I once watched a table of four grown adults nearly come to blows over whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. This was at the Hare and Hounds in Bury, a Tuesday night in February, and the round was food and drink. One lad — Pete, a geography teacher who really should have known better — slapped the table so hard the pints shook. The answer, for the record, is that botanically it's a fruit, but legally in the United States it was ruled a vegetable in 1893 by the Supreme Court, which I think tells you more about lawyers than it does about tomatoes. The point is: food questions do something to people. They get personal in a way that, say, a round on European capitals never quite manages.
The reason food and drink works so brilliantly as quiz material is that everyone thinks they're an expert. You eat every day. You've watched MasterChef. You once made a carbonara from scratch and it didn't have cream in it, so you know your stuff. And then someone asks which country invented the croissant and half the table confidently shouts "France!" and they're wrong, and there's that beautiful moment of collective disbelief. Food questions reward the curious and humble the overconfident, which is pretty much the ideal dynamic for a pub quiz round. They also travel well across age groups — a question about a classic British pudding lands with a seventy-year-old as well as it does with someone who's just discovered baking TikTok.
What I've put together here is fifty questions across five rounds: World Cuisine (the globetrotters' favourite), British Food (comfort and nostalgia in equal measure), Drinks and Cocktails (always popular, always causes arguments), Baking and Desserts (surprisingly cutthroat at quiz nights), and Food Facts and Origins (the nerdy one, and personally my favourite). There's a deliberate mix of difficulty throughout — some questions your nan will get immediately, others that'll stump people who genuinely work in kitchens.
A word on how to use these: I'd recommend not running all five rounds back to back in one sitting unless you want your players to be hungry, distracted, and slightly resentful. Two rounds of food in a mixed quiz night is a sweet spot. Also, if you're hosting rather than playing, read the fun facts out after each answer — in my experience they generate more conversation than the questions themselves, and conversation is really what a quiz night is for.
Test yourself interactivelyPlay a free interactive food and drink quiz — 10 questions, live timer, instant scoring.Play Now →
Round 1: World Cuisine
This is the round where people's holidays do all the heavy lifting — or lead them badly astray. Someone who went to Portugal once will be absolutely certain about a question on Spanish food, and vice versa. I've found that world cuisine questions have the highest rate of confident wrong answers of any category, which makes them enormously satisfying to quiz with.
1. In which country did the croissant originate?
✓ Austria
💡 The croissant is based on the Austrian kipferl. It was brought to Paris in the 1830s and refined into its now-famous buttery, layered form.
2. What is the main ingredient in the traditional Japanese dish miso soup?
✓ Miso paste (fermented soybean paste)
💡 Most Japanese people eat miso soup daily. It's made by dissolving fermented soybean paste into a dashi stock, often with tofu and seaweed.
3. Which country is the origin of the dish moussaka?
✓ Greece
💡 Greece's moussaka layers aubergine, minced meat and béchamel. Similar dishes exist across the Middle East, but the Greek version was standardised in the 1920s.
4. Name the traditional fermented Korean side dish made from salted and seasoned vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage.
✓ Kimchi
💡 South Koreans eat an estimated 1.85 million tonnes of kimchi per year. It's so culturally significant that the making of it, kimjang, is UNESCO-listed.
5. What type of pasta is traditionally used in a genuine spaghetti carbonara?
✓ Spaghetti (also accept rigatoni or tonnarelli as regional variants)
💡 Authentic carbonara contains no cream — just eggs, Pecorino Romano, guanciale, and black pepper. The creaminess comes entirely from emulsified egg yolk.
6. Pad thai is the national dish of which country?
✓ Thailand
💡 Pad thai was actually promoted by the Thai government in the 1930s and 40s as part of a campaign to reduce rice consumption and foster national identity.
7. Which spice gives a traditional paella its distinctive yellow colour?
✓ Saffron
💡 Saffron is the world's most expensive spice by weight — it takes roughly 75,000 saffron flowers to produce just one pound of the spice.
8. True or false: piri-piri chicken originates from Portugal.
✓ True (though the sauce has African roots)
💡 Portuguese colonisers encountered the African bird's eye chilli in Mozambique and Angola, then developed piri-piri sauce — the name comes from a Swahili word for pepper.
