The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook

Introduction

Every maester who spends his career not in service to some great lord but at the Citadel itself hopes for at least one of two accomplishments: to attain the rank of archmaester, surpassing all others in one of the twenty-one scholarly disciplines (represented by the wide array of metals that may appear in the links of a maester s chain), or to leave for posterity some great work a piece of scholarship that lifts the Crone s Lantern and shines the light of knowledge on some previously unknown corner of the world, that those who come after may think on what we have learned and enter into dialogue with us even after our bones are dust and our names preserved only in the yellowed vellum of that celebrated manuscript.

For me, I know there will be no triple link, and no acolytes to call me archmaester in my dotage when my mind s best years are spent. The wisdom of the older archmaesters is oft honored more for the paths it cut in youth rather than the roads it is likely to open in the twilight years, when the edge of reason is dulled with sleep and insight clouded with dreams.

I flatter myself in thinking that were there a link for knowledge of meat and mead, my knowledge in that realm would long since have earned me the triple link and the honorific that I seem here to spurn with such bad grace, knowing it to be beyond my reach. No matter. Instead I leave behind me this manuscript, which I hope will one day be recognized as a useful inquiry into the foods of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond, and how those dishes reflect the places and the peoples who enjoy them.

I leave this missive as preface to what I regard as my life s greatest work, that you future reader known only to me by our shared passion for the subject of this text might understand what it is you hold in your hands. It is more than a mere collection of recipes; it is a history of Westeros and those invisible ties that bind us much closer than any of us realize to our neighbors

Chelsea Monroe-Cassel is a lifelong artist and fan of both fantasy and food. Like the literature she loves, each of Chelsea’s cookbooks is a synthesis of imagination and historical research that brings a fantastical world to life. Her immersive work has received rave reviews from fans and critics alike for its ability to extend fandoms into real-world kitchens. She is the author of nine bestselling cookbooks, including A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook, World of Warcraft: The Official Cookbook, The Official Star Trek Cookbook, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, Firefly: The Big Damn Cookbook, and The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook. Chelsea lives in Vermont with her family, her cats, and about seven pounds of bees.
 
George R. R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including those of the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons—as well as related works such as Fire & Blood, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and The World of Ice & Fire, with Elio M. García, Jr., and Linda Antonsson. Other novels include Tuf Voyaging, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, Dying of the Light, Windhaven (with Lisa Tuttle), and Dreamsongs Volumes I and II. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with his lovely wife, Parris, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.