In an article in The Times, journalist Oliver Moody reported on the opening up of the archives of one of the UK's most famous high-street retailers, Marks and Spencer. Looking at some of the foods mentioned, the piece could have been describing James Bond's typical diet, which serves to remind us just how unfamiliar and exotic Bond's food was to the early readers of Ian Fleming's novels.
A slice of pineapple is the perfect response to the richness of James Bond's main course of lamb cutlets and asparagus with sauce Béarnaise at M's club, Blades, in Moonraker.
Fish food is a surprising item on the list of Bond-related food, but it does make an appearance in a Bond film - The Spy Who Loved Me.
Whether spread on hot toast, rolls, or French bread, or melted and poured onto stone crabs or ray wings, butter appears frequently in the James Bond novels. What do the many descriptions of butter tell us about which type James Bond prefers?
My recipe for oyster stew appears in my cookbook, Licence to Cook. That version uses smoked oysters, but if you prefer to use live oysters, then look no further.
James Bond often has two of something - a double espresso, a double bourbon, a double-0 number. Even his club sandwich, eaten by him in Thunderball, is a double-decker. In Live and Let Die, though, he goes one better.
James Bond diet doesn't consist entirely of gourmet dishes, rich sauces and Champagne. In 'For Your Eyes Only', Bond's on survival rations.
In the novel of The Spy Who Loved Me, Elvas plums are among the items that Vivienne Michel and her flatmate Susan Duff gather for the party they host at their tiny pad just off the King's Road.
In Quantum of Solace, a list of three items is painted on the wall outside a Bolivian bar: arbejas (peas), porotos (cranberry or borlotti beans) and lentejas (lentils).
What does the detective Achille Aubergene eat in the Eiffel Tower's famous Jules Verne restaurant in A View To A Kill?
James Bond Food 