The first dish was called The Bitter-Sweet Mystery – it was a soup of herbs on the successful blending of which the cooks of Lud-in-the-Mist based their reputation. This was followed by The Lottery of Dreams, which consisted of such delicacies as quail, snails, chicken’s liver, plovers’ eggs, peacocks’ hearts, concealed under a mountain of boiled rice. Then came True-Love-in-Ashes, a special way of preparing pigeons; and last, Death’s Violets, an extremely indigestible pudding decorated with sugared violets.
