Check out the Ministry of Food's wartime festive quiz from the archives: 1941: Christmas Food Facts Quiz

1. What bird, now popular once more at Christmas, was Queen Elizabeth I said to be enjoying when she received the news of the defeat of the Spanish Armada?

2. What am I? In SW France I’m still foraged, my outer (discarded) husk is called a bogue and left behind as I’m gathered as natural compost. I make a great addition to stuffing and the much maligned sprouts.

3. What am I? I’m a gift to the West from Persia and remain exotic though more widely available. Only my garnet like seeds are edible. Nigella Lawson is mad for me dating back to when I appeared in her Xmas stocking as a more glamorous alternative to the satsuma?

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4. What is baked alaska?

a An Alaskan salmon dish baked with spicy breadcrumbs

b A sponge cake topped in ice-cream and covered in meringue

c Roast reindeer with cranberries

5. Who invented the notion of a frothing soup in the manner of a cappuccino?

a Alain Chapel

b Gordon Ramsay

c Ferran Adria

6. Which chef created a Xmas menu last year where dishes included Babe in a Manger and Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?

7. Which chef quipped “the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star”

a Apicus

b Brillat Savarin

c Carĕme

8. What game was originally played with champagne corks rather than balls?

a Table tennis

b Squash

c Billiards

9. Which wood is traditionally used for making white chess pieces?

a Mistletoe

b Holly

c Ivy

10. What is inside Omelette Arnold Bennett currently enjoying a revival?

a Apples, mincemeat and Calvados

b Oranges and Grand Marnier

c Smoked haddock and cream

11. What did the Romans say were the only good thing to come out of Britain?

a Walnuts

b Oysters

c Grouse

12. Why were French brasseries originally called brasseries?

a Because they served beer

b Because they specialised in oysters

c Because they were open all day

13. What did Queen Victoria have for Christmas lunch before her first turkey in 1851?

a Carp

b Partridge

c Swan

14. What kind of pasta do the Bolognese serve at Christmas?

15. What is Arenkha?

a .A dessert made with clementines, meringue and whipped cream

b A vegetable dish popular in Georgia made with aubergines and pomegranates

c A sustainable caviar substitute made from smoked herring with squid ink, lemon juice and spices

16. What is the name of the relatively new unpasturised British blue cheese which is named after the original name of the town of Stilton as mentioned in the Domesday Book?

17. Which famous author, in which novel, complained about the smell of Christmas puddings?

"Oh! That smell! The same as the one which prevailed on washing day! It is that of the cloth which wraps the pudding. …Thirty seconds later, Mrs. Cratchit entered, her face crimson, but smiling proudly, with the pudding resembling a cannon ball."

18. What is the main (fish) ingredient of traditional Polish and Austrian Christmas lunch?

19. Which country have a festive fruit cake called Bolo Rei?

20. Which leading historical figure banned Christmas festivities, feasting and revelry for 13 years?

21. Which nursery rhyme character sat in a corner eating a plum pudding?

22. Which doyenne of food writing advised: “In my experience, clever food is not appreciated at Christmas. It makes the little ones cry and the old ones nervous”?

a Jane Grigson

b Elizabeth David

c Delia Smith

23. Which pie is made in the Cornish town of Mousehole each Dec 23 in memory of the fisherman who saved the town from a hungry Christmas one stormy winter. The dish was resurrected by chef Mark Hix for Great British Menu?

24. What are the three spices essential to bread sauce?

25. What is the difference between an angel and devil on horseback - two nostalgic festive canapes that seem to be doing the circuit again?

Sudi Pigott is author of How to be a Better Foodie (Quadrille; £4.99) or visit www.sudi-better-foodie.com

She is hosting an entertaining and challenging better foodie quiz event at Food Inc within Whiteley’s on Thursday January 29th at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 per person for the quiz, and a supper menu will be available. For more details www.food-inc.com

Answers: 1. Goose ; 2. Chestnut ; 3. Pomegranate ; 4. b ; 5. a ; 6. Heston Blumenthal ; 7. b ; 8. a ; 9. b ; 10. c ; 11. b ; 12. a ; 13. c ; 14. Tortellini ; 15. c ; 16. Stichelton ; 17. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol ; 18. Carp ; 19. Portugal ; 20 Oliver Cromwell ; 21.Jack Horner ; 22. a ; 23. Stargazy pie ; 24. Mace, cloves, nutmeg ; 25. Angel is oyster wrapped in bacon and devil is prune wrapped in bacon

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