9. In which city was the Caesar salad invented?
✓ Tijuana, Mexico
💡 Caesar Cardini invented the salad at his Tijuana restaurant around 1924, reportedly throwing it together from kitchen leftovers during a busy Fourth of July weekend.
10. What is the name of the thin Ethiopian flatbread used as both a plate and an eating utensil?
✓ Injera
💡 Injera is made from teff flour and has a slightly sour flavour from fermentation. Its spongy texture is designed to scoop up stews and salads.
Round 2: British Food
This round tends to split neatly into two camps: people who grew up eating these things and feel a warm rush of recognition, and people who moved to Britain from elsewhere and have spent years quietly baffled by our relationship with beige food. Both groups tend to do better than they expect, which is the sign of a well-calibrated round.
11. Which city is widely credited as the birthplace of the Balti curry?
✓ Birmingham
💡 The Balti was developed in Birmingham's Sparkhill and Sparkbrook areas in the 1970s. It's cooked and served in the same thin steel pan, giving it its name.
12. What are the two main ingredients in a traditional Welsh rarebit?
✓ Cheese and toast (with a mustard and ale sauce)
💡 Welsh rarebit has no rabbit in it. The name likely evolved from "Welsh rabbit" — a mock-meat dish for those who couldn't afford the real thing.
13. In which English county did the Cornish pasty originate?
✓ Cornwall
💡 Cornish pasties have Protected Geographical Indication status, meaning only pasties made in Cornwall can legally be called Cornish pasties.
14. What is the traditional filling of a Scotch egg?
✓ A hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried
💡 Despite the name, Scotch eggs are believed to have been invented by London department store Fortnum and Mason in 1738, not in Scotland.
15. Which British pudding consists of a sponge cake soaked in hot toffee sauce?
✓ Sticky toffee pudding
💡 Sticky toffee pudding was popularised in the 1970s at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria, though its exact origins are still disputed.
16. Name the traditional Scottish dish made from sheep's offal mixed with oatmeal, onions, and spices, cooked in a sheep's stomach.
✓ Haggis
💡 Haggis is celebrated every year on Burns Night, the 25th of January, in honour of the poet Robert Burns, who wrote an ode addressed directly to the dish.
17. True or false: HP Sauce was named after the Houses of Parliament.
✓ True
💡 HP Sauce got its name after a rumour spread that it was being served in the Houses of Parliament restaurant. The sauce's label still features a picture of the building.
18. What type of fish is traditionally used in a kedgeree?
✓ Smoked haddock
💡 Kedgeree was adapted from an Indian dish called khichdi by British colonisers and became a popular Victorian breakfast dish when brought back to Britain.
19. Which seaside town in Yorkshire is traditionally associated with the origins of fish and chips as a popular British dish?
✓ Whitby (though Mossley in Greater Manchester and London's East End also make strong claims)
💡 The combination of fish and chips as a meal became widespread in the 1860s. By 1910, there were reportedly over 25,000 fish and chip shops in Britain.
20. What is the name of the traditional breakfast dish consisting of oats soaked overnight in milk or water, associated with Scotland?
✓ Overnight oats (traditional version: brose or soaked porridge — accept porridge)
💡 Porridge oats have been a staple of the Scottish diet for centuries. Historically, crofters would make a large batch and let it set in a drawer to slice cold during the week.
Round 3: Drinks & Cocktails
I'll be honest: this is the round people think they'll sail through, and it's usually where they drop the most points. Knowing you like a Negroni is not the same as knowing what's in one, a distinction that becomes painfully clear about halfway through this round. It's also the one that causes the most post-quiz debate, which I consider a feature rather than a bug.
21. What are the three ingredients in a classic Negroni cocktail?
✓ Gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth
💡 The Negroni was reportedly invented in Florence in 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni asked for an Americano cocktail with gin instead of soda water.
22. In which country did champagne originate?
✓ France (specifically the Champagne region)
💡 Only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France can legally be called Champagne. All others must use terms like "crémant" or "sparkling wine."
