The recipe for scrambled eggs ‘James Bond’ that appears in the short story ‘007 in New York’ isn’t the only recipe to feature in Ian Fleming’s books. Another – for ‘Monsieur Bon-Bon’s Secret Fooj’ (i.e. fudge) – can be found in his children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was published in three parts in 1964 and 1965.

The recipe calls for granulated sugar, condensed milk, butter, water, golden syrup and cooking chocolate. The ingredients are gradually heated and mixed together in a saucepan before being boiled. The mixture is then taken off the heat and beaten vigorously. Finally, the fudge is poured into a tin and allowed to cool and set. Not only is it easy to make, it’s also truly scrumptious.

As in the James Bond novels, the narrative of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is frequently punctuated by descriptions of food. At one point, Commander Caractacus Pott, former Royal Navy officer, explorer and inventor, tucks into a Bondian breakfast of four fried eggs, bacon and a huge pot of coffee.

Later, the Pott family go off on a picnic, taking with them hard-boiled eggs, cold sausages, bread-and-butter sandwiches, strawberry jam puffs, fizzy lemonade and orange squash. (There is certainly something of Ian Fleming’s own tastes in the choice of food. He and Ann Fleming had a similar picnic in Jamaica in 1952, their feast consisting of bread-and-butter, hard-boiled eggs, limeade, marmalade, sandwiches and fruit, plus a bottle of gin.)

The adventure continues at the Hotel Splendide in Calais, which provides a dinner of omelettes, roast chicken and ice-cream. Then Joe the Monster, having kidnapped the children, Jeremy and Jemima, thoughtfully offers them a continental breakfast of baguettes, butter, strawberry jam and coffee. As events come to an end, with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang saving the day, there is talk of more wonderful French breakfasts, and the children also have their choice of goodies from Monsieur Bon-Bon’s sweetshop.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang mirrors the James Bond novels in several ways. It has adventure, exciting run-ins with villains, gadgets, fast cars, a protagonist who could be James Bond’s brother (not to mention another wish-fulfilment for Ian Fleming), and, of course, plenty of food.