (b) explaining why he’s cooking it one way instead of another: using some olive oil to prevent butter from burning, and soaking mushrooms before applying heat; but everything’s alongside him noting discrepancies in the suspect’s story, see. The gourmet eats up and, doubly impressed, says, _“I wish you had been a chef.”_ ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/30 "2018-08-10T15:29:51Z")
Poirot was both a cook and a gourmand. Jake The Dog in Adventure Time makes a great everything burrito and of course, bacon pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![PlumBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@PlumBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlumBob)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/31 "2018-08-10T15:55:23Z")
Henry Hill from Good fellows? I know he’s not a fictional character but he wrote a darn good cookbook. The recipe details were a big part of the characters like-a-bility. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/32 "2018-08-10T16:05:52Z")
Riker in _ **ST: TNG** _ served omelettes with Romulan ale. Stuart in _ **LA Law** _ was an accomplished cook. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/33 "2018-08-10T16:11:03Z")
Asuna from the anime Sword Art Online is a great cook. Granted, it’s “video game great cook” so she’s a great cook in the same way your Sims character is, but still ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/34 "2018-08-10T16:34:54Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The first character who comes to mind is Robert B Parker’s Spenser. Yeah, Spenser was the first character who came to my mind when I read the thread title. **Beckdawrek** already mentioned Nero Wolfe. Fritz did most of the cooking for him, but I seem to remember Wolfe himself cooking on occasion, and Wikipedia confirms my recollection: > [@](#): > > Wolfe appears to know his way around the kitchen; in Too Many Cooks (chapter 17), he tells Jerome Berin, “I spend quite a little time in the kitchen myself.” In The Doorbell Rang, he offers to cook Yorkshire Buck and, in “Immune to Murder”, the State Department asks him to prepare trout Montbarry for a visiting dignitary. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/35 "2018-08-10T16:45:09Z")
[Clemenza could cook up a helluva spaghetti sauce…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh13Xd2loto) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/36 "2018-08-10T17:56:21Z")
Hard to believe that there are only two mentions of Nero Wolfe in this thread, and that it took until post #6 to mention him. He’s easily the first one who came to mind. Wolfe himself was no mean cook – he discussed recipes at great length with the formally-trained Fritz Brenner and was associated with the Ten for Aristology. He is depicted as exceptionally discerning in detecting spices in more than one story. Besides the examples cited by **Thudlow** , Wolfe shows himself capable of whipping up gourmet meals on his own and when away from his kitchen in **The Black Mountain** and **The Mother Hunt**. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/37 "2018-08-10T18:05:02Z")
The chief French detective in the “Transporter” series of movies is a fine cook. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/38 "2018-08-10T18:10:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Riker in _ **ST: TNG** _ served omelettes with Romulan ale. Didn’t he blame the ingredient for the way it turned out? I’m not sure if we ever saw any evidence he was a _good_ cook. Benjamin Sisko was probably a better cook. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/39 "2018-08-10T18:29:07Z")
I think both Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme acted in movies where they were Cooks who saved the day with their karate skills. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/40 "2018-08-10T18:42:20Z")
Nero Wolfe is an excellent cook. He often relies on his chef Felix. But Wolfe cooks in situations when he & Archie are outside the house. Spenser cooked routinely in the Robert Parker books. There’s a funny moment when he has his first date with Susan. He creates a great meal including ham. Then remembers she’s Jewish. Fortunately that wasn’t a problem for her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377.md?page=3)