Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes is a tasteful and delightful children’s cookbook that has spunk to it. Kids will love cooking these “revolting” dishes. All of the instructions are very clear and easy to follow, as well as the ingredients lists. Dahl and illustrator Quentin Blake remained consistent with the layout of the pages all the way through. This would be a great book to have in your personal kitchen, to pull out when the kids want to help with dinner. This book could also work well in the classroom. Reading a book to children is great, but doing what the book does is better! A lot of the recipes involve an oven, and other appliances and tools that aren't kid-friendly. However the kids can still be involved! They can help show more measure the ingredients (great math lesson), or they could mix the ingredients together, or even do the steps with the cooked ingredients after they are heated. The illustrations in this book are very creative! They are drawn in such a way that looks inviting yet revolting at the same time. This book would also tie in well in a unit with other books by Dahl, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. show less

Although the title claims the book contains "revolting" recipes, everything you might find to make in this quirky, fun little cookbook is edible. No actual mud in the Mudburgers! If you have a child who loves Roald Dahl, these recipes would be fun to make when reading his books. You could even count Lickable Wallpaper as a handicraft!

This is a real cookbook, not a joke. But still it is hard for me to rate. The recipes are real, and most look delicious. They can be made to look revolting, or of course they can be made more simply. They can be made with the (occasional) special ingredients, or they can be made with some substitutions.

However they are mostly either fried, sweet, or rich in meats (or all three). They often require a food processor, sometimes a candy thermometer, and skilled dangerous work that I wouldn't let a child under 12 do without plenty of help (not just supervision).

The illustrations are a hoot, with photographs that do help. There is an index. And several recipes are ones that I would try if I still was cooking for a family of active ppl, show more instead of ppl who are being more careful of what they eat. show less

The 31 recipes are from 11 of Dahl's children books. The recipes are based on the foods that Dahl's children's book characters have eaten. For instance, the dish "Snozzcumbers" comes from the book The BFG, "Wormy Spaghetti" is from The Twits, and "Lickable Wallpaper" comes from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The dishes sound worse than they really are. For instance, Stink Bug Eggs are really deviled eggs with a touch of food coloring and parmesean cheese to add to the smell.Mr. Twit's Beard Food is just mashed potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, and cocktail franks that have been arranged in a deceitful fashion. Some other recipes include "Scrambled Dregs" and "Fresh Mudburger".

The illustrations are deliciously interesting and show more playful due to Blake's famous drawings along with Baldwin's food photography. For instance, animated characters in pajamas sleeping on a silhouetted photo of "Eatable Marshmallow PIllows." Although the book is filled with graphics geared at children, some of the recipes are too difficult for the intended audience; the recipes need adult supervision. However, the attraction to the book is Blake's wonderful drawings in addition to Jan Baldwin's unique photos of food. show less

Who but Roald Dahl could think up such mouthwatering and deliciously disgusting foods as Lickable Wallpaper, Stink Bugs Eggs, and Eatable Pillows? Now there's a practical guide to making these and other delicacies.

So many fun recipes based on treats that appeared in Dahl's many books for children with classic Quentin Blake illustrations ... I have not tried the recipes yet, which is why the neutral review but hopefully for Dahl's 100th soon!

Described by Dahl's wife, Felicity, as "an interpretation of some of the scrumptious and wonderfully disgusting dishes that appear in Roald's books," this collection features 31 recipes. Possibilities include "Lickable Wallpaper" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, "Snozzcumbers" from The BFG, and "Hot Frogs" from James and the Giant Peach. Illustrations by Quentin Blake accompany each recipe. Photographs of finished dishes often appear in collage with Blake's illustrations.