Agatha Christies Detectives and Their Diet
- jr81568
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
Although food was not the main point of Agatha Christies Books, the two detectives she created Herculine Poirot and Miss Marple food and drinks defined them. Each character had unusual personality traits and what they ate created their differences. The food used in the books reflected the time period and customs.
Hercule Poirot Taste In Food and Drink
Hercule Poirot was a gourmet but for breakfast he liked coffee and rolls. He enjoyed sipping thick chocolate in a China cup in the afternoon or evening. One time Watson ordered two whiskey sodas in a bar and had to order hot chocolate for Poirot. It took a long time for the bartender to make it. Some people commented the hot chocolate looked like mud.
Poirot loved to eat chocolate candy and drink herbal tea. Agatha Christie liked drinking cream and eating chocolate truffles. Poirot dined out often in the novel sat upscale restaurants. He ate omelets, fillet of sole, chicken, escargot, consommé, and turkey and grilled trout.
In one book Hercule Poirot teaches a young girl to make an omelet. She learned well and others liked her cooking. Poirot only likes toast that is square in shape. For liquor Poirot like creme de menthe over drinking beer. At bars he orders this and often has to order the other person a traditional alcoholic drink.
Another favorite liqueur of his is creme de chassis. It is a sweet drink made from black currants. Food and drink in some novels gave Poirot the evidence he needed to solve crimes. This was because some criminals poisoned food or drink to kill their victim.
Christies used meal as plot devices and to show cultural customs of the detectives. She included English teas and mid-day dinner in her plots to make them more authentic. Poirot was Belgian and Miss Marple English.
Miss Marples Diet (Food and Drink)
Miss Marple like a simple English breakfast of cereal and orange juice, seed cake, muffins, marmalade, or bacon and eggs. A typical English breakfast is eggs and bacon, kidney, cold grouse, York ham, toast, beans and marmalade. Although Miss Marple served wine, cherry brandy, and gin to guests she did not drink it.
Miss Marple loved afternoon tea with cake and sandwiches. As for desserts she like Belgian waffles, ice cream and fruit scones. She loved the traditional English breakfast she ate at the Bertram hotel. She hated coffee and breakfast cereal. Agatha Christie used food in her novels to define the time or as clues.
In one novel the murder took place where a person saw someone murdered on a train. Miss Marple finds the crime is connected to a family that makes biscuits, relish and pickles. Miss Marple like syrups that came in black bottles a sign of the time. Elderberry syrup came in black glass bottles and was used to treat flu symptoms and coughs.
Once Miss Marple declined a milky drink in one novel given to her by the host. It was a blessing because the drinking was poisoned. Miss Marple enjoyed entertaining guests with tea, sandwiches with the crust cut off and scones, fruit cake, and pastries.
Food used in Agatha Christies books defines the time period and gives the detectives a unique relationship with food. It sometime help them solve crimes or enjoy a delicious meal or dessert.
References:
How To Dine Like Hercule Poirot in London, by Tina Hodkinson, Londonist, February 2026
A Detective's Diet, by Shylashri Shankar, Open, July 24, 2020
Agatha Christie Wiki-Food and Drink, Fandom 2026
Cook Like A Christie, by Karen Pierce, Crime Reads, August 23, 2023
Delicious Death Food In Christie by Stephanie Russell, The Home of Agatha Christie, 2019