Find all the answers for the Christmas Quiz featured in the December 2025 print edition of Sainsbury's magazine

DRINKS PAST AND PRESENT 

1. What sugary treat do you ferment when making mead?

A: Honey

2. Which wine-making county is home to the largest area of vine plantings in the UK?

A: Kent

3. Which wine-producing British county is the most northerly?

A: North Yorkshire

4. What unlikely ingredient was historically used to test the strength of navy-strength gin?

A: Gunpowder 

5. What fruit, besides apples, is traditionally used in perry, a fermented drink made mostly in parts of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire?

A: Pears

6. Traditionally, cider producers sang to apple trees to encourage a good harvest. What is this practice called?

A: Wassailing

7. To be called Scotch whisky, how long does the Scottish spirit need to be aged in casks?

A: Three years

8. The Black Velvet cocktail was invented at Brooks’s Club in London in 1861 and is a blend of which two drinks?

A: Stout and champagne

9. Which famous British author christened the Vesper martini?

A: Ian Fleming

10. Which county is home to the UK’s largest tea plantation?

A: Cornwall

WHO WROTE THIS?

‘The British cook, for her iniquities, is a foolish woman who should be turned into a pillar of salt which she never knows how to use.’

A: Oscar Wilde

‘What passes for cookery in England is an abomination… A whole French family could live on what an English cook throws away.’

A: Virginia Woolf

‘An entire shelf of the fridge is home to the sour and the salty: fat-bellied jars of sliced pink onions in vinegar; thin coins of skinny cucumbers with soy and ginger; blackberries in a marinade the colour of Beaujolais.’

A: Nigel Slater

FOOD PAST AND PRESENT

1. In which century did the scone become a popular part of the British afternoon tea tradition?

A: 19^th

2. Which baked treats from Greater Manchester were nicknamed ‘fly cakes’?

A: Eccles Cakes

 3. What animals have breeds called White Park, South Devon and Red Poll?

A: Cattle

 4. What is the name of the traditional Welsh lamb stew sometimes known as ‘lobscows’?

A: Cawl

 5. In which British fishing county did the production of kippers originate?

A: Northumberland

 6. What are the two main ingredients of cock-a-leekie soup?

A: Chicken and leeks

 7. What herb is used to make liquor traditionally served with pie and mash?

A: Parsley

 8. Which English dish does the Scottish rumbledethumps share a similarity with?

A: Bubble and squeak.

 9. Which kind of chocolate (white, milk or dark) was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite?

A: Dark chocolate

10. In the Middle Ages, the lower-classes often ate out of a trencher. What is 
a trencher?

A: Hollowed-out stale bread

11. Which king introduced apricots to Britain?

A: Henry VIII

12. Queen Elizabeth I loved ‘marchpane’. What is this treat called nowadays?

A: Marzipan

13. In which year was meat de-rationed in the UK after the second world war?

A: 1954

EATING OUT PAST AND PRESENT

1. Which East End London street is best known for its cheap curry restaurants?

A: Brick Lane

2. Established in 1798, which Covent Garden restaurant is rumoured to be the oldest in London?

A: Rules

3. The waitresses at the chain of Lyons Corner House restaurants were known as what?

A: Nippies

4. Chef Shaun Hill has a Michelin star at his restaurant near Abergavenny. What is the restaurant called?

A: The Walnut Tree

5. The Three Chimneys is a renowned restaurant on which Scottish island?

A: Isle of Skye

6. Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow turned how old in 2025?

A: 50

7. If you ordered a full Scottish breakfast you would get a slice, or square, of sausage. What is the proper name for this?

A: Lorne sausage

8. Moor Hall in Lancashire has how many Michelin stars?

A: Three

9. Which takeaway food chain was voted the most popular restaurant brand in the UK in 2025?

A: Greggs

10. Which restaurant critic and TV personality wrote The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out?

A: William Sitwell

11. Auguste Escoffier introduced the British public to a la carte menus 
in which famous London hotel restaurant?

A: The Savoy

12. Yarm Road Fish and Chips was voted the National Fish and Chip Awards Winner in 2025. Which British town is it situated in?

A: Darlington

FAMOUS FOODIES OF YESTERDAY

1. Who wrote the book Modern Cookery in All Its Branches, published in 1845?

A: Eliza Acton

2. Elizabeth David’s first book, A Book of Mediterranean Food, was published at the start of which decade?

A: 1950s

3. What was the first name of the famous Mrs Beeton: Isabella, Arabella or Mirabella?

A: Isabella

4. Which well-known TV cook was born Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey?

A: Fanny Craddock

5. Which renowned scientist formed The Glutton Club while at Cambridge university?

A: Charles Darwin

6. What was the name of the British tea merchant who started his epicurean career by buying Tom’s Coffee House in 1706?

A: Thomas Twining

7. Novelist Mary Shelley was a big fan of a green veg that you’ll now find in Buddha bowls. What is it?

A: Kale

8. Name the flamboyant wine-drinking chef, TV personality and restaurateur who referred to himself as a ‘gastronaut’.

A: Keith Floyd

9. Which former prime minister was known for a penchant for roast beef and Yorkshire puds, made by his personal cook Georgina Landemare?

A: Winston Churchill

FAMOUS FOODIES OF TODAY

1. Which comedian hosts TV show Bake Off: The Professionals?

A: Ellie Taylor

2. Which British cook launched a book and accompanying TV series called Eat Yourself Healthy in 2025?

A: Jamie Oliver

3. Grace Dent has joined which cookery show as co-host?

A: Masterchef UK

4. Which British cook’s most famous quote is ‘Let’s be ‘avin’ you!’?

A: Delia Smith

5. Which famous British food personality turned 90 this year?

A: Mary Berry

6. Which British chef once had trials for Glasgow’s Rangers Football Club?

A: Gordon Ramsay

7. Prue Leith recently joined the More Than Food campaign that puts the spotlight on whom?

A: British farmers

8. Which British ‘all things butter’ chef is one of the UK’s top influencers with more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram?

A: Thomas Straker