23. What spirit forms the base of a Mojito?
✓ White rum
💡 The Mojito is thought to originate from Cuba in the 16th century, with a precursor drink used medicinally. Ernest Hemingway was famously a fan of the cocktail.
24. Which year was Guinness stout first brewed at St James's Gate Brewery in Dublin?
✓ 1759
💡 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the St James's Gate brewery in 1759 at £45 per year — one of the best property deals in history, arguably.
25. What is the Japanese rice wine commonly served warm or cold with sushi meals called?
✓ Sake
💡 Despite being called "rice wine," sake is brewed more like beer — starch is converted to sugar and then fermented. Its alcohol content typically sits between 14% and 16%.
26. Which cocktail is made with vodka, coffee liqueur, and espresso?
✓ Espresso martini
💡 The espresso martini was created by London bartender Dick Bradsell in the 1980s, reportedly after a famous model asked him for something to "wake me up and then f*** me up."
27. Name the Scottish whisky region known for producing heavily peated, smoky single malt whiskies, most famously associated with Laphroaig and Ardbeg.
✓ Islay
💡 Islay whiskies get their distinctive smoky character from peat used to dry malted barley. The island has eight operational distilleries despite a population of around 3,000.
28. True or false: tequila can only legally be produced in Mexico.
✓ True
💡 Tequila has a Denomination of Origin, so it can only be produced in specific Mexican states, primarily Jalisco. It must be made from blue agave plants.
29. What gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavour?
✓ Bergamot (oil from the bergamot orange)
💡 The bergamot orange is a citrus fruit grown mainly in Calabria, Italy. It's too bitter to eat raw, but its aromatic oil is used in perfumes as well as tea blending.
30. Which country is the world's largest producer of coffee?
✓ Brazil
💡 Brazil has been the world's largest coffee producer for over 150 years. It produces roughly one-third of the world's entire coffee supply each year.
Round 4: Baking & Desserts
Ever since The Great British Bake Off arrived in our lives, this round has become genuinely competitive in a way it never used to be. People who can confidently tell you what a laminated dough is now sit side by side with people who think a soufflé is just a fancy omelette. The range of knowledge at a table makes for brilliant quiz dynamics — and the questions I've chosen here will test both ends of the spectrum.
31. What is the name of the Italian dessert made from ladyfinger biscuits soaked in coffee, layered with mascarpone cream and dusted with cocoa powder?
✓ Tiramisù
💡 Tiramisù translates as "pick me up" or "lift me up" in Italian. Its exact origin is disputed, but it likely emerged in the Veneto region in the 1960s or 70s.
32. Which type of pastry is used to make a traditional éclair?
✓ Choux pastry
💡 Choux pastry has no raising agent — it puffs up because the high water content in the dough creates steam during baking, which inflates the pastry from within.
33. In which country did the macaron dessert originate before becoming famous as a French patisserie item?
✓ Italy
💡 Macarons were brought to France from Italy, reportedly by Catherine de' Medici's chefs in the 16th century. The French sandwich version with ganache filling was a later development.
34. What is the correct name for the technique of gently folding beaten egg whites into a heavier mixture to retain air?
✓ Folding (accept: the folding technique)
💡 Overmixing deflates the air bubbles created by whisking, which is why a collapsed soufflé or dense sponge is almost always caused by incorrect folding technique.
35. Which Australian-New Zealand dessert consists of a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit?
✓ Pavlova
💡 Both Australia and New Zealand fiercely claim the pavlova's invention. It was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova during her tour of the region in the 1920s.
36. What is the main flavouring in a traditional Bakewell tart?
✓ Almond (frangipane/almond extract)
💡 The Bakewell tart comes from Bakewell in Derbyshire. A related but distinct dessert, the Bakewell pudding, is also made there and locals will firmly tell you they're different things.
37. True or false: sourdough bread rises because of commercial yeast added to the dough.
✓ False — it rises due to wild yeast and bacteria in the starter culture
💡 A sourdough starter is a live culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. Some bakeries maintain starters that are over a hundred years old.
38. What is the French term for the sugar-cooking stage reached at approximately 160°C, used in making toffee and praline?
✓ Caramel (the caramel stage)
💡 Sugar passes through several named stages as it heats — thread, soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, hard crack, and finally caramel — each used for different confections.
