# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/41 "2018-08-10T18:55:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hard to believe that there are only two mentions of Nero Wolfe in this thread Before this thread I’d never heard of him, and I suspect the same is true of many. ---
**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, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/42 "2018-08-10T18:57:33Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > 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. The eggs he cooked were not to human tastes, but Worf loved them. Dr Pulaski was apparently impressed with his earlier efforts as well. Come to think of it, Captain Kirk cooked omelettes too (with dill, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/43 "2018-08-10T19:11:50Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > 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. Well, Worf is a fan. ---
**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, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/44 "2018-08-10T19:12:02Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Before this thread I’d never heard of him, and I suspect the same is true of many. [Seriously?](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C2CHBF_enUS737US737&source=hp&ei=OuJtW9XSE6XVjwTvupHICA&q=nero+wolfe+site%3Astraightdope.com&oq=nero+wolfe+site%3Astraightdope.com&gs_l=psy-ab.3...264487.269595.0.269929.32.32.0.0.0.0.183.2185.31j1.32.0..2..0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.16.1214...0j0i131k1j0i10k1j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j33i160k1.0.r4P2PM3xfbs) ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/45 "2018-08-10T20:10:33Z")
I seen to recall Cannon could cook - he certainly could eat ---
**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, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/46 "2018-08-10T22:25:21Z")
No mention of Marie Barone yet? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/47 "2018-08-10T22:40:33Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > 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 I’d argue she still counts, since, given the game’s full immersion nature, the food actually has flavour, and, while the mechanics of cooking are likely at least partially abstracted she was highly skilled at mixing those flavours, which is a big part of cooking. (She was even able to recreate real-world foods, even though the in-game ingredients weren’t designed to do that.) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/48 "2018-08-10T22:40:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > . . . Nero Wolfe was an able cook verging on chef. There’s a Nero Wolfe cookbook out there. It includes little summaries of where in which story the dish can be found. I haven’t seen a Spencer cookbook, but there’s a fan recipe site online - or there was. It’s been awhile since I went looking. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/49 "2018-08-10T23:29:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 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. Cinderella the Rhymer says that there is a picture of an hourglass next to your name. Is this new? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/50 "2018-08-10T23:35:02Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > 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. Given that the series started off in Boston, where Elliot apparently lived, I always took it that he was the child of the gumshoe mentioned in the OP. Elliot is more like a comic book character than a hardboiled detective. His super power is apparently to do anything he puts his mind to. Which would make him Bruce Wayne’s kid (if we pretend that Batman is heterosexual). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/51 "2018-08-10T23:37:05Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > 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. No probably about it. His crew considered it a genuine treat to be invited to his place for dinner, and he had the common parental “problem” of a grown child visiting looking for a home-cooked meal. ---
**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, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/52 "2018-08-10T23:54:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Elliot is more like a comic book character than a hardboiled detective. His super power is apparently to do anything he puts his mind to. It’s a very distinctive super power. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/53 "2018-08-11T00:05:41Z")
Hugh Akston in Rand’s _Atlas Shrugged._ At least he made a great hamburger. ---
**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 11, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/54 "2018-08-11T00:11:10Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > There’s a Nero Wolfe cookbook out there. It includes little summaries of where in which story the dish can be found. > > I haven’t seen a Spencer cookbook, but there’s a fan recipe site online - or there was. It’s been awhile since I went looking. There are also cookbooks inspired by _ **Goodfellas** _, _ **The Sopranos** _, and _ **Gilligan’s Island** _. [![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUEIOBNapYc/UYT7bEYXYEI/AAAAAAAABDM/PYUMwZaKTNY/s1600/large-henry-hill.jpg) ](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUEIOBNapYc/UYT7bEYXYEI/AAAAAAAABDM/PYUMwZaKTNY/s1600/large-henry-hill.jpg) [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51va9p5%2BQtL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51va9p5%2BQtL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg) [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51F581KS62L._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51F581KS62L._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg) ---
**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 11, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/55 "2018-08-11T00:13:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Skald** : > > Cinderella the Rhymer says that there is a picture of an hourglass next to your name. Is this new? Yeah, avatars are a thing now. Anyone who wants can have one. They’re limited to 50 by 50 pixels, though. And speaking of cookbooks, Nanny Ogg, Discworld’s second-greatest witch, also has one. Though her recipes are more noted for their, ahem, other effects. ---
**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 11, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/56 "2018-08-11T00:57:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 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. Mary Ann has always made my banana cream. :o ---
**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 11, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/57 "2018-08-11T01:23:16Z")
Was that sort of crudeness really necessary? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/58 "2018-08-11T03:52:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > …Come to think of it, Captain Kirk cooked omelettes too (with dill, I think). I don’t remember Kirk ever cooking. Remind me when? ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/59 "2018-08-11T04:11:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I don’t remember Kirk ever cooking. Remind me when? Does telling that cupboard what you want to eat count as cooking? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2018, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377/60 "2018-08-11T07:02:01Z")
Parker, Lord Peter Wimsey’s manservant is quite a proficient cook :-not gourmet level, but he can fry a steak and roast a duck (to cite two things I recall him cooking in the books). We’re not explicitly told how good his food is, but it’s good enough for Wimsey, a known gourmand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-are-talented-amateur-cooks/819377.md?page=4)