Quilty

‘Memorable Meals with Quilty’ is a book of seven short stories about the love of food and wine. It is a romantic look at dining on the grand scale, harking back to when people ate extravagantly. Quilty, a man of considerable size and personality, is at the end of his life, so he enlists our narrator, Sprite, to join him on his final quest, revisiting his favourite haunts for one last meal.
Each whimsical journey is an epicurean delight, and through the use of fictional restaurants a particular style of cuisine is championed. Quilty, the passionate gourmet, passes along interesting and informative tidbits from his long experience to our storyteller. No meal, however, is truly memorable without the addition of a little humour and pathos. So the recipe for each story is a sprinkling of nonsense, a dash of sorrow, and a final touch of folly.
Award winning Thai Artist Ohm Pattanachoti has contributed drawings for each story.
Stories include:-
‘The Last Champion of Escoffier’ reminds people of the important contribution this famous chef has made to modern cooking, and at the same time we discover Quilty’s passion for food and wine came about as a result of unrequited love.
‘A Tuscan Tarantella’ turns out to be more than a feast celebrating one of Italy’s finest food areas, we learn of Quilty’s amazing ability to dance.
‘A Greek Drama’ finds Quilty caught in a clash between traditional cooking and modern interpretation, and in true Hellenic fashion, catharsis results.
‘A Chinese Rebellion’ - It’s not just the Peking Duck that gets a roasting in this Cantonese feast when Quilty loses his temper.
‘Lunching with Carmen’ - Back on his feet after suffering a mild heart attack Quilty makes a nostalgic visit to a famous Spanish restaurant, and despite the fact it has changed with the times the presence of the owner’s fiery daughter ignites youthful passions.
‘Divine Wind’ – Quilty, confined to quarters as a result of a minor stroke, gets his old friend Yoshi Agastuma to cook a Japanese lunch at his home, however a foreboding atmosphere of mortality pervades the feast.
‘The Tears of Lebanon’- With Quilty’s passing Sprite tenderly recalls their final lunch together at Madame Habib’s famous Lebanese restaurant, and reveals a surprising secret.