39. Which Great British Bake Off judge and food writer is known for her books including "How to Eat" and "How to Be a Domestic Goddess"?
✓ Nigella Lawson
💡 "How to Be a Domestic Goddess," published in 2000, is widely credited with helping spark the home baking revival in Britain long before Bake Off arrived on television.
40. Name the dessert of sponge cake layered with fruit, custard, and whipped cream, typically served in a glass bowl, that is a British party staple.
✓ Trifle
💡 Trifle recipes date back to at least the 16th century in Britain. The inclusion of jelly is a relatively modern addition that purists — and there are many — still dispute.
Round 5: Food Facts & Origins
This is my personal favourite round to write and run, because it's the one where people's confidence and actual knowledge diverge most spectacularly. These are the questions where someone who's never cooked a meal in their life occasionally beats the former chef at the end of the table — it's not about skill, it's about curiosity. Expect some genuinely surprising answers here.
41. Which fruit contains a natural enzyme called papain that can be used to tenderise meat?
✓ Papaya
💡 Papain breaks down protein chains, making meat more tender. It's also used in some contact lens solutions and is the active ingredient in certain commercial meat tenderisers.
42. In which century was the fork widely adopted as an eating utensil in Britain?
✓ 18th century (1700s)
💡 Forks were considered effeminate and unnecessary in Britain for a long time. They were first introduced to England in the 11th century but didn't become common until the 1700s.
43. What is the world's most traded spice?
✓ Black pepper
💡 Black pepper accounts for roughly 20% of all spice imports worldwide. It was once so valuable that it was used as currency and featured in ransom demands in ancient Rome.
44. True or false: carrots were originally purple before being cultivated into the orange variety we know today.
✓ True
💡 Wild carrots were purple, white, or yellow. The orange carrot was selectively cultivated in the Netherlands in the 17th century, possibly as a tribute to the House of Orange.
45. Which country consumes the most chocolate per capita in the world?
✓ Switzerland
💡 The Swiss consume roughly 10 to 11 kilograms of chocolate per person per year — more than any other nation, which goes some way to explaining their world-leading confectionery industry.
46. What common kitchen ingredient is produced when vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are combined?
✓ Carbon dioxide (CO₂), water, and sodium acetate — accept carbon dioxide or the fizzing reaction
💡 This reaction is used in baking when acidic ingredients meet bicarbonate of soda, releasing CO₂ bubbles that cause doughs and batters to rise.
47. Name the American fast food chain that introduced the first nationally available fast food hamburger in the 1920s.
✓ White Castle
💡 White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, selling small square burgers for five cents each. McDonald's wasn't founded until 1940 and didn't franchise until the 1950s.
48. What gas is responsible for making bread dough rise?
✓ Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
💡 Yeast consumes sugars in the dough and produces CO₂ as a byproduct. The gluten network in the dough traps these bubbles, causing the dough to expand before baking.
49. Which vegetable is the main ingredient in a traditional Greek dish called spanakopita?
✓ Spinach
💡 Spanakopita is a savoury pastry pie made with spinach and feta cheese wrapped in layers of flaky filo pastry. The name literally translates to "spinach pie" in Greek.
50. In which country did the practice of using chopsticks as eating utensils originate?
✓ China
💡 Chopsticks have been used in China for at least 3,000 years, originally as cooking implements. They spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam via Chinese cultural influence.
What strikes me most about compiling a set like this is how much of what we consider "national" food turns out to be borrowed, adapted, or quietly invented somewhere else entirely. The croissant isn't French. The Caesar salad isn't from Rome. HP Sauce is named after a rumour. There's something genuinely humbling about food history — it's really just a record of people moving around the world and sharing what they were making at home. Which is, I think, a rather nice thing to reflect on over a pint and a bag of peanuts on a Tuesday night in Bury.
If you've spotted an error anywhere in this post — and with fifty questions there's always a chance — please do drop us a line at hello@simplyquizzes.com. We're always glad to hear from people who know their stuff, and equally glad to hear topic suggestions for future rounds. There's plenty more where this came from over on the blog, covering everything from history and sport to music and TV, so have a browse when you get a chance.