It’s time to feast like a Time Lord! How many of these classic Doctor Who foods have you tried?
Breast of peacock
As you might have guessed, some Doctor Who food is quite unusual. During his earlier adventures, the First Doctor visited Italy in 64 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Nero, and as he and his companions were resting at a ‘borrowed’ villa, his friend Barbara cooked up a meal of epic portions – and it’s possibly the most excited we’ve ever seen the First Doctor.
However, if you’re hoping to recreate some of this Doctor Who food for yourself, you may have to look a little further than your local Sainsbury’s as some of the ingredients are a tad ‘exotic.’ In ‘The Romans,’ the Time Lord’s banquet consisted of breast of peacock with orange and juniper sauce, garnished with larks’ tongues and baked pomegranates. The hors d’oeuvres, meanwhile, were ants’ eggs in hibiscus honey, with the Time Lord remarking that he didn’t know when he’d enjoyed a meal more.
And whilst these Doctor Who foods might raise eyebrows among our vegan readers, we’re curious to know: have you ever feasted on larks’ tongues?
Pan-fried gumblejack
Speaking of veganism, there was one Doctor Who adventure which turned the Time Lord into a plant-eater for life – although, in fairness, this was mainly due to his encounter with a particularly slimy cannibal named Shockeye.
At the start of ‘The Two Doctors,’ the Time Lord is seen fishing for one of his favourite snacks – gumblejack. Apparently, this Doctor Who food was considered to be one of the tastiest in the Mutter’s Spiral, and whilst his companion Peri seems uninspired by the Doctor’s efforts, the Time Lord goes hard on the sales pitch (and cookery lesson.) “Cleaned, skinned, quickly pan-fried in their own juices ’til they’re golden brown,” he gushes. “Ambrosia steeped in nectar, Peri. The flavour is unforgettable.”
Alas, the Doctor’s enthusiasm amounts to nothing as he fails to catch any gumbleack on this particular expedition, and by the end of the story he has given up meat for life. “From now on it’s a healthy vegetarian diet for both of us,” he states.
Edible ball bearings
If you’ve been struggling to source any peacock breasts or pan-fried gumblejacks at your local supermarket, you’re in luck with the next of our Doctor Who foods – in Britain, anyway. The edible ball bearing is the essential topping for any cake-based celebration, and the 2012 Olympics delivered in spades for the Tenth Doctor. In fact, he seems more excited by the confectionary than the actual games.
“Nobody else in this entire galaxy has ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings,” he proclaims. “Genius.” And whilst he gets side-tracked by a visiting alien with a penchant for trapping people in kids’ drawings, by the end of ‘Fear Her’ the Doctor has managed to locate the ultimate galactic rarity. Or, at least, his friend Rose has, and presents him with a cake at the episode’s conclusion. Alons-y.
Fish fingers and custard
This might be one of the most famous of our Doctor Who foods. Shortly after regenerating into his Eleventh incarnation, the Doctor frantically tries to find something that agrees with his taste buds. Apples, yoghurt and bacon, apparently, no longer do it for the Time Lord; they all taste wrong, a bit like eating after brushing your teeth.
No – the only snack the Eleventh Doctor can abide is fish fingers and custard, and it’s possible that prior to the screening of ‘The Eleventh Hour,‘ this was a combination that had never actually been tried before. We can’t imagine why.
We are certain, though, that this Doctor Who food will have been subsequently sampled by many of our readers, and it even showed up on the menu of the UK’s Fab Café back in the day. But is it disgusting or wonderful? We’ll let you debate that one in the comments below.
Tip: it may help if you’ve recently regenerated…
Custard creams
The Thirteenth Doctor made history by becoming the first Time Lord to have a custard cream dispenser built into the TARDIS console. And whilst it may not be the main thing that Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation is remembered for, it was the actor’s favourite biscuit, which is why the designer incorporated it into the set. Apparently, when the Doctor discovered it in ‘The Ghost Monument,’ her reaction was genuine; Whittaker had no idea that a custard cream would emerge from the slot.
But what is a custard cream? Simply put, it’s probably the most English biscuit in existence (or ‘cookie’ for our American readers.) In fact, this particular Doctor Who food wouldn’t look out of place at an Olympic street party alongside a selection of edible ball bearings. A custard cream is basically a custardy paste sandwiched between a couple of biscuit slabs. It may not be the most exciting snack in the universe, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
And speaking of biscuits, we couldn’t have a Doctor Who food guide without mentioning that other British classic, the jammy dodger – a jam-filled confectionary that was a firm favourite of the Eleventh Doctor’s. And if you don’t feel like eating it, you can always pretend it’s a TARDIS self-destruct mechanism to fend off an army of trigger-happy Daleks. You’re welcome.
Jelly babies
Well, would you like one? The last of our Doctor Who foods became synonymous with the Fourth Doctor, and possibly as famous and iconic as his multi-coloured scarf. The question “would you like a jelly baby?” became something of a catchphrase for the actor Tom Baker, who would open many an interaction with this friendly question – even when people were baying for his blood.
The funniest jelly baby scene would have to be in ‘The Face of Evil’ where the Doctor holds one of his snacks under the nose of a tribal warrior. “Now drop your weapons,” he warns, “or I’ll kill him with this deadly jelly baby.” The other fighters, though, are unswayed by this threat, and simply respond, “kill him then.”
The Doctor, never one to back down easily, replies, “I don’t take orders from anyone,” and casually takes a bite of his jelly baby. “Take me to your leader.”
Presumably, the Time Lord lost a taste for this classic British snack over the years, but he was seen carrying a tin of jelly babies in the 2014 episode ‘Mummy on the Orient Express.’ And, of course, the Eighth Doctor had his own selection in the 1996 TV movie.
But over to you, reader. Where do jelly babies rank on your list of Doctor Who foods? And have you ever tried ants’ eggs in hibiscus honey? Let us know in the comments below